Reviewed August 7, 2026Multi-pathway state
South Carolina
Quick answer: South Carolina has three homeschool options, so the right recordkeeping answer depends on the path you are using. Do not try to memorize all three. Start by finding your option, then your record list gets much clearer.
First step to verify
Before you build records, choose your path: district approval, SCAIHS, or a qualifying homeschool association. If your child is currently enrolled, give the school the proof for your chosen path. South Carolina identifies a district approval letter for Option 1 or association membership documentation for Options 2 and 3 as evidence of the transfer.
Option 1: School District
Option 1 is the more district-involved path. Your homeschool program is approved through the local district board of trustees, and the statute includes more direct district-facing requirements.
What Option 1 requires
- District approval and application records.
- At least 180 instructional days, with a 4.5-hour instructional day excluding lunch and recess.
- A plan book, diary, or other written record of subjects and activities.
- A portfolio of academic work and a record of progress evaluations.
- Semiannual progress reports to the district, including attendance and individualized progress in the required subjects.
- Participation in the statewide testing program for the appropriate grade level.
Claire's note
If you are using Option 1, do not rely on a general homeschool checklist. Ask your district what they expect to see and keep your records in a way that would make sense to someone outside your house.
Option 2: SCAIHS
Option 2 runs through the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools. The statute gives the broad shape, but SCAIHS gets much more practical about what members need to report or keep.
What Option 2 requires
- Current SCAIHS membership and compliance with its current standards.
- A parent with at least a high school diploma or GED.
- An instructional year of at least 180 days.
- Curriculum covering reading, writing, math, science, and social studies; grades 7-12 also include composition and literature.
- Any records, forms, or reports SCAIHS currently requires from members.
Claire's note
If you are an Option 2 family, your next best source is SCAIHS itself. The law gives the outline, but the association tells you what they expect from members this year.
Option 3: Homeschool Association
Option 3 runs through a homeschool association with at least fifty members. This is the path many South Carolina homeschool families talk about because it gives accountability without the same district-approval structure as Option 1.
What Option 3 requires
- Membership in a qualifying association and compliance with its current standards.
- A parent with at least a high school diploma or GED.
- At least 180 instructional days.
- Curriculum covering the required subjects; grades 7-12 also include composition and literature.
- Plan book, diary, or other record.
- Portfolio samples of student work.
- Semiannual progress reports with attendance and individualized progress in each required subject.
Claire's note
Once you know your association, recordkeeping gets less foggy. Keep your 180 days, save samples, write down what you covered, and do the progress reports your association expects. You do not need to make it fancy. You need to make it findable.
grovio can help you keep dated portfolio moments, notes, subjects, attendance, and weekly records in one calm place.
Reviewed August 7, 2026Portfolio / annual evaluation
Florida
Quick answer: Florida families have a few separate pieces to keep straight: the Letter of Intent, the portfolio you maintain, the annual evaluation, and the Letter of Termination when the home education program ends.
First step to verify
File a Letter of Intent with the home education office for your district of residence. If your child is enrolled in public or private school, do not simply stop attending; let the current school know you are moving to a Florida home education program and confirm the enrollment record is handled correctly.
What Florida requires
- Copy of your Letter of Intent.
- A parent-maintained portfolio: a contemporaneous activity log, titles of reading materials, and samples of student work.
- Portfolio records preserved for two years and available if the superintendent gives 15 days' written notice.
- An annual evaluation provided to your district each year from the Letter of Intent date.
- Send a Letter of Termination to the district within 30 days after the home education program ends.
Claire's note
Florida can feel like a lot until you separate the pieces. There is the notice, the portfolio you keep as the year happens, and the annual evaluation you send in. If you keep the portfolio slowly, a few dated samples and notes at a time, the evaluation part feels much less like a scramble.
grovio can help you save portfolio moments with dates, notes, subjects, and photos throughout the year, so the portfolio is not something you have to rebuild from memory.
Reviewed August 7, 2026Higher oversight
New York
Quick answer: New York is a write-it-down state. Families should verify the current NYSED requirements, but the big recordkeeping pieces usually include written notice, IHIP, quarterly reports, attendance, hours, required subjects, and annual assessment.
First step to verify
Send the written notice of intent to your district superintendent. For a midyear start, NYSED says to file within 14 days of beginning home instruction; the district then has 10 business days to send the regulation and IHIP form, and you have four weeks to submit the IHIP. You do not need to first enroll a child in public school when you plan to home instruct.
What New York requires
- Send a Letter of Intent, IHIP, quarterly reports, and annual assessment through the district process.
- Quarterly reports document hours, material covered, and a grade or narrative evaluation.
- Keep attendance records for each student. NYSED says this is the one record parents are specifically required to retain.
- Keep copies of everything submitted and received. Work samples are helpful evidence, but NYSED does not identify them as a separately required parent record.
Claire's note
New York is not the state where I would trust myself to remember everything later. That is not because you are doing anything wrong. It is because the system asks for written proof. Give yourself a steady place for attendance, hours, reports, subjects, and evidence now, before the year gets blurry.
grovio can help you keep attendance, dated learning moments, subjects, notes, and progress evidence together, while you still verify and submit anything New York requires through your district or central office.
Reviewed August 7, 2026Portfolio / evaluator review
Pennsylvania
Quick answer: Pennsylvania is a portfolio-and-evaluator state. The public sources describe affidavit or unsworn declaration, education objectives, portfolio records, testing in certain grades, and an annual evaluation report.
First step to verify
Before the program begins, submit the required affidavit or permitted unsworn declaration and supporting documents to your district superintendent. Pennsylvania says the program does not legally exist until those documents are in. You do not wait for district approval, but you do need the right documents in place first.
What Pennsylvania requires
- Submit the affidavit or permitted unsworn declaration, education objectives, and required supporting documentation before you begin; renew by August 1 in later years.
- Maintain a portfolio with student work, a contemporaneous reading-material log, and either 180 days, 900 elementary hours (K-6), or 990 secondary hours (7-12).
- Include required testing results in grades 3, 5, and 8.
- Submit a qualified evaluator's written evaluation to the district by June 30.
- Keep copies of your submission and correspondence. The district collects the affidavit and evaluation, not your portfolio.
Claire's note
Pennsylvania is not a "wing it in May" state. But the recordkeeping itself can still be simple. Keep the log, save a few good samples over time, know your evaluator's preferences, and do not wait until the end of the year to remember what happened.
grovio can help you save work samples, portfolio notes, attendance, subjects, and progress moments as the year unfolds, so your evaluator conversation has something real to lean on.
Reviewed August 7, 2026Light recordkeeping
Texas
Quick answer: Texas is lighter from a state-oversight standpoint. TEA says it does not regulate, index, monitor, approve, register, or accredit homeschool programs. But "light regulation" does not mean "keep nothing."
First step to verify
Texas does not have a state registration or notice-of-intent process. If your child is leaving public school, TEA says a signed, dated parent notice saying the child will be homeschooled and when it begins is enough for the school to dis-enroll the student. The district may ask in writing for a letter of assurance, but it may not require you to appear in person or submit your curriculum for review.
What Texas requires (and what helps)
- Operate a bona fide home school; TEA notes that the course of study includes good citizenship.
- Texas does not require registration, approval, state attendance reporting, or a state-run annual evaluation for home schools.
- Keep a copy of the signed, dated withdrawal notice if your child left public school, plus any assurance letter a district requests.
- For your own clarity and future transitions, keep a curriculum list, work samples, a simple calendar, and high-school records when applicable. These are practical records, not a state portfolio requirement.
Claire's note
Texas may not ask you for much, but future-you still deserves a record. Keep enough that you can see what your child learned, explain your curriculum if needed, and make future transitions easier.
grovio can help you keep the kind of simple records Texas families often want even when the state is not asking for a heavy reporting system: attendance, portfolio moments, notes, subjects, and a visible trail of learning.
