We’re getting lots of questions about the membership fees. Especially if you’ve been a member with us for a number of years or are looking for an association that’s low-cost and “hands-off”. When you compare and contrast the associations, we understand that SC TOP is not the cheapest one out there. But, we’ve created a formula to calculate the annual fees in order to provide our members with a great value for what’s included in our services.

The total fee includes the parent rate PLUS the student rate. It’s a great value for the peace of mind to have the support and encouragement to help keep you on track with your record-keeping and attendance requirements.

• SC TOP is “hands-off” because we don’t micromanage your course of study or ask for you to do unnecessary busywork.
• But, our admin strives to be available if you get stuck along the way. You don’t know what you don’t know! The weight of responsibility can feel heavy, sometimes.

Parent rate. We calculate the work that it takes to process your membership file. Note: Prices may vary, after late registration or change from year-to-year. So they are listed here as examples.

The rates include handling the email inquiries that help clarify the procedures and policies. And processing the membership files, sending out welcome email, getting on the roster for continuing membership emails. There’s lots of little details that have to be checked and verified. We consider it a flat rate for each family, regardless how many students you have.

• New homeschoolers, new residents in SC and new members switching from another association have a flat rate (ie: $35).
• Lapsed/returning members coming back from another school or association (ie: $30).
• Renewing-continuing members are set at lower flat rate, since you are already familiar with the policies and procedures. But, still there’s lots of questions and clarifications about the documents and payment status. (ie:$20).

Student rate: We calculate the work that is takes to be available to help answer your questions/emails and to provide resources to help keep you on track thru the year. Virtual workshops that you can attend in real-time to ask questions or available to watch as replay.

The more students you have, the more questions you are likely to have. If you need something, I don’t want you to have to pay an added fee just to get help. I was not even aware of the amount of invisible labor that I was offering for free–till I started to hire some assistants to help manage the various tasks.

• Elementary/Middle school: no-high school credits. (ie: $20/student). We provide lots of tutorials to help you plan out your course of study and keep track of your records. There’s lots of articles to also help answer your questions about homeschooling in general–as well as the SC TOP policies and procedures.
• Special Education Track: If your high schooler is not on a diploma track and you don’t need the transcript assistance, then you can opt to pay for the K-8th fees. Be sure to list the correct grade level where the student belongs agewise and include a note that you’re not on a diploma track (ie: student is non-verbal).
• High School/Transcript Assistance: We calculate an added fee for the increased questions you will likely have about planning your high school course of study and formatting the transcript. If your middle school student is starting high school courses, you may want to choose this added fee.  Specific policies and procedures that are non-negotiable for the services to assist with formatting your transcript.

Added optional fees: If you want to speak to the director, you can schedule a personal consulatation appointment. We do not have the staff to be able to answer your phone calls for free. It’s one way that we have limited the services to try to keep the fees as affordable as possible.

If you need more help in getting started, planning your course of study, figuring what materials to use, modifying for special needs/learning differences, more transcript assistance for college admissions and common app services–SC TOP director can assist you.

Discounts: We don’t want the membership to be a hardship. You can request a hardship discount/fee waiver or active duty military discount.

Early Bird Discounts: We no longer offer early bird discount rates. The fee is discounted for renewing/continuing members for as a thanks for registering on time–by August 1. This saves our staff the time to chase you down with reminders for missing paperwork. But, the discount does not have a specific line item stating it’s a “discount”.

Registration opens in mid-May. Membership starts July 1st. You should be registered each year by the time school starts in your local district. Late fees will be implemented after August 1st.

Quality service, reliable expertise, affordable value and peace of mind.

Thanks for choosing SC TOP!
~Kim Andrysczyk, Director

>>Back to HOME PAGE<<
>>What’s Included in SC TOP?<<
>>Additional Resources<<

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Dual Enrollment Procedures & Policies

Dual Enrollment is a great way to dip your toe into more advanced classes, while you’re still in high school. You can take a college course AND it counts toward your high school course of study also.

Some colleges allow you to audit the class, so it doesn’t count for college credit. Some programs offer certificates that can be accepted by the college, similar to a CLEP or AP exams. Colleges often issue the letter grade on their final transcripts. These differences can matter with the SC Uniform Grade Scale calculations.

SC TOP needs to see your grade reports from the institution in order to verify we are listing the courses correctly on our transcripts. You or your student should be able to access a grade report without paying additional fees for a secure delivery platform (such as Parchment).

Enrolling Procedures: As you’re applying to the college, there are some documents that you will need gather. SC TOP can assist with these documents.

• Transcripts and/or Report Cards.
  • Previous members should have a DRAFT ONLY copy of the formatted transcript. Request finalized draft at director@sc-top.org before submitting it to the college.
  • New Members, request assistance formatting your transcript for an added fee. 
• School Verification Form. The college usually has a form for the association to sign verifying the student is ready for advanced classes. Submit a Help Desk request or email director@sc-top.org for assistance with the forms. 
• Test Scores. For placement purposes, the college wants to verify the student will be successful in the classes that you select. If you have ACT or SAT scores, those can be used for admissions consideration. But, if you do not have any test scores, the college offers an accuplacer test that can be done instead. 

Selecting Courses: As you’re choosing classes, consider what will be the best for your student’s goals after graduation. If you want some additional feedback about the course selections, contact director@sc-top.org

• If you know the degree program and/or the specific institution that you’ll attend. Choose classes that will go toward the Gen Ed requirements for the degree field. If the course transfers, does it transfer into the specific degree program?
• If you are not sure of the degree field or not even sure if you’ll seek higher learning. Choose classes that dabble in what the college experience is like or what the student’s interests might lead to a career path.
• Be aware that course titles may correlate to the next progression needed. For example: if you’re needing a 4th higher Math.
  • The high school course title recommended may be Precalculus or Calculus. But, those courses are advanced 200 level classes. The jump in difficulty may affect the student’s grade and it may not even transfer into the degree program.
  • So a Basic/Intermediate College Algebra course may be covering essentially similar content as the high school course you did, but the credit counts as a higher progression for high school. AND is more likely going to fulfill the course requirements toward the degree program.
• Be careful not to academically overload your student. Dual Credits are not necessary if your student is not ready.

Verifying Grades for Transcript Assistance Services: We need to see the grade reports in order to be sure we’re listing the details correctly. Each institution has different policies/procedures about obtaining the grade reports. Usually the STUDENT has to request, not the parent.

We need Course Number Code, Course Title and NUMBER grade earned. Along with the name of the institution where the grade came from and date when the course was completed. For example: Midlands Tech; ENG 101: English Composition 1; 93/A  Fall 2026

• We prefer that the parent collect the grade reports from the college.  Then you can upload the verification documents with the transcript request form at the end of the year.
• Some colleges prefer to send the grade reports to our offices instead. Some colleges send us the grade reports for all the students from SC TOP in one spreadsheet, so they won’t release it any of the parents.
• Preferred email contact: director@sc-top.org

For Midlands Tech, there’s a difference between the official grade report and the official transcript. The student should be able to request the official grade report at no additional charge:

 Midlands Tech: Grade Report
Includes course section, course title and number grade with credit hours
Should not cost additional fee to request this file.
Kari McLeod: mcleodka@midlandstech.edu or Records Office: recordsoffice@midlandstech.edu

Midlands Tech: Transcript  If it’s delivered thru Parchment server, you’ll be charged for added fee. The verification that we need should not cost added fees.

Upload the documents with your transcript assistance request form. Please plug in the details into the fields as well. If you want to file the documents before submitting the transcript assistance request or if you forgot to upload the documents with the form you already submitted, use the transcript update form instead.

Look for this section in order to attach your files with your form
so everything is all together when we process your request.
Then it won’t get lost in the email slush pile!

Read More about SC TOP Polices and Procedures
>>High School Transcript FAQs<<
>>Course Credit Policies<<
>>Common App Assistance<<

The post Dual Enrollment Procedures first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

• SC TOP Registration for 2025-2026 is CLOSED.
• SC TOP Registration for 2026-2027 will be open in mid-May. 
  • Current members will need to close out your current membership file before submitting application for next year
  • New member inquiries, please email director@sc-top.org so we can add you to the list to be notified when registration is open

If you need assistance with immediate transfer for 2026-2026:

• Homeschooling is not “a program”. Membership with an association is a permission slip that allows you/the parent to take on the responsibility for educating your child.
  • You are responsible to pick/choose the learning materials and activities.
  • You set the pace and schedule of the assignments
  • You keep track of the progress
• The law is somewhat specific about the record-keeping requirements. And someone is supposed to verify that you are doing the record-keeping requirements. That’s what the accountability association does (it’s for verifying that you’re doing the record-keeping requirements)
  • SC TOP is not accepting any LATE registrations for the current school year (2025-2026). Email director@sc-top.org if you would like to be added to the notification list for next year registrations.
  • Here is a list of associations that we trust who may be willing to accept LATE registrations. SC TOP director does not know if the applications are still visible or if you have to request access. Contact the association directly for assistance.

Stacy Brown/ GLOW:  Glow@glowchs.com
registration: https://glowchs.com/glow-accountability/
Offers transcript assistance for high school, but not ranking

Rebecca Bennett/M2SHA:  admin@m2sha.com
registration: https://www.m2sha.com/register-now
Low cost family rates.

Monica McCoy/G3O:  monica@gotoptionsllc.com
registration: https://www.gotoptionsllc.com/
Low cost family rates

Katie Frampton/Half Moon;    halfmoonhomeschool.sc@gmail.com
Registration: https://halfmoonhomeschool.com/
Secular/Inclusive, low family rates

Phyllis Louder/PACESC:  pacesc@pacesc.com
registration: https://www.pacesc.com/
Low family rate; Transcript assistance

Hazel Douthit/At Home in the Lowcountry:
email: athomeinthelowcountry@gmail.com
registration: https://www.athomeinthelowcountry.com/
transcript assistance; advice on course of study

April Ray/Homeward:  aprilray@homewarded.com
Registration: https://homewarded.com/
High school transcript assistance & ranking

Denise French/Palmetto Homeschool Association:   director@palmettoha.org
registration: https://palmettoha.org/
High school transcript assistance and ranking

Heather Grant /HOPE: hello@hopehomeschoolgroup.org
registration: https://www.hopehomeschoolgroup.org/
High school transcript assistance and ranking

More Recommended Resources

Check out my blog The SC Homeschooling Connection for all kinds of extra resources getting started, getting thru high school…and every step in between!

The post Registration Info first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

Statement from Kim Andrysczyk, Director of SC TOP Homeschool Association:

There has been some recent confusion online about a roundtable discussion involving the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE). To avoid any misunderstanding, I want to clearly distinguish between my roles.

I want to clarify that SC TOP did not host or participate in that roundtable.

SC TOP’s purpose remains unchanged: to provide accountability services under South Carolina’s 3rd Option law and to support families in maintaining academic compliance. SC TOP supports the parent’s responsibility to educate their children and the parent’s right to choose the methods that suit their family best. We are happy to offer encouragement, advice, or information whenever you need.

We do not engage in policy partnerships, external advocacy collaborations, or outside organizational programming. 

If SC TOP members have questions about our services or policies, I welcome respectful communication. SC TOP continues to stand firmly for homeschool freedom and family support for members across South Carolina. 

— Kim Andrysczyk
SC TOP Director

Meet the Director
What’s Included with SC TOP Membership

The post Clarifying Rumors About SC TOP first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

Welcome to the SC TOP Help Desk! This is an effort to streamline member requests so that it doesn’t get lost in the email slush pile. We want to prioritize official requests and provide the careful attention necessary.

• If we need to look up your membership file in order to assist with personal feedback
• If you need any official form to be signed (such as SSA verification or Dual Enrollment)
• If you need another copy of your membership documents to be issued, you’ve lost the original file.
• If you’re a previous SC TOP member, please state the year you were registered with your inquiry–and the reason you need us to look up your membership file.
• If you need personal feedback about homeschooling in general or SC TOP policies specificially.
• If you want to request a phone call with an admin assistant (5 minute limit)

A small fee for our time and expertise is recommended. Thanks for your understanding!

Fill out this form to request assistance from SC TOP director or admin assistant: 

The post Help Desk first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

• If you need a semester report card for the admissions process so you can show the mid-year progress, you can submit that request prior between January-April.
• If you need a progress report before mid-year, you can indicate that as first quarter progress.
• If you only need the final report card, then we can process that later in May. We understand if you have finished your course work before that. But, the schools will be confused about alternative attendance. It’s better if we just merge into their attendance schedule.

• We try to refrain from all 100’s though. Even if you’re working toward mastery, it’s still not necessarily 100’s. Because there’s review and repetition before you achieve mastery. All 100’s makes it seem like the coursework is all too easy and we’re not pushing them hard enough. It doesn’t show that the student is just an excellent student.
• If you’re doing a co-op/resource center or online program that calculates the grades for you, you can use those grades. Submit the information on our form. If the program is accredited (such as Virual SC), we will also need to see the grade reports, please email any files to director@sc-top.org.

TRANSCRIPTS: High school courses/credits must be formatted on a transcript. SC TOP membership includes transcript assistance one-time per year when you submit the form: Transcript Preparation.

High schools may or may not take our homeschool credits. It varies from school-to-school about their policies. Because they’re going to add on to the course of study and sign off the final diploma, they may scritinize the high school credits more closely.

• The application process may only need to have the report card formatted.
• Final transcripts will not be issued till later in May. We understand if you have finished your course work before that. But, the schools will be confused about alternative attendance. It’s better if we just merge into their attendance schedule and seat time.
• Be sure to mark the transcript request is for transfer, so it gets prioritized in processing.

OTHER RECORDS: The school may request some other records to assist with placement, such as standardized testing or IEP/Psychologic evaluations. Especially if your student is seeking advanced placement or learning accommodations, it can help to have some additional documents. But, it’s not necessary. 

There’s a standard list of records that the school requests during registration. We may or may not have the various records that are requested. Think of it like the medical history you fill out at the doctor’s office. They’re usually checking off forms to process the file, then nobody will read it afterwards.

BEWARE of OVERREACH and OVERSHARING: The school should not be looking at your lesson plans, grade book or curriculum choices. They do not ask for this from educators at private schools or out of state schools. They do not need to be evaluating YOU as the educator or the legitimacy of homeschooling in general. We only want to help clarify the student’s abilities and accomplishments in order to be successful in this new school setting.

• I understand most of you will say you don’t have anything to hide. But, we still want to be treated the same as other professionals.
• If the school asks for more documentation (such as course descriptions or syllabus), SC TOP can further assist in advising and formatting.

Thanks for choosing SC TOP. We want to help make this process as smooth as possible!
Click the form link below to get started with your request:

Click HERE to submit REPORT CARD REQUEST
Click HERE to submit TRANSCRIPT REQUEST

The post Transferring Back to Traditional School first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

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When SC TOP reaches capacity for 2025-2026 school year, we will close off registrations in order to serve our current members.

This is the SC TOP Waitlist for prospective members to be notified by email when registrations in May/June for 2026-2027 school year.

If you were previously a member or have special circumstances for us to consider your registration, contact director@sc-top.org for assistance.

WAITLIST is CURRENTLY CLOSED
while REGISTRATION is OPEN

FREE resources from the SC Homeschooling Connection to help get you started:

Quick Start Guide for New Homeschoolers in SC: CLICK HERE

High School Course of Study Planning Guide CLICK HERE

The post Waitlist Form first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

Withdrawal Procedures FAQs

• You register as a continuing/renewing member with the students you already have registered.
• Add the new student on to your membership application. Click where it says you’re withdrawing from another school.
• Include a comment–which student is new and the school you’re withdrawing from.

Add a student to your current membership account mid-year, submit the membership update form or make a note on the registration form that you’re adding a student to your account so we can merge all your students to one membership file.  

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Do I register with SC TOP first, then notify the school or notify the school first, then register with SC TOP?

Either way works. When we process your membership, you’ll automatically get a withdrawal letter and instructions about it. We leave the timeline up to you for notifying the school.

Withdrawing process is two parts:

1. You as the parent have to tell the school you’re not returning. They will automatically have the student on the rosters to return in the Fall again and will continue marking your student absent. If you’re transferring mid-year, you need to return all books/materials to the school.
2. The school also needs verification from the next school where you have registered. You are also designated at the school official. So, the letter is a verification you’re officially enrolled.

You can carry the letter with you to do both parts at the same time. If you have already done Part 1 as the parent, then you can let us know to send the notice to the school on your behalf. We leave that timing and responsibility up to you.

• Some people preregister mid-year, while the student is finishing out the week or so. It would cause confusion if we were to notify the school that the student has withdrawn, while they’re still sitting in class.
• Some people have to make urgent decisions to withdraw immediately. It could be difficult to return again with the verification letter afterwards.

Either way works. We recommend registering with SC TOP first, then notifying the school. That way you are equipped with all the information you need to facilitate a smooth transition.

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What records does the school release–and when? 

The enrollment verification letter is also a records request. Some schools are very concerned about where to send the records, so the student can be placed in classes. We really don’t need any of that information, except for high school credits/transcripts.

• The school records are primarily information you have already seen or know about your child’s progress.
• The letter states that the school is to release the records to you, the parent. It also provides contact information for them to release the records to SC TOP.

The school may or may not release any records though. So, please don’t keep after them about it. If there’s something specific that you need, SC TOP can facilitate the request. Especially if it’s testing, IEPs, behavior reports, etc.

We do want to get the high school transcript so we can advise about course of study going forward and to be sure everything is on track for diploma track requirements. The records should not incur any fees to be released to the next school.

• If the school will release the transcript to the parent, then we can get the parent copy to add to our files.
• If the school will not release the transcript, then we can request it directly from the school. It helps if you can find the contact name/information (fax or email) to help save/energy locating that information.

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What if the school won’t take the letter from me, as the official school representative? 

Sometimes the school official will not accept the verification letter from the parent. Just take their contact information (email or fax number) and let us know, so we can send the letter on your behalf.

The post Withdrawing From Another School FAQs first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

The post K5 Program–special first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.

Homeschooling High School Workshop: Everything you need to know about homeschooling High School. Transcripts, Credits, and Planning for College. You can absolutely do this so the doors of opportunity open for your homeschool graduate! Free admission for SC TOP members; $10 for non-members.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

The post Homeschool High School Workshop first appeared on SC Third Option Participants.