Enrollment Survey & HLS
The Home Language Survey (HLS) is a legally binding document that is administered once at initial enrollment in South Carolina schools. Beginning the 2022-23 school year, the South Carolina HLS is now embedded within Section II of the ES. The Enrollment Survey Guidelines provide administration guidance and procedures for the entire ES, including Title III MLP and immigrant children and youth. Reference these guidelines when implementing the ES.
The HLS portion of the ES is the first step in the two-part identification process for potential MLs. District personnel will use the HLS responses to determine if a student will move to the second part of the process—ELP screening. Parents/guardians of every newly enrolling student in a South Carolina school district will be asked to complete this survey in all grade levels from 3- and 4- year-old preschool programs through twelfth grade.
If the student enrolls in the district from another South Carolina district, do not have families immediately complete Section II of the ES. Instead, check student records for the original ES or previous HLS and go by the listed information. The receiving district must contact the previous school to request that they send or fax the HLS within the identification and placement timeline. If the district has not received the original HLS before the designated timeline (30 days from the first day of school or 14 days from enrollment), and at least three multiple and varied attempts are documented, the receiving district may contact the parent/guardian to complete a new HLS. The completion of a new HLS should be a last resort.
If a parent/guardian indicates “English only” on the South Carolina ES for a student enrolling for the first time, but upon receipt of student records, the student previously received MLP services, the school personnel should communicate (Ellevation procedures - PNL) with the parent/guardian the student’s right to services. In addition, the receiving school must continue providing the enrolled student with MLP services and follow identification and placement guidance.
The following questions are asked on the HLS (embedded in Section II of the ES):
1. What is the language that the student first acquired? PowerSchool field: Language First Acquired
2. What language(s) is spoken most often by the student? PowerSchool field: Language Spoken Most Often
3. What is the primary language used in the home, regardless of the language spoken by the student? PowerSchool field: Primary Home language
These three questions are used to determine if the student will participate in step two of the identification process—ELP screening. If a language other than English is indicated for any of the three questions above, the student must participate in the ELP screening. Sign languages, including American Sign Language (ASL), are considered a language other than English. If included on the HLS, the student should participate in ELP screening. Conversely, if English is the only language indicated for all three questions, the student will not participate in the ELP screening and is considered a native English speaker.
Federal law stipulates that parents and/or guardians are provided this information in a language that they understand, and districts must make every attempt to administer the ES in the home language of the parent/guardian via translated copies or translation services. To assist districts, the SCDE has provided translated copies of the ES in the following languages:
• Arabic,
• English,
• Gujarati,
• Hindi,
• Mandarin,
• Portuguese,
• Russian,
• Spanish,
• Tagalog, and
• Vietnamese.
Districts that require additional languages are responsible for translating the state-mandated ES to meet the needs of the languages represented in their school communities. In accordance with Plyer v. Doe, this survey is not used to determine legal status or for immigration purposes, nor are LEAs allowed to inquire about the immigration status of students and their families. English and translated versions of the ES and additional guidance and resources are found on the SCDE Title III, McKinney-Vento, and Migrant Education Program web pages.