PART IB

OPERATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT

SECTION 1 - H630 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

1.1. (SDE: Appropriation Transfer Prohibition) The amounts appropriated herein for aid to subdivisions, allocations to school districts, or special line items shall not be transferred and must be expended in accordance with the intent of the appropriation, except that the department may transfer funds that are deducted and retained from a school districts transportation allocation to reimburse the department for the cost of unauthorized mileage. This transfer must be agreed upon by both the school district and the department. Those funds may be transferred into the departments school bus transportation operating account.

1.2. (SDE: DHEC - Comprehensive Health Assessment) All school districts shall participate, to the fullest extent possible, in the Medicaid program by seeking appropriate reimbursement for services and administration of health and social services. Reimbursements to the school districts shall not be used to supplant funds currently being spent on health and social services.

1.3. (SDE: State Aid to Classrooms) For the current fiscal year, the total pupil count is projected to be 761,855, which includes traditional school districts, charter school authorizers, and the special school districts. For the current fiscal year, the total pupil count for traditional school districts is projected to be 714,073, the total pupil count for the charter authorizers is projected to be 47,061, and the total pupil count for the special districts is projected to be 721. These funds represent an average per pupil of $4,895 in State Aid to Classrooms. The average per pupil funding is projected to be $7,694 state, $1,274 federal, and $7,859 local. This is an average total funding level of $16,827 excluding revenues of local bond issues.

The State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule for the current fiscal year is as follows:

CLASS 8 CLASS 7 CLASS 1 CLASS 2 CLASS 3

DR MASTERS MASTERS BACHELORS BACHELORS

YRS DEGREE DEGREE DEGREE DEGREE DEGREE

EXP +30 HRS +18 HRS

0 52,076 48,576 45,076 41,576 40,000

8.32% 8.97% 9.74% 10.65% 11.11%

1 52,593 48,813 45,377 41,838 40,119

8.23% 8.93% 9.67% 10.57% 11.08%

2 52,924 48,888 45,525 41,994 40,313

8.18% 8.91% 9.63% 10.53% 11.01%

3 53,236 48,957 45,664 42,107 40,462

8.12% 8.90% 9.60% 10.50% 10.97%

4 53,578 49,058 45,831 42,280 40,667

8.07% 8.88% 9.56% 10.45% 10.91%

5 53,870 49,125 45,962 42,388 40,806

8.02% 8.86% 9.53% 10.42% 10.87%

6 55,134 50,074 46,911 43,273 41,691

7.82% 8.68% 9.32% 10.19% 10.61%

7 56,400 51,022 47,859 44,127 42,546

7.63% 8.51% 9.12% 9.97% 10.38%

8 57,665 51,971 48,808 45,012 43,431

7.45% 8.34% 8.93% 9.75% 10.15%

9 58,930 52,921 49,757 45,866 44,285

7.28% 8.18% 8.74% 9.55% 9.93%

10 60,196 53,870 50,707 46,753 45,171

7.12% 8.02% 8.56% 9.36% 9.71%

11 61,460 54,818 51,655 47,606 46,024

6.96% 7.87% 8.39% 9.17% 9.52%

12 62,726 55,767 52,604 48,492 46,911

6.81% 7.73% 8.23% 8.99% 9.32%

13 63,991 56,716 53,553 49,346 47,765

6.67% 7.59% 8.07% 8.82% 9.14%

14 65,256 57,665 54,501 50,232 48,650

6.53% 7.45% 7.92% 8.65% 8.96%

15 66,522 58,614 55,451 51,086 49,504

6.40% 7.32% 7.77% 8.50% 8.79%

16 67,787 59,563 56,400 51,971 50,390

6.27% 7.20% 7.63% 8.34% 8.62%

17 69,052 60,511 57,348 52,825 51,244

6.15% 7.08% 7.50% 8.19% 8.47%

18 69,693 61,067 57,872 53,304 51,706

6.09% 7.01% 7.43% 8.11% 8.39%

19 70,339 61,628 58,401 53,787 52,173

6.03% 6.94% 7.35% 8.03% 8.30%

20 70,993 62,194 58,935 54,275 52,646

5.97% 6.87% 7.28% 7.96% 8.22%

21 71,653 62,765 59,474 54,767 53,121

5.91% 6.81% 7.21% 7.88% 8.14%

22 72,320 63,343 60,019 55,264 53,603

5.85% 6.74% 7.14% 7.80% 8.06%

23 72,993 63,927 60,570 55,767 54,089

5.80% 6.67% 7.07% 7.73% 7.98%

For the current fiscal year, the funds appropriated for State Aid to Classrooms represent the States contribution to the Aid to Classrooms program for direct instruction of students in kindergarten through grade twelve in our state, which is seventy-five percent of the total cost of funding one teacher salary for every 11.2 students. The salary cost used to determine the amount of funding required for the state effort is based on that of a teacher having a masters degree and twelve years of experience, which equates to $52,604 on the statewide minimum salary schedule for the current fiscal year and including fringe benefits is $69,153. The calculation of teachers for every student ratio includes those teachers eligible pursuant to Section 59-20-50(4)(b), to include classroom teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, psychologists, social workers, occupational and physical therapists, school nurses, orientation/mobility instructors, and audiologists in the school districts of the State. School districts are required to meet the statewide minimum salary schedule in the current fiscal year and are required to provide the annual step increase pursuant to Section 59-20-50. No school district is required to increase teacher salaries above the amount necessary to meet the statewide minimum salary schedule as prescribed in this act. For the current fiscal year, the provisions of Section 59-20-50(3) of the 1976 Code, as amended, are suspended.

To allocate the funds, the department will calculate the total number of weighted pupil units (WPUs) in each school district and in the State. The funds appropriated herein for State Aid to Classrooms represent the state share of the total Aid to Classrooms program, which is seventy-five percent. The local required effort is twenty-five percent of the total program. The total Aid to Classrooms funding for each district is calculated based on the districts percentage of the total statewide weighted pupils multiplied by the total Aid to Classrooms program. The districts local share is calculated by multiplying the total local share by the districts imputed index of taxpaying ability, which is the districts relative fiscal capacity compared to that of all other districts in the State. The State Aid to Classrooms amount allocated to each district will be determined by subtracting the calculation of the districts local share from the calculation of the districts total Aid to Classrooms projected funding. The Statewide Public Charter School District and any approved institution of higher education authorizing charter schools shall receive one hundred percent of the Aid to Classrooms funding from the State. For Fiscal Year 2022-23, no local match is required for the State Aid to Classroom EIA distributions for the base funding rolled up from the previous fiscal year.

Each district will receive either the amount determined by this new methodology or the actual state funding received in Fiscal Year 2021-22 from State Aid to Classrooms, EIA - Aid to Districts, EIA - Students at Risk of School Failure, Allocations EIA Teacher Salaries, Allocations EIA Employer Contributions, and EIA - South Carolina Public Charter Schools.

To provide flexibility, each district may expend the funds as determined by the local school board of trustees to meet the educational needs of students as defined in Section 59-1-50, Chapter 18, Title 59, and as delineated in a childs Individualized Education Program (IEP). Pursuant to Section 59-20-80, each school board of trustees must make available by September first of each fiscal year its annual budget that includes state, local, and federal investments in education. The budget must be available on the districts website. The department, in collaboration with local school districts, will provide a template that each district must use in reporting its budget.

To provide transparency, Revenue and Fiscal Affairs will document annually, through an online financial dashboard, the expenditure of all state, local, and federal funds by each district and other relevant data. To ensure that the public reporting meets the needs of educators, parents, citizens, and policymakers, the department, in conjunction with Revenue and Fiscal Affairs, will convene a group of educators, parents, citizens, and policymakers to provide recommendations regarding the items and the design of the dashboard by January 1. District expenditures for the prior fiscal year must be published on the departments website for public disclosure by January 1.

If a traditional school district, charter school authorizer, or special school district fails to submit expenditure data needed for the online financial dashboard, the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office will notify the Department of Education. Within thirty days of such notification, the Department of Education must then withhold ten percent of all state payments to the district or authorizer until the district or authorizer complies and all payments will then be made.

To ensure accountability, each districts annual audit that is submitted to the Department of Education pursuant to Section 59-17-100 must be conducted using an auditing firm from an approved list provided by the State Auditor. The State Auditor will develop standards and criteria for determining qualifying auditors. Each districts annual audit must be available on the districts website.

For the current fiscal year the South Carolina Public Charter School District and any institution of higher education sponsoring a public charter school shall receive and distribute state Aid to Classroom funds to the charter school. Students enrolled in charter schools authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District or an institution of higher education will receive in addition to the base weight of 1.00 or in addition to the disability weight of 2.60 an additional weight based upon the type of charter school that they attend. These additional funds must support the provision of educational services for children served by a charter school that does not receive local revenues. These students are also eligible to receive additional weights for personalized instruction. The department will make any necessary adjustments to account for the state share for Charter and Special Districts.

Three and four year old students with a disability, who are eligible for services under IDEA and enrolled in brick and mortar charter schools sponsored by the South Carolina Public Charter School District or registered IHE, shall be included in student counts solely for the purposes of receiving the additional weighting for students attending a brick and mortar charter school.

For Fiscal Year 2022-23, special districts, career centers, and alternative schools will receive the amount received in the prior fiscal year from these funds.

The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, must post in a prominent place on their website for each school district projections, including the per pupil state, federal and local revenues, excluding revenues of local bond issues, for the current fiscal year. Also, as soon as practicable, upon determining the exact numbers regarding pupil count and funding, the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, shall also post on their website the one hundred thirty-five day average daily membership for each school district and per pupil state, federal and local revenues, excluding revenues of local bond issues, based on the most recent audited financial statement as reported annually pursuant to Section 59-17-100. The Department of Education and the Education Oversight Committee shall provide in a prominent place on their internet websites a link to the information posted by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, including the projected numbers and the exact numbers.

For the current fiscal year, the pupil classification weightings are as follows:

(1) K-12 pupils or base students including homebound students 1.00

Students served in licensed residential treatment facilities (RTFs) for children and adolescents as defined under Section 44-7-130 of the 1976 Code shall receive a weighting of 2.10.

(2) Weights for students with disabilities as documented by their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) 2.60

(3) Precareer and Career Technology 1.20

(4) Charter school students

(a) Enrolled in brick and mortar school 1.25

(b) Enrolled in virtual charter school 0.65

(5) Additional weights for personalized instruction:

(a) Gifted and Talented 0.15

(b) Academic Assistance 0.15

(c) Limited English Proficiency 0.20

(d) Pupils in Poverty 0.50

Students in poverty are students who qualify for Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or are homeless, transient, or in foster care.

Gifted and talented students are students who are classified as academically or artistically gifted and talented or who are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Cambridge International courses in high school. Districts shall set-aside twelve percent of the funds for serving artistically gifted and talented students in grades three through twelve.

Students in need of academic assistance are students who do not meet state standards in mathematics, English language arts, or both on state approved assessments in grades three through eight and high school assessments for grades nine through twelve. The additional weight generates funds needed to provide additional instructional services to these students.

Students with limited English proficiency are students who require intensive English language instruction programs and whose families require specialized parental involvement intervention.

Further, the Department of Education may use school district student counts for personalized instruction as collected in the same manner as the prior fiscal year, PowerSchool or other available existing data sources as determined by the department to calculate the school district add on weightings for the personalized instruction classifications and the determination of the school districts monetary entitlement. End of year adjustments shall be based on the one hundred thirty-five day student average daily membership for all classifications. During the current fiscal year, the department will update PowerSchool calculations, reports, screen development, documentation, and training to incorporate the new pupil classification weightings and to make final district allocation adjustments by June 30. The department must provide districts with technical assistance with regard to student count changes in PowerSchool.

Up to ten percent of any funds appropriated for State Aid to Classrooms at the end of the fiscal year may be carried forward into the subsequent fiscal year and allocated to school districts, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, and an institution of higher education that authorizes charter schools pursuant to this provision. The additional funds must first support increases in student enrollment and any balance may be allocated proportionately utilizing weighted pupil units to districts. Any additional unexpended funds shall revert to the general fund or to the EIA Fund.

1.4. DELETED

1.5. (SDE: Employer Contributions/Allocations) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the appropriation contained herein for Public School Employee Benefits shall not be utilized to provide employer contributions for any portion of a school district employees salary that is federally funded.

State funds allocated for school district employer contributions must be allocated by the formula and must be used first by each district to cover the cost of fringe benefits for personnel required by the Defined Program, food service personnel and other personnel required by law. Once a district has expended all state allocated funds for fringe benefits, the district may utilize food service revenues to fund a proportionate share of fringe benefits costs for food service personnel.

The Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Corrections school districts must be allocated funds under the fringe benefits program in accordance with criteria established for all school districts.

1.6. (SDE: Employer Contributions/Obligations) In order to finalize each school districts allocations of Employer Contributions funds for retiree insurance from the prior fiscal year, the Department of Education is authorized to adjust a school districts allocation in the current fiscal year accordingly to reflect actual payroll and payments to the Retirement System from the prior fiscal year. In the event the Department of Education is notified that an educational subdivision has failed to remit proper payments to cover Employee Fringe Benefit obligations, the Department of Education is directed to withhold the educational subdivisions state funds until such obligations are met.

1.7. DELETED

1.8. (SDE: Educational Responsibility/Foster Care) The responsibility for providing a free and appropriate public education program for all children including disabled students is vested in the public school district wherein a child of lawful school age resides in a foster home, group home, orphanage, or a state operated health care facility including a facility for treatment of mental illness or chemical dependence and habilitation centers for persons with intellectual disabilities or persons with related conditions located within the jurisdiction of the school district or alternative residences. The districts concerned may agree upon acceptable local cost reimbursement. If no agreement is reached, districts providing education shall receive from the district where the child last resided before placement in a facility an additional amount equivalent to the statewide average of the local base student cost multiplied by the appropriate pupil weighting as set forth in Section 59-20-40 of the Education Finance Act. If a child from out of state is residing in a facility owned and/or operated by a for profit entity, the district providing educational services shall be reimbursed by the for profit entity the local districts local support per weighted pupil above the statewide average base student cost multiplied by the appropriate pupil weighting as set forth in Section 59-20-40 of the Education Finance Act. Participation will be evidenced by a written agreement from the IEP team or 504 team, written referral, or the school district initiating the placement process. School districts providing the education shall notify the nonresident district in writing within forty-five calendar days that a student from the nonresident district is receiving education services pursuant to the provisions of the proviso. The notice shall also contain the students name, date of birth, and disabling condition if available. If appropriate financial arrangements cannot be effected between institutions of the state, including independent school districts under the authority of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, and school districts, institutions receiving educational appropriations shall pay the local base student cost multiplied by the appropriate pupil weighting. Children residing in institutions of state agencies shall be educated with nondisabled children in the public school districts if appropriate to their educational needs. Such institutions shall determine, on an individual basis, which children residing in the institution might be eligible to receive appropriate educational services in a public school setting. Once these children are identified, the institution shall convene an IEP meeting with officials of the public school district in which the institution is located. If it is determined by the committee that the least restrictive environment in which to implement the childs IEP is a public school setting, then the school district in which the institution is located must provide the educational services. However, that school district may enter into contractual agreements with any other school district having schools located within a forty-five mile radius of the institution. The cost for educating such children shall be allocated in the following manner: the school district where the child last resided before being placed in an institution shall pay to the school district providing the educational services an amount equivalent to the statewide average of the local base student cost multiplied by the appropriate pupil weighting as set forth in Section 59-20-40 of the Education Finance Act; the school district providing the educational services shall be able to count the child for all funding sources, both state and federal. The institution and school district, through contractual agreements, will address the special education and related services to be provided to students. Should the school district wherein the institution is located determine that the child cannot be appropriately served in a public school setting, then the institution may request a due process hearing pursuant to the procedures provided for in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The agreed upon acceptable local cost reimbursement or the additional amount equivalent to the statewide average of the local base student cost multiplied by the appropriate pupil weighting set forth in Section 59-20-40, for instructional services provided to out-of-district students, shall be paid within sixty days of billing, provided the billing district has provided a copy of the invoice to both the Superintendent and the finance office of the district being invoiced. Should the district not pay within sixty days, the billing district can seek relief from the Department of Education. The department shall withhold EFA funding equal to the billing from the district refusing to pay and submit the funding (equal to the invoice) to the billing school district.

The agency placing a child in any situation that requires changing school districts, must work with the schools to assure that all required school records, including confidential records, are transferred from the sending to the receiving school within three working days. School records to be transferred should include grade transcripts, state birth certificate, certificate of immunization, social security card, attendance records, discipline records, IEPs, psychological reports (or notation in the school records that a psychological report on the child is available at the school district office) and any other records necessary for the appropriate placement of the child in the new school. School districts must release all records upon presentation of a court order or appropriate permission for confidential release. If evaluation or placement is pending, the receiving school district is responsible to secure information and to complete the placement. The receiving school will maintain appropriate confidentiality of all records received on a child. Upon discharge or release from the treatment facility, the agency placing the child in the receiving school must work with the school district where the student will reside after treatment to assure continuity of the students education.

1.9. (SDE: Instruction in Juvenile Detention Centers) It shall be the responsibility of the school district where a local juvenile detention center is located to provide adequate teaching staff and to ensure compliance with the educational requirements of this State. Students housed in local juvenile detention centers are to be included in the average daily membership count of students for that district and reimbursement by the Department of Education made accordingly.

1.10. (SDE: Revenue Authorization) The State Department of Education is hereby authorized to collect, expend, and carry forward revenues in the following areas to offset the cost of providing such services: the sale of publications, manuals and forms, the sale of Apple Tags, royalties, contributions, donations, foundation funds, special grants and contracts, brochures, photo copies, listings and labels, Directory of South Carolina Schools, student health record cards, items to be recycled, and high school diplomas and certificates; the collection of out-of-state and in-state investigation fees, registration fees for non-SDE employees, recurring facility inspection fees, teacher certification fees; the handling of audio-visual film; the provision of contract computer services to school districts and other state agencies, joint broadcast service to school districts, and education-related statistics through agreement with the National Center for Education Statistics; the lease or sale of programs of television, audio or microcomputer software; the lease or sale of virtual courses to other states; the collection of damage fees for instructional materials and the sale of unusable instructional materials; sale of fuel; use and repair of transportation equipment; fees for Medicaid reimbursable transportation; the receipt of insurance and warranty payments on Department of Education equipment and the sale of used school buses and support equipment. The Department of Education is authorized to collect revenue for deposit into the State General Fund for testing material purchases and test rescoring fees. The Department of Education is authorized to expend revenue collected for lost and damaged instructional materials and the sale of unusable instructional materials for the purpose of contracting for the purchase and maintenance of a statewide textbook inventory management system, provided that schools newly-adopted instructional materials needs are met first.

1.11. (SDE: School District Bank Accounts) Each school district in this State, upon the approval of the districts governing body, may maintain its own bank account for the purpose of making disbursement of school district funds as necessary to conduct school district business and each county treasurer is hereby authorized to transfer such amount as needed, upon receipt of a written order certified by the district governing body or their designee. Such order shall contain a statement that such amount is for immediate disbursement for the payment of correct and legal obligation of the school district.

1.12. (SDE: Travel/Outside of Continental U.S.) School District allocations from General Funds, lottery, and EIA funds shall not be used for travel outside of the continental United States. The International Baccalaureate Program shall be exempt from this restriction.

1.13. (SDE: Year End Closeout) The State Department of Education is authorized to expend federal and earmarked funds (not including state or EIA funds) in the current fiscal year for expenditures incurred in the prior year; however, state funds appropriated in Part IA, Section 1, X, Aid to School Districts, for the Childrens Case Resolution System or private placements for services provided to children with disabilities may be used for those expenditures in prior fiscal years. The department is also authorized to use appropriated funds to pay for textbooks shipped in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year.

1.14. (SDE: Transportation Collaboration) The Department of Education School Bus Maintenance Shops shall be permitted, on a cost reimbursable-plus basis, to deliver transportation maintenance and services to vehicles owned or operated by public agencies in South Carolina.

School buses operated by school districts, other governmental agencies or head start agencies for the purpose of transporting students for school or school related activities shall not be subject to state motor fuel taxes. Further, that school districts, other governmental agencies or head start agencies may purchase this fuel, on a cost reimbursable-plus basis, from the Department of Education School Bus Maintenance Shops.

1.15. (SDE: School Bus Insurance) The Department of Education shall maintain comprehensive and collision insurance or self-insure state-owned buses. In no event shall the department charge local school districts for damages to the buses which are commonly covered by insurance.

1.16. (SDE: Teacher Data Collection) Of the non-program funds appropriated to the Department of Education, it and the Commission on Higher Education shall share data about the teaching profession in South Carolina. The data sharing should ensure (1) a systematic report on teacher supply and demand information and (2) data to determine classes being taught by public school teachers out of field of their preparation. The data collection should include but not be limited to: classes/subjects taught, number of students taught, percentage of teacher education graduates from South Carolina colleges/universities who go into teaching, percentage of teacher education graduates who teach in public schools in South Carolina, percentage of new teachers who leave the South Carolina teaching profession in the first three years of public school teaching due to unsuccessful evaluations, percentage of new teachers who leave the profession in the first three years of public school teaching in South Carolina who have successful evaluations, turnover rate of teachers and certification areas with highest vacancies. All database items should be set up so that it can be disaggregated by ethnicity, gender, geographic location, etc.

1.17. (SDE: School Bus Driver CDL) From funds provided in Part IA, Section 1, VII.B., local school districts shall request a criminal record history from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for past conviction of any crime before the initial employment of a school bus driver or school bus aide. The Department of Education and the school districts shall be treated as a charitable organization for purposes of the fee charged for the criminal records search.

1.18. (SDE: School Bus Purchase) Any procurement of school buses with funds appropriated in this act or any other appropriation bill must meet specifications developed by the School Bus Specification Committee as established by the State Superintendent of Education. The School Bus Specifications Committee shall allow for input from all school bus chassis and body manufacturers. However, if it is safe, more economical, and in the public interest, the department may use the school bus specifications of another state in the procurement of school buses. If the department uses the specifications of another state, the department must submit a report to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee detailing the methodology by which the alternative specifications were determined to be safe, more economical, and in the public interest, when compared to the specifications set forth by the School Bus Specifications Committee.

1.19. (SDE: Buses, Parts, and/or Fuel) Funds appropriated for other operating in program VII.B. - Bus Shops and funds appropriated in VII.C. - Buses may be used to purchase buses, fuel, parts, or other school bus related items. All funds appropriated for bus fuel, parts/supplies, maintenance, and bus purchases may be carried forward from the prior fiscal year and expended in the current fiscal year to support bus transportation services.

1.20. (SDE: Mitford Transportation Costs) Transportation costs for the transporting of students from the Mitford area of Fairfield County to schools in the Great Falls area of Chester County is not the responsibility of and shall not be borne by the Chester County School District. These transportation costs shall continue to be the responsibility of the State Department of Education.

1.21. DELETED

1.22. (SDE: School Board Meetings) Of the funds appropriated through the Department of Education for technology related expenses, school districts that have a website shall place a notice of a regularly scheduled school board meeting twenty-four hours in advance of such meeting. The notice shall include the date, time, and agenda for the board meeting. The school district shall place the minutes of the board meeting on their website within ten days of the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

1.23. (SDE: Proviso Allocations) In the event an official General Fund revenue shortfall is declared by the Board of Economic Advisors, the Department of Education may reduce any allocation in Section 1 specifically designated by proviso in accordance with the lower Board of Economic Advisors revenue estimate as directed by the Executive Budget Office, except the additional EFA allocation to the South Carolina Public Charter School District. The reduction may not be greater than the total percentage of reduction of the Section 1 appropriation. Should the department hold back funds in excess of the total percentage reduction those funds must be allocated per the proviso. No allocation for teacher salaries shall be reduced as a result of this proviso.

1.24. (SDE: School Districts and Special Schools Flexibility) All school districts and special schools of this State may transfer and expend funds among appropriated state general fund revenues, Education Improvement Act funds, and Education Lottery Act funds, and funds received from the Childrens Education Endowment Fund for school facilities and fixed equipment assistance, to ensure the delivery of academic and arts instruction to students. However, a school district may not transfer funds allocated specifically for state level maintenance of effort requirements under IDEA, funds allocated specifically for state level maintenance of effort requirement for federal program, funds provided for the Education and Economic Development Act, funds provided for Career and Technology Education, nor funds required for debt service or bonded indebtedness. All school districts must report the student teacher ratio for every classroom to the Department of Education at the forty-fifth and the one hundred and thirty-fifth day mark. The department shall report this information to the General Assembly for the 2022-2023 school year.

In order for a school district to take advantage of the flexibility provisions, at least seventy-five percent of the school districts per pupil expenditures must be utilized within the In$ite categories of instruction, instructional support, and only transportation, food service, and safety within non-instruction pupil services. No portion of the seventy-five percent may be used for facilities, business services, debt service, capital outlay, program management, and leadership services, as defined by In$ite. The school district shall report to the Department of Education the actual percentage of its per pupil expenditures used for classroom instruction, instructional support, and transportation, food service, and safety within non-instruction pupil services for the current school year ending June thirtieth. Salaries of on-site principals must be included in the calculation of the districts per pupil expenditures.

In$ite means the financial analysis model for education programs utilized by the Department of Education.

School districts are encouraged to reduce expenditures by means, including, but not limited to, limiting the number of low enrollment courses, reducing travel for the staff and the school districts board, reducing and limiting activities requiring dues and memberships, reducing transportation costs for extracurricular and academic competitions, restructuring administrative staffing, and expanding virtual instruction.

School districts and special schools may carry forward unexpended funds from the prior fiscal year into the current fiscal year.

Prior to implementing the flexibility authorized herein, school districts must provide to Public Charter Schools the per pupil allocation due to them for each categorical program.

Quarterly throughout the current fiscal year, the chairman of each school districts board and the superintendent of each school district must certify where non-instructional or nonessential programs have been suspended and the specific flexibility actions taken. The certification must be in writing, signed by the chairman and the superintendent, delivered electronically to the State Superintendent of Education, and an electronic copy forwarded to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee. Additionally, the certification must be presented publicly at a regularly called school board meeting, and the certification must be conspicuously posted on the internet website maintained by the school district.

For the current fiscal year, Section 59-21-1030 is suspended. The foreign language program assessment, and the physical education assessment must be suspended. School districts and the Department of Education are granted permission to purchase the most economical type of bus fuel.

For the current fiscal year, savings generated from the suspension of the assessments enumerated above must be allocated to school districts based on weighted pupil units.

School districts must maintain a transaction register that includes a complete record of all funds expended over one hundred dollars, from whatever source, for whatever purpose. The register must be prominently posted on the districts internet website and made available for public viewing and downloading. The register must include for each expenditure:

(i) the transaction amount;

(ii) the name of the payee; and

(iii) a statement providing a detailed description of the expenditure.

The register must not include an entry for salary, wages, or other compensation paid to individual employees. The register must not include any information that can be used to identify an individual employee. The register must be accompanied by a complete explanation of any codes or acronyms used to identify a payee or an expenditure. The register must be searchable and updated at least once a month.

Each school district must also maintain on its internet website a copy of each monthly statement for all of the credit cards maintained by the entity, including credit cards issued to its officers or employees for official use. The credit card number on each statement must be redacted prior to posting on the internet website. Each credit card statement must be posted not later than the thirtieth day after the first date that any portion of the balance due as shown on the statement is paid.

The Comptroller General must establish and maintain a website to contain the information required by this section from a school district that does not maintain its own internet website. The internet website must be organized so that the public can differentiate between the school districts and search for the information they are seeking.

The provisions contained herein do not amend, suspend, supersede, replace, revoke, restrict, or otherwise affect Chapter 4, Title 30, of the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. Nothing in this proviso shall be interpreted as prohibiting the State Board of Education to exercise its authority to grant waivers under Regulation 43-261.

1.25. (SDE: Medical Examination and Security Reimbursement/Expenditures) From funds authorized in Part IA, Section 1, VII.B. Other Operating Expenses, the Department of Education may directly pay, or reimburse employees, for the cost of a medical examination as required in Part 391, Subpart E of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, for employees that are required to operate a state vehicle transporting hazardous materials and that are required to undergo a national security background check because of the required Hazmat endorsement to their CDL.

1.26. (SDE: Budget Reduction) In compensating for any reduction in funding or an operating deficit publicly recognized by the School Board of Trustees, local districts must give priority to preserving classroom teachers and operations. Funding reductions should first be applied to administrative and non-classroom expenses before classroom expenses are affected.

1.27. DELETED

1.28. DELETED

1.29. (SDE: School District Furlough) Should there be a midyear reduction in state funding to the districts, school districts may institute employee furlough programs for district-level and school-level professional staff. Before any of these employees may be furloughed, the chairman of the governing body of the school district must certify that all fund flexibility provided by the General Assembly has been utilized by the district and that the furlough is necessary to avoid a year-end deficit and a reduction in force. The certification must include a detailed report by the superintendent of the specific action taken by the district to avoid a year-end deficit. The certification and report must be in writing and delivered to the State Superintendent of Education and a copy must be forwarded to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The local school district board of trustees may implement a furlough of personnel once certification to the State Superintendent documents all funding flexibility has been exhausted and continued year-end deficits exist. Local school boards of trustees shall have the authority to authorize furloughs of these employees in the manner in which it sees fit. However, instructional personnel may be furloughed for up to five non-instructional days if not prohibited by an applicable employment contract with the district and provided district administrators are furloughed for twice the number of days. District administrators may only be furloughed on non-instructional days and may not be furloughed for a period exceeding ten days. District administrators shall be defined by the Department of Education using the Professional Certified Staff (PCS) System. For individuals not coded in PCS, the determination shall be made based upon whether the individual performs the functions outlined in position codes identified by the department as administration. Educators who would have received a years experience credit had a furlough not been implemented, shall not have their experience credit negatively impacted because of a furlough implementation.

During any furlough, affected employees shall be entitled to participate in the same benefits as otherwise available to them except for receiving their salaries. As to those benefits that require employer and employee contributions, including, but not limited to, contributions to the South Carolina Retirement System or the optional retirement program, the district will be responsible for making both employer and employee contributions if coverage would otherwise be interrupted; and as to those benefits which require only employee contributions, the employee remains solely responsible for making those contributions. Placement of an employee on furlough under this provision does not constitute a grievance or appeal under any employee grievance procedure. The district may allocate the employees reduction in pay over the balance of the fiscal year for payroll purposes regardless of the pay period within which the furlough occurs.

Each local school district must prominently post on the districts internet website and make available for public viewing and downloading the most recent version of the school districts policy manual and administrative rule manual.

This proviso shall not abrogate the terms of any contract between any school district and its employees.

1.30. (SDE: School Lunch/Attendance Supervisors) For those counties in which an entity other than the school district administers the school lunch supervisor and/or attendance supervisor programs, the school districts in that county shall transfer to the entity the amount available in the previous fiscal year for administration of the school lunch supervisor and/or attendance supervisor programs. Each district shall transfer a pro rata share of the total cost based upon the percentage of state EFA funds distributed to the districts within the county.

1.31. DELETED

1.32. (SDE: No Discrimination Requirement) State funds must not be appropriated to a school that discriminates against or participates with or is a member of an association with policies that discriminate or afford different treatment of students based on race or national origin.

1.33. (SDE: Medicaid Cash Match Accounting) The department is granted authority to transfer funds between budget lines and object codes to identify, reconcile, reimburse, and remit funds required for Medicaid cash match to the Department of Health and Human Services.

1.34. (SDE: Student Report Card-GPA) For each high school student, school districts shall be required to print the students individual cumulative grade point average for grades nine through twelve on the students report card.

1.35. (SDE: Lost & Damaged Instructional Materials Fees) Fees for lost and damaged instructional materials for the prior school year are due no later than December first of the current school year when invoiced by the Department of Education. The department may withhold instructional materials funding from schools that have not paid their fees by the payment deadline.

1.36. (SDE: Education Finance Act Reserve Fund) There is created in the State Treasury a fund separate and distinct from the General Fund of the State and all other funds entitled the Education Finance Act Reserve Fund. All unexpended general funds appropriated to the Department of Education for the Education Finance Act in the current fiscal year shall be transferred to the Education Finance Act Reserve Fund. In the event that the amount appropriated for the Education Finance Act is insufficient to fully fund the base student cost as established by this act, revenues from the Education Finance Act Reserve Fund may be used to supplement the funds appropriated. By June 30th of the current fiscal year, if the department determines that the funds are not needed to supplement the Education Finance Act, the department may utilize the funds for bus purchase. The General Assembly may make direct appropriations to this fund. All unexpended funds in the Education Finance Act Reserve Fund and any interest accrued by the fund must remain in the fund and may be carried forward into the current fiscal year.

1.37. (SDE: Prohibit Advertising on School Buses) The Department of Education and local school districts are prohibited from selling space for or the placement of advertisements on the outside or inside of state-owned school buses.

1.38. (SDE: Residential Treatment Facilities Student Enrollment and Funding) Each South Carolina resident of lawful school age residing in licensed residential treatment facilities (RTFs) for children and adolescents identified on the State Qualified Providers list and meets the requirements of Section 44-7-130 of the 1976 Code, (students) shall be entitled to receive educational services from the school district in which the RTF is located (facility school district). The responsibility for providing appropriate educational programs and services for these students, both with and without disabilities, who are referred, authorized, or placed by the State is vested in the facility school districts. For purposes of this proviso, an authorization must be pursuant to a physicians determination of medical necessity. If clinically appropriate, the facility school district, the RTF, and the parent or guardian of a student referred or placed in a RTF may consider the appropriateness of providing the students education program virtually through enrollment in either the facility districts virtual program, the South Carolina virtual school program provided through the Department of Education (Virtual SC), or a virtual charter school authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District, or a virtual charter school authorized by an approved institute of higher education. This decision should be made jointly with the best interest of the student and what is clinically indicated being considered.

A facility school district must provide the necessary educational programs and services directly to the student at the RTFs facility, provided that the RTF facility provides and maintains comparable adequate space for the educational programs and services consistent with all federal and state least restrictive environment requirements. Adequate space shall include appropriate electrical support and Internet accessibility. Unless the parent or legal guardian of the student seeks to continue the students enrollment in the resident school district under a medical homebound instruction program and the district approves, if appropriate, then, under these circumstances, the facility school district shall enroll the student and assume full legal and financial responsibility for the educational services including enrolling the student, approving the students entry into a medical homebound instructional program, if appropriate, and receiving and expending funds, unless the resident school district undertakes to carry out its educational responsibilities for the student directly. Alternatively, a facility school district may choose to provide the necessary educational programs and services by contracting with the RTF provided that the RTF agrees to provide educational services to the student at the RTFs facility. Under these circumstances, the facility school district must enroll the student and pay the RTF for the educational services provided. If the facility school district determines the educational program being offered by the RTF does not meet the educational standards outlines in the contract, the facility district shall be justified in terminating the contract.

The facility school districts are entitled to receive the base student cost multiplied by the Education Finance Act pupil weighting for pupils in a Residential Treatment Facility of 2.10, as set forth in Proviso 1.3 of this act and any eligible categorical and federal funds. These funds may be retained by the facility school districts for the purpose of providing the educational programs and services directly to students referred or placed by the State or the facility school districts may use these funds to reimburse RTFs for the educational programs and services provided directly by the RTFs. A facility school district is entitled to reimbursement from a resident school district for the difference between (1) the reasonable costs expended for the educational services provided directly by the facility school district or the amount paid to the RTF and (2) the aggregate amount of federal and state funding received by the facility school district for that student. However, the reimbursement rate may not exceed $90 per student per day. Through a joint agreement with the facility school district and the RTF, the funding received for RTF students must be utilized to deliver an instructional program that meets the needs of the students, and when applicable, the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Facility school districts providing the educational services shall notify the resident district in writing within forty-five calendar days that a student from the resident district is receiving educational services pursuant to the provisions of the proviso. Reimbursements shall be paid within sixty days of billing, provided the facility district has provided a copy of the invoice to both the District Superintendent and the finance office of the resident district being invoiced. Should the facility school district be unable to reach agreement with the resident school district regarding reasonable costs differences, the facility school district shall notify the Department of Educations Office of General Counsel. The Department of Education shall facilitate a resolution of the dispute between the facility school district and the resident school district within forty-five days of the notice of dispute. If the issue of reasonable cost differences should remain unresolved, a facility school district shall have the right to file a complaint in a Circuit Court. Should a resident school district fail to distribute the entitled funding to the facility school district by the one hundred thirty-five day count, the Department of Education is authorized to withhold the equivalent amount of EFA funds and transfer those funds to the facility school district.

RTF facilities on the State Qualified Provider List not located within the boundaries of the state shall be reimbursed at a rate that may not exceed $45 per student per day for education services and school districts shall be eligible to receive a base student cost weighted funding of 2.10 provided that the student remains enrolled in the school district. Facilities providing the educational services shall notify the resident district in writing within forty-five calendar days that a student from the resident district is receiving educational services pursuant to the provisions of the proviso. Reimbursements shall be paid within sixty days of billing, provided the qualified facility has provided a copy of the invoice to both the District Superintendent and the finance office of the resident district being invoiced. Should the facility be unable to reach agreement with the resident school district regarding reasonable costs differences, the provider shall notify the Department of Educations Office of General Counsel. The Department of Education shall facilitate a resolution of the dispute between the facility and the resident school district within forty-five days of the notice of dispute. If the issue of reasonable cost differences should remain unresolved, a facility shall have the right to file a complaint in a Circuit Court. Additionally, qualified RTF providers general education curriculum must be aligned to the South Carolina academic standards in the core content areas. All students with disabilities who are eligible for special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended, and the State Board of Education (SBE) regulations, as amended, shall receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment by appropriately certified personnel. Students in a qualified RTF will at all times be eligible to receive the educational credits (e.g., Carnegie Units) earned through their educational efforts. The resident school district and the RTF should develop a memorandum of understanding to outline the responsibilities of the RTF in providing the educational services and responsibilities, if any, of the resident school district while the student is housed in the RTF.

If a child from out of state is placed in a RTF by an out-of-state school district or agency, the childs home state remains responsible for the educational services. The facility school district may choose to provide the educational program to the child and, upon choosing to do so, shall contract with the appropriate entity for payment of educational serviced provided to the child. Out-of-state students provided educational services by a facility school district shall not be eligible for funding through the Education Finance Act.

If a child is placed in a RTF by the childs parent or guardian and is not referred, authorized, or placed by the State, the facility school district may choose to provide the educational program to the child, and upon doing so, must negotiate with the resident school district for services through medical homebound procedures. A facility school district is responsible for compliance with all child find requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (IDEA).

All students enrolled in the facility school districts shall have access to the facility school districts general education curriculum, which will be tied to the South Carolina academic standards in the core content areas. All students with disabilities who are eligible for special education and related services under the Individuals with IDEA, as amended, and the State Board of Education (SBE) regulations, as amended, shall receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment by appropriately certified personnel. Students in an RTF will at all times be eligible to receive the educational credits (e.g., Carnegie Units) earned through their educational efforts.

With respect to students enrolled in the facility school districts, for accountability purposes, the assessment and accountability measures for students residing in RTFs shall be attributed to a specific school only if the child physically attends the school. The performance of students residing in a RTF who receive their educational program on site at the RTF must be reflected on a separate line on the facility school districts report card and must not be included in the overall performance ratings of the facility school district. The Department of Education shall examine the feasibility of issuing report cards for RTFs. For the current fiscal year, a facility school district shall not have the districts state accreditation rating negatively impacted by deficiencies related to the delivery of an educational program at a RTF.

RTFs shall notify the facility school district as soon as practical, and before admission to the RTF if practical, of a students admission to the RTF. RTFs, the facility school districts and the Department of Education shall use their best efforts to secure and/or exchange information, including documents and records necessary to provide appropriate educational services and/or related services as necessary to assist the facility school district in determining the resident school district. The Department of Education, in collaboration with state placing agencies, RTFs, facility school districts, and resident school districts, shall implement a system to follow the release of students from a RTF and re-enrollment in public, private, or special schools to ensure these students, when appropriate, are not recorded as dropouts.

1.39. (SDE: Special Schools Flexibility) For the current fiscal year, the special schools are authorized to transfer funds among funding categories, including capital funds.

1.40. (SDE: High School Driver Education) For the current fiscal year, the requirement for high schools to provide a course in driver education is suspended however, high schools may continue to offer driver education courses if they choose to do so.

1.41. (SDE: Carry Forward Authorization) For the current fiscal year, the Department of Education is authorized to carry forward and expend any General Fund balances for school bus transportation.

1.42. (SDE: Administrative Costs Report Posting) School districts must report the amount of funds spent on administrative costs, as defined by In$ight in the prior fiscal year and post the report on the districts website. School districts shall provide an electronic copy of this report to the Department of Education in conjunction with the financial audit report required by Section 59-17-100, of the 1976 Code. If a district fails to meet these requirements, they must be notified in writing by the department that the district has sixty days to comply with the reporting requirement. If the district does not report within sixty days, the department is authorized to reduce the districts State Aid to Classrooms cost by one percent until such time as the requirement is met. Once in compliance, any funds withheld will be returned to the district.

1.43. DELETED

1.44. (SDE: Holocaust Funds) Funds appropriated to the Department of Education for the SC Council on Holocaust shall not be used for any other purpose nor transferred to any other program. In addition, in the event the department is required to implement a budget reduction, SC Council on Holocaust funds may not be reduced.

1.45. (SDE: Student Health and Fitness) Funds appropriated for Student Health and Fitness shall be allocated to school districts to increase the number of physical education teachers to the extent possible and to provide licensed nurses for elementary public schools. Seventeen percent of the funds shall be allocated to the districts based on average daily membership of grades K-5 from the preceding year for physical education teachers. The remaining funds will be made available for school nurses and shall be distributed to the school districts on a per school basis.

1.46. (SDE: Impute Index Value) For the current fiscal year and for the purposes of calculating the index of taxpaying ability the Department of Revenue shall impute an index value for owner-occupied residential property qualifying for the special four percent assessment ratio by adding the second preceding taxable year total school district reimbursements for Tier 1, 2, and Tier 3(A) and not to include the supplement distribution. The Department of Revenue shall not include sales ratio data in its calculation of the index of taxpaying ability. The methodology for the calculations for the remaining classes of property shall remain as required pursuant to the EFA and other applicable provisions of law.

1.47. (SDE: EFA State Share) A school district that does not recognize a State share of State Aid to Classrooms shall be supplemented with an amount equal to seventy percent of the school district with the least State financial requirement.

1.48. (SDE: Health Education) (1) Each school district is required to ensure that all comprehensive health education, reproductive health education, and family life education conducted within the district, whether by school district employees or a private entity, must utilize curriculum that complies with the provisions contained in Chapter 32, Title 59 and aligns to all standards and regulations adopted by the South Carolina State Board of Education. Each district shall publish on its website the title and publisher of all health education materials it has approved, adopted, and used in the classroom. If the department determines that a district is non-compliant with mandated health education upon review of the districts annual CHE Compliance Survey or if the district fails to publish the title and publisher of materials on its website, then the Department of Education shall withhold one percent of the districts funds allocated in Part IA, Section 1, X - Student Health and Fitness Act until the department determines the district is in compliance.

(2) Any person may complain in a signed, notarized writing to the chairman of the governing board of a school district that matter not in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 32, Title 59 is being taught in the district. Upon receiving a notarized complaint, the chairman of the governing board must ensure that the complaint is immediately investigated and, if the complaint is determined to be founded, that immediate action is taken to correct the violation. If corrective action is not taken within 60 days of such a determination, or if no investigation is made within 60 days of the chairmans receipt of the notarized statement, then the complainant may within 60 calendar days, give written notice to the department. The notice must include the original notarized complaint. If, upon investigation, the department determines that the district has not taken appropriate immediate action to correct a violation, then the Department of Education shall withhold one percent of the districts funds allocated in Part IA, Section 1, X - Student Health and Fitness Act until the department determines the district is in compliance.

1.49. (SDE: Bus Lease/Purchase) The Department of Education is permitted to purchase or lease school buses in order to continue replacement of the states school bus fleet.

1.50. (SDE: School Enrollment Policy) For the current fiscal year, any school district with an open enrollment policy for all schools or certain schools which had previously accepted certain students residing outside of the district to an academic magnet school in the district must continue to accept these students and their siblings for enrollment at the academic magnet school under the same terms and conditions these students were previously permitted to attend the school.

1.51. (SDE: District Funding Flexibility) For the current fiscal year, districts must utilize funding flexibility provided herein to ensure that district approved safety precautions are in place at every school.

1.52. (SDE: Transportation Maintenance Facilities) For the current fiscal year, a school district wishing to include school bus maintenance in a contract with a private vendor may enter into an agreement with the Department of Education whereby the department releases the school district to include school bus maintenance in the private vendor contract.

1.53. (SDE: School District Activity Bus Advertisements) School Districts may sell commercial advertising space on the outside or inside of district owned activity buses. However, as defined and determined by the local school board, a school district may not sell such commercial advertising if the advertisement promotes a political candidate, ideology, or cause, a product that could be harmful to children, or a product that appeals to the prurient interest. Revenue generated from the sale of commercial advertising space shall be retained by the school district.

1.54. (SDE: School District Property) The requirements of Section 59-19-250 of the 1976 Code, as amended, which requires the consent of a governing board of a county in order for school trustees to sell or lease school property whenever they deem it expedient to do so are suspended for the current fiscal year.

1.55. (SDE: Full-Day 4K) Beginning with the current fiscal year, eligible students residing in any school district may participate in the South Carolina Early Reading Development and Education program (CERDEP) pending the availability of space and funding. Student eligibility as defined by Section 59-156-130 of the 1976 Code is an annual family income of one hundred eighty-five percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines as promulgated annually by the United States Department of Health and Human Services or a statement of Medicaid eligibility.

A parent or guardian may choose to enroll their child in a public school participating in the program and approved by the Department of Education pursuant to Section 59-156-210 or in a private provider participating in the program and approved by the Office of First Steps pursuant to Section 59-156-200. A private provider includes, but is not limited to, a child care center, a military child care facility regulated by the United States Department of Defense, or a non-profit independent school. State funds appropriated for the provision of CERDEP services in military child care facilities may not be used to supplant existing federal child care funds.

Beginning with the current fiscal year, 4K programs in public schools and non-profit independent schools participating in CERDEP are not required to be approved, registered, or licensed by the Department of Social Services in order to participate in CERDEP. Instead, the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps are responsible for ensuring that providers deliver high-quality educational programs pursuant to Section 59-156-160.

Public and private providers shall be funded for instructional costs at a minimum rate of $4,800 per student enrolled. Eligible students enrolling during the school year or withdrawing during the school year shall be funded on a pro rata basis determined by the length of their enrollment. Private providers transporting eligible children to and from school shall also be eligible for reimbursement at a minimum of $587 per eligible child transported. First Steps and the Department of Education must provide an equitable distribution above the minimum between public and private providers. First Steps and the Department of Education must provide a quarterly report beginning October 1 detailing funding above the minimum made to any provider to the Governor, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. All providers who are reimbursed are required to retain records as required by their fiscal agent. New providers participating for the first time in the current fiscal year and enrolling between one and six eligible children shall be eligible to receive up to $1,000 per child in materials and equipment funding, with providers enrolling seven or more such children eligible for funding not to exceed $10,000. The Department of Education and the Office of First Steps Readiness are authorized to utilize carry forward funds and federal funds to supplement the amount expended for materials and equipment. Providers receiving equipment funding are expected to participate in the program and provide high-quality, center-based programs as defined herein for a minimum of three years. Failure to participate for three years will require the provider to return a portion of the equipment allocation at a level determined by the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps to School Readiness. Funding to providers is contingent upon receipt of data as requested by the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps. The Department of Education shall only provide funding for public school students whose complete records have been entered into PowerSchool based on the one hundred and thirty-five day student average daily membership. For the current fiscal year, providers may enroll pay-lunch children who score at or below the twenty-fifth national percentile on two of the three DIAL-3 subscales by July 1 if at least seventy-five percent of the total number of children eligible or the Child Early Reading Development and Education Program in a district or county are projected to be enrolled in that program, Head Start, or ABC Child Care Program as determined by the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps, Child Early Reading Development and Education Program. Providers may receive reimbursement for these children if funds are available. Funding appropriated for CERDEP may be carried forward and expended for the same purpose.

Annually, the Department of Education is directed to audit the annual allocations to public providers to ensure that allocations are accurate and aligned to the appropriate pro rata per student allocation, materials, and equipment funding. In the event the department, during the audit process determines that the annual allocations of the prior fiscal year are not accurate, the department must adjust the allocations for the current fiscal year to account for the audit findings. The department must provide the results of the annual audit findings to the General Assembly no later than December first. Likewise, in the event the Office of First Steps determines that the annual allocations of the prior fiscal year to private providers are not accurate, the Office of First Steps must adjust the allocations for the current fiscal year to account for the findings.

Of the funds appropriated, $300,000 shall be allocated to the Education Oversight Committee to conduct an annual evaluation of the South Carolina Child Development Education Pilot Program and to issue findings in a report to the General Assembly by March first of each year. To aid in this evaluation, the Education Oversight Committee shall determine the data necessary and both public and private providers are required to submit the necessary data as a condition of continued participation in and funding of the program. This data shall include developmentally appropriate measures of student progress. Additionally, the Department of Education shall issue a unique student identifier for each child receiving services from a private provider. The Department of Education shall be responsible for the collection and maintenance of data on the public state funded full day and half-day four-year-old kindergarten programs. The Office of First Steps to School Readiness shall be responsible for the collection and maintenance of data on the state funded programs provided through private providers. The Education Oversight Committee shall use this data and all other collected and maintained data necessary to conduct a research based review of the programs implementation and assessment of student success in the early elementary grades along with information, recommendations, and a timeline for how the state can increase the number of students served in high-quality programs.

For each school district that chooses not to participate in CERDEP, the district shall receive the same amount of EIA funds as allocated in the prior fiscal year for the provision of a half-day 4K program from the funds appropriated to the Department of Education for CERDEP or from any funds carried forward from the prior fiscal year to CERDEP. For eligible children residing in school districts that do not participate in CERDEP, the Department of Education is required to develop and implement inter-district transfer policies that give parents or guardians the option of their eligible child attending an out-of-district school that participates in CERDEP.

For the current fiscal year, the Office of First Steps may expend: (1) up to $2,000,000 to pilot a program to provide higher reimbursement rates to high-quality child care centers. The reimbursement rate for students enrolled by child care providers rated B or higher in the ABC Quality System operated by the Department of Social Services may be increased by up to 10% of the per-student base following guidelines developed by the Office of First Steps; and (2) up to $100,000 to provide one-time supplemental, needs-based incentive grants in an amount not to exceed $30,000 for newly created and/or newly approved private providers proposing to expand service to ten or more CERDEP eligible children in communities unable to enroll all eligible students in a public, private, or Head Start setting during the prior fiscal year. These grants are designed to address building renovations, documented as necessary to bring proposed classrooms into compliance with licensing regulations, materials and staffing costs, and/or other obstacles currently preventing their participation in the program. The First Steps Board of Trustees shall develop and approve an application process that incorporates formal review and fiscal safeguards designed to ensure grant funds are used solely to address documented barriers to program participation. Providers receiving this one-time supplement shall be expected to participate in the program and provide high-quality, center-based programs as defined herein for a minimum of three years. Failure to participate for three years shall require the provider to return a portion of the supplemental allocation at a level determined by the Office of First Steps to School Readiness. First Steps shall submit a report detailing its process, expenditures and expanded enrollment to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee by March 15; and (3) up to $1,000,000 may be used to provide grants to public-private partnerships to address building renovations and designs necessary to get the building and classrooms into compliance with licensing regulations and other obstacles that prevent participation in CERDEP following guidelines developed by the Office of First Steps. Providers participating in this pilot shall be expected to participate in the program and provide high-quality, center-based programs as defined herein for a minimum of three years. Failure to participate for three years shall require the provider to return a portion of the supplemental allocation at a level determined by the Office of First Steps.

If by August first, the Department of Education or the Office of First Steps determines that appropriations will exceed expenditures, available funds may be used to fund an extended program and to increase the length of the program to a maximum of eight and a half hours per day or two hundred and twenty days per year or to fund summer programs. If a district chooses to fund summer enrollment, the program funding shall conform to the funding in this act for full year programs; however, it shall be reduced on a pro rata basis to conform with the length of the program. A summer program shall be no more than eight and a half hours per day and shall be not more than ten weeks in length. The per pupil allocation and classroom grant must conform with the appropriated amount contained in this act and end of year adjustments shall be based on the one hundred and thirty-five-day student average daily membership or later student average daily membership for districts choosing to extend the program past one hundred and eighty days. Funds may also be used to provide parent engagement, professional development and quality evaluations of programs. No later than April first, the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps shall report to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on the expenditure of these funds to include the following information: the amount of money used and specific steps and measures taken to enhance the quality of the 4K program and the amount of money used for professional development as well as the types of professional development offered and the number of participants. The Office of First Steps is directed to determine if the provision of extended programs in private centers improves the ability of parents to enter the workforce or to pursue postsecondary training or industry credentials.

On or before November 15, the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps shall share data that identifies the total number of children enrolled in CERDEP in both public and private providers. If available appropriations exceed the instructional costs of serving children enrolled in the program and if a waiting list of eligible children can be documented by the Department of Education and by the Office of First Steps, then the Executive Budget Office may authorize the transfer of funds between the Department of Education and the Office of First Steps.

The Office of First Steps and the Department of Education shall collaborate with the South Carolina Head Start State Collaboration Office to inform parents of all publicly funded full-day 4K programs including Head Start.

For Fiscal Year 2022-23, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, children who were eligible to participate in the Child Early Reading Development and Education Program in the prior fiscal year but did not participate, shall be eligible to participate in the program during Fiscal Year 2022-23, subject to classroom availability and funding. Funding appropriated for CERDEP may be carried forward and expended for the same purpose.

1.56. (SDE: Summer Reading Camps) For the current fiscal year, funds appropriated for summer reading camps must be allocated as follows: (1) up to twenty percent to the Department of Education to provide bus transportation for students attending the camps; (2) $700,000 allocated to the department to provide grants to support community partnerships whereby community organizations shall partner with local school districts to provide enrichment activities as part of after school programs or summer reading camps that utilize volunteers, mentors or tutors to provide instructional support to struggling readers in elementary schools that have a poverty index of forty percent or greater. All mentors and tutors that are a part of these after school programs or summer reading camps must have passed a SLED criminal background check. Participant to volunteer or teacher ratio must conform to that of the school district in which the program is located; and (3) the remainder on a per pupil allocation to each school district based on the number of students who substantially failed to demonstrate third-grade reading proficiency as indicated on the prior years state assessment as defined by Section 59-155-120 (10) of the 1976 Code. Summer reading camps must be at least six weeks in duration with a minimum of four days of instruction per week and four hours of instruction per day, or the equivalent minimum hours of instruction in the summer. School transportation shall be provided. The camps must be taught by compensated teachers who have at least an add-on literacy endorsement or who have documented and demonstrated substantial success in helping students comprehend grade-level texts. The Department of Education shall assist districts that cannot find qualified teachers to work in the summer camps. Districts may also choose to contract for the services of qualified instructors or collaborate with one or more districts to provide a summer reading camp. Schools and school districts are encouraged to partner with county or school libraries, institutions of higher learning, community organizations, faith-based institutions, businesses, pediatric and family practice medical personnel, and other groups to provide volunteers, mentors, tutors, space, or other support to assist with the provision of the summer reading camps. In the current school year, any student in third grade who substantially fails to demonstrate third-grade reading proficiency by the end of the school year must be offered the opportunity to attend a summer reading camp at no cost to the parent or guardian. The purpose of the reading camp is to provide students who are significantly below third-grade reading proficiency with the opportunity to receive quality, intensive instructional services and support. A district may also include in the summer reading camps students who are not exhibiting reading proficiency at any grade and may charge fees for these students to attend the summer reading camps based on a sliding scale pursuant to Section 59-19-90, except where a child is found to be reading below grade level in the first, second or third grade. A parent or guardian of a student who does not substantially demonstrate proficiency in comprehending texts appropriate for his grade level must make the final decision regarding the students participation in the summer reading camp.

1.57. (SDE: Interscholastic Athletic Association Dues) (A) A public school district supported by state funds shall not use any funds or permit any school within the district to use any funds to join, affiliate with, pay dues or fees to, or in any way financially support any interscholastic athletic association, body, or entity unless the constitution, rules, or policies of the association, body, or entity contain the following:

(1) a range of sanctions that may be applied to a student, coach, team, or program and that takes into account factors such as the seriousness, frequency, and other relevant factors when there is a violation of the constitution, bylaws, rules, or other governing provisions of the association, body, or entity;

(2)(a) guarantees that private or charter schools are afforded the same rights and privileges that are enjoyed by all other members of the association, body, or entity. A private or charter school may not be expelled from or have its membership unreasonably withheld by the association, body, or entity or restricted in its ability to participate in interscholastic athletics including, but not limited to, state playoffs or championships based solely on its status as a private school or charter school. The association, body, or entity shall set reasonable standards for private or charter school admission. A private or charter school denied membership must be provided, in writing within five business days, the reason or reasons for rejection of its application for membership;

(b) guarantees that a South Carolina home school athletic team that is a member of a home school athletic association may not be denied access to preseason and regular season interscholastic athletics including, but not limited to, jamborees and invitational tournaments, based solely on its status as a home school athletic team; other rules or policies of the association, body, or entity would apply;

(3)(a) an appeals process in which appeals of the association, body, or entity are made to a disinterested third-body appellate panel which consists of seven members who serve four year terms, with one person appointed by the delegation of each congressional district;

(b) a member of the panel serves until his successor is appointed and qualifies. A vacancy on the panel is filled in the manner of the original appointment;

(c) members of the appellate panel do not concurrently serve as officers of the association, body, or entity and may not have served as a member of the executive committee within the last three years. Principals and superintendents are able to appeal a ruling of the association, body, or entity to the panel. The appellate panel also must provide the final ruling in any appeal brought against a decision of the association, body, or entity;

(4) a procedure in place for emergency appeals to be held and decided upon in an expedited manner if the normal appellate process would prohibit the participation of a student, team, program, or school in an athletic event, to include practices; and

(5) provisions, implemented within one year after the effective date of this section, that require the composition of the executive committee of the association, body, or entity be geographically representative of this State.

(B) In the event an association, body, or entity fails to include one of the items listed in this proviso, public school districts and schools must end their affiliation with the association, body, or entity prior to the beginning of the upcoming school year and are prohibited from paying dues or fees to the association, body, or entity.

(C) Eligibility requirements for new students to participate in interscholastic athletics shall be no more restrictive in language or application than the rules or policies of the association, body, or entity that were in effect on January 1, 2020.

1.58. DELETED

1.59. (SDE: Reading/Literacy Coaches) (A) For the current fiscal year, of the funds appropriated for Reading/Literacy Coaches, the Department of Education shall retain up to $14,000,000 to be expended for the Palmetto Literacy Project. The Department shall identify schools in the Palmetto Literacy Project that have one-third or more of its third grade students scoring at the lowest achievement level on the statewide summative English language arts assessment. For each school identified and participating in the Palmetto Literacy Project in the prior school year, the Department of Education shall provide, at a minimum, the following support: provision of reading specialists, professional learning, and curriculum resources based on the science of reading. The reading specialist/coaches provided to the Palmetto Literacy Project schools shall be hired and evaluated annually by the Department of Education.

(B) The balance of funds appropriated to the Department for Reading/Literacy Coaches shall be allocated to school districts for schools not included in the Palmetto Literacy Project to support reading instruction and interventions which may include, but not be limited to, hiring reading/literacy coaches, interventionists, or professional development based on the science of reading. Expenditure of funding must be included in the district reading plan approved by the Department of Education.

(C) These funds must be allocated to school districts by the Department of Education as follows: for each primary and elementary school, the school district shall be eligible to receive up to $62,730 or the actual cost of salary and benefits for a full-time reading/literacy coach.

(D) By accepting these funds, a school district warrants that they will not be used to supplant existing school district expenditures, except for districts that either are currently, or in the prior fiscal year, were paying for reading/literacy coaches with local funds. A district may only utilize these funds to employ reading/literacy coaches that may serve in a primary, elementary, or middle school or a combination of these schools depending on the area of highest need in the district except in the event that the district can request and receive a waiver from the Department of Education to expend the funds on interventionists who spend more than fifty percent of their time providing direct support to struggling readers in grades kindergarten through grade five. The school district must align the placement of coaches to the district reading plan that is approved by the department.

(E) Funds appropriated for reading/literacy Coaches are intended to be used to provide primary, elementary, and/or middle schools with reading/literacy coaches who shall serve according to the provisions in Chapter 155, Title 59.

(F) Schools and districts accepting funding to support a coaching position agree that the reading/literacy coach must not serve as an administrator. If the department finds that school districts are using these funds for administrative costs as defined in statute they must withhold that districts remaining balance of funds allocated pursuant to this proviso.

(G) The Department of Education must publish guidelines that define the minimum qualifications for a reading/literacy coach. These guidelines must deem any licensed/certified teacher qualified if, at a minimum, he or she:

(1) holds a bachelors degree or higher and an add-on endorsement for literacy coach or literacy specialist; or

(2) holds a bachelors degree or higher and is actively pursuing the literacy coach or literacy specialist endorsement; or

(3) holds a masters degree or higher in reading or a closely-related field.

Within these guidelines, the Department of Education must assist districts in identifying a reading/literacy coach in the event that the school is not successful in identifying and directly employing a qualified candidate.

(H) The Department of Education shall require:

(1) any school district receiving funding to identify the name and qualifications of the supported reading/literacy coach; as well as the school in which the coach is assigned; and

(2) any school district receiving funding to account for the specific amounts and uses of such funds.

(I) With the data reported by the school districts, the department shall report by January fifteenth of the current fiscal year on the hiring of and assignment of reading/literacy coaches by school. The department shall also report the amount of funds that will be used for Summer Reading Camps.

(J) Any unspent or unallocated funds may be carried forward and expended for Summer Reading Camps.

1.60. (SDE: Sports Participation) Any school receiving state funds shall be required to allow a military dependent student who has transferred from their resident school district to another school district to participate in a sport that was not offered in the resident school district. Should a school fail to comply with this provision, the Department of Education shall withhold one percent of their total state allocation.

1.61. (SDE: Graduation Rates) For the current fiscal year, if a high school has a graduation rate below sixty percent, using appropriated funds a local school district board of trustees must provide a report detailing a plan to increase the graduation rate in accordance with the provisions of the Education Accountability Act to the State Board of Education.

1.62. (SDE: Proceeds from Sale of Bus Shop & Boat) For the current fiscal year the Department of Education is authorized to retain any funds received from the sale of any bus shop and the sale of the state-owned boat and expend those funds for transportation purposes.

1.63. (SDE: Teacher Certification Exemption) For the current fiscal year, a teacher certified at the secondary level may teach such courses in grades seven through twelve without having the add on certification for middle-level education. A teacher certified in elementary education may teach first grade without having the add on certification in early childhood education. Districts must report to the Department of Education and the Center for Educator Recruitment Retention and Advancement on the teachers and courses that utilize this exemption.

1.64. (SDE: Digital Instructional Materials) The Department of Education shall continue to create an instructional materials list composed of those items (print and/or digital) that have received State Board of Education approval through the normal adoption process. The department shall continue to work with the publishers of instructional materials to ensure that districts have options for print/digital student materials to include class sets of print student editions, if needed. Funds appropriated for the purchase of instructional materials (print/digital) may be used for reimbursing school districts to offset the costs of refurbishing science kits on the state-adopted instructional materials inventory, purchasing new kits or those adopted as supplemental from the central textbook depository, or a combination of refurbishment and purchase. The refurbishing cost of kits may not exceed the cost of the state-adopted refurbishing kits plus a reasonable amount for shipping and handling. Costs for staff development, personnel costs, equipment, or other costs associated with refurbishing kits on state inventory are not allowable costs. Funds provided for Instructional Materials may be carried forward from the prior fiscal year into the current fiscal year to be expended for the same purposes by the department, school districts, and special schools. These funds are not subject to flexibility.

1.65. (SDE: Technology Technical Assistance) Of the funds appropriated in VIII.D - Technology for the K-12 Technology Initiative, the department is authorized to withhold up to $350,000 in order to provide technology technical assistance to school districts.

1.66. (SDE: Technology Technical Assistance) Funds appropriated to the Department of Education for Technology Technical Assistance must be used to increase the capacity of districts, first who are or were the original trial and plaintiff school districts in the Abbeville law suit, and then other districts that need such assistance. Funds shall be used by the department to assist school districts in procuring appropriate technology to include devices and infrastructure and to build capacity to offer online testing and increased access. For the current fiscal year, districts and individual public charter schools may request a waiver from the State Board of Education from the requirement that all assessments be administered online; however, any paper administrations must be completed according to the deadlines set by the department.

1.67. (SDE: Assistance Funding) For the current fiscal year, any funds appropriated to the Department of Education to assist districts that are or were Plaintiffs in the Abbeville law suit and funding appropriated to the department to provide technical assistance to underperforming districts may not be transferred to any other program, are not subject to flexibility, and may be carried forward and expended for the same purposes.

1.68. (SDE: Reporting and Procurement) Any state agency or school for which the department acts as the fiscal agent must comply with any state and federal reporting requirements using agency procedures and shall follow all state procurement laws.

1.69. (SDE: School Leadership) Of the funds appropriated to and retained by the department for Professional Development, $400,000 shall be used to contract with a non-profit statewide K-12 professional association located in South Carolina whose membership provides for the development and support of current and future school leaders. The provider must specialize in multiple assessments, executive coaching, and leadership development that provides the skills necessary for a progressive career path in school leadership.

1.70. (SDE: School Bus Drivers) For the current fiscal year, a driver candidate must possess a valid drivers license that meets the requirements in State and Federal law to operate commercial and non-commercial school bus type vehicles with no restrictions other than vision correction to qualify for issuance. Driver candidates must complete all Department of Education classroom and behind-the-wheel training requirements, including a medical examination and drug/alcohol testing, for initial certification as well as all Department of Education required in-service training annually to qualify for continued certification.

1.71. (SDE: Special Education Minutes Requirement) For the current fiscal year the required two-hundred fifty minutes of specialized instruction a student is required to receive in order to qualify for the special education weighting in the EFA is waived. A special education weighting may be applied for any public school child with an Individualized Education Program in effect, regardless of the number of minutes of instruction.

1.72. (SDE: Retired Educators Employment) For the current fiscal year school districts may notify retired educators of employment in writing on or before May 1. School districts employing retired educators pursuant to Section 9-1-1795 of the 1976 Code shall provide documentation of compliance with the earnings limitation exemptions to the department. The department shall verify the compliance and send the verification to the Public Employee Benefit Authority.

1.73. (SDE: Education Rate Program) For purposes of the federal Educational Rate Program, a child attending a state-funded four-year-old kindergarten program must be considered an elementary school student.

1.74. (SDE: Safe Schools Initiative) (A) For the current fiscal year, the Department of Education and the State Law Enforcement Division shall continue to support, through the state level Threat Assessment Team, school threat assessment teams and training in school districts. Each school in the state shall continue to identify key staff and maintain a threat assessment team. The department shall work with stakeholders to provide professional development to staff serving on the team. The state level Threat Assessment Team shall continue to coordinate, collect and compile Threat Assessment & School Safety Plans from each school district with their input. These plans shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 30-4-10, et seq. of the 1976 Code. The Department of Education and the State Law Enforcement Division shall continue to provide the Governor and the General Assembly with recommendations regarding school safety which shall include any projected costs or necessary statute changes.

1.75. (SDE: Alternative Certification Programs) For the current fiscal year, the department, through the State Board of Education, is authorized to award a conditional teaching certificate to a person who is enrolled in an approved alternative certification program provided the person has earned a bachelors degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a major, or major equivalence, as defined by the State Board of Education in guidelines developed by the department in a certification area for which the board has determined there exists a critical shortage of teachers, and the person has passed the appropriate teaching examination.

1.76. (SDE: Student Meals) For the current fiscal year, all school districts shall identify students in poverty according to the provisions in Proviso 1.3 of this act and increase access to free school meals for these students. School districts shall use the criteria to directly certify pupils eligible for free and reduced-price school meals to the extent permitted under federal law. The local board of trustees of a district in which all schools are eligible to receive the free federal reimbursement rate for all reimbursable school breakfasts and lunches served, pursuant to the Community Eligibility Provision in Section 1759(a) of Title 42 of the United States Code, shall adopt a resolution indicating participation. If a district is unable to participate, the local board of trustees shall adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to participate in CEP and demonstrate the reasons why. The resolution shall be published on a public meeting agenda concurrently with the proposed district budget as an action item and shall be approved by a majority of the board. School districts shall ensure that the parents or guardians of students eligible for free and reduced lunch receive the necessary applications and instructions and upon request are provided with assistance in completing the paperwork. Schools shall not publicly identify a student who is unable to pay for a meal for any reason. Communications from the district regarding any meal debt owed must only be directed to the parent or guardian and may be sent home through the student.

1.77. (SDE: Consolidate Administrative Functions) For the current fiscal, any school district that has an average daily membership of less than 1,500 students, has been designated in Fiscal Watch, Caution or Emergency status, has a risk assessment of medium or high, has a school or is a district with an accreditation status of probation or denied, or has a school or schools that have been in improvement status for three years may be directed by the State Superintendent of Education to consolidate administrative and professional services with one or more school districts. Administrative and professional services may include, but are not limited to: finance, human resources, procurement, administrative functions, transportation and collaboration on increasing instructional offerings. The Superintendent shall notify a district in writing that they meet one or more of the criteria. The district then has thirty business days from receipt of the notification to deliver a plan to the Superintendent for her approval. The Superintendent must either approve or amend the plan within fifteen days. Plans must be implemented within sixty days of approval. If a district fails to submit a plan, the Superintendent shall direct the consolidation of services with another school district and if the district fails to comply, the department shall withhold one percent of the districts EFA allocation until the district does comply. At that time, the EFA payments shall resume and any EFA funds withheld shall be allocated to the district.

1.78. (SDE: Exceptional Needs Sports Participation) A student who meets the definition of Exceptional needs child in Section 12-6-3790 (A)(2) and the definition of Qualifying Student in Section 12-6-3790 (A)(5) of the 1976 Code shall be eligible to participate in any sport offered at the public school for which the child is zoned to attend.

1.79. (SDE: Teacher Salaries/SE Average) The projected Southeastern average teacher salary shall be the average of the average teachers salaries of the southeastern states as projected by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. For the current school year, the Southeastern average teacher salary is projected to be $55,898. The General Assembly remains desirous of raising the average teacher salary in South Carolina through incremental increases over the next few years so as to make such equivalent to the national average teacher salary.

Additionally, for the current fiscal year, a local school district board of trustees must increase the salary compensation for all eligible certified teachers employed by the district by no less than one year of experience credit using at a minimum the district salary schedule utilized the prior fiscal year as the basis for providing the step. Application of this provision must be applied uniformly for all eligible certified teachers. For Fiscal Year 2022-23, the requirement that school districts maintain local salary supplements per teacher no less than their prior fiscal year level is suspended.

For purposes of this provision, teachers shall be defined by the Department of Education using the Professional Certified Staff (PCS) System.

1.80. (SDE: School District Hold Harmless) If there is not an increase in state support for school districts that is disbursed pursuant to Proviso 1.3 in this act, any district that must use reserve funds to pay for teacher pay raises, to include step increases, shall be held harmless from the local school districts reserve fund requirement provisions in the Fiscal Accountability Act for Fiscal Year 2022-23 and upon approval by the Department of Education.

1.81. DELETED

**1.82. (SDE: Reserve Suspension) In the current fiscal year, the provisions of Section 3 of Act 593 of 1992, as amended, relating to the limit on cash reserves are suspended for Dorchester County School District 2. The cash reserve may consist of state or federal funds allocated to the school district pursuant to this act, as well as other funds.

1.83. (SDE: Standards-Based Assessments Suspended) In Fiscal Year 2022-23, the provisions of Section 59-18-325(C)(3) of the 1976 Code requiring science standards-based assessments of students in grade eight and social studies standards-based assessments of students in grades five and seven are suspended. Of the funds available due to the suspension of these assessments, $500,000 must be used by the Department of Education to fund educator professional development regarding the South Carolina Computer Science and Digital Literacy Standards. The remainder of the funds shall be used to pay for industry certification/credentials as approved to measure College/Career Readiness for purposes of the state accountability system.

1.84. DELETED

1.85. (SDE: COVID-19 Emergency Powers) (A) The Superintendent of Education is authorized to provide maximum financial flexibility including, but not limited to, the authority to carry forward any cash balances to local school districts adjusting to operations in response to COVID-19.

(B) The State Superintendent of Education is authorized to carry forward any cash balances maintained by the Department of Education. The superintendent is further authorized to transfer any appropriations within the department to assist local school districts to use summer reading camps and all other available tools to ensure appropriate time is spent by students to keep them on grade level and satisfy their learning needs adjusting operations in response to COVID-19.

(C) On or before August 1, 2022, the State Superintendent of Education shall provide a report to the Senate Finance Committee, the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Education Committee, and the House of Representatives Education and Public Works Committee concerning the emergency powers exercised in this provision.

1.86. (SDE: Formative Assessment Data) For the 2022-2023 school year, districts must ensure all students in first through eighth grades are assessed using a state approved interim assessment tool during the fall, winter, and spring. School districts shall provide all 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 interim and formative assessment data scores by grade and school to the Department of Education. The department is directed to compile the information received and submit a comprehensive report regarding performance on such assessments to the General Assembly by January 31 of the current fiscal year. Any school district failing to provide this data to the department shall have ten percent of their State Aid to Classrooms funding withheld until the data is provided.

1.87. (SDE: School District Employees Data) By October 1, 2021, school districts shall provide a report detailing school, district administration, and Career Centers employees to the Department of Education. The report shall specify job duties and indicate the number of individuals whose primary job is to provide classroom instruction. The department is directed to compile the information received into a comprehensive report and submit such report to the General Assembly.

1.88. DELETED

1.89. (SDE: ESSER Funds) Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Education, the department shall ensure that school districts are made aware of all the permissible uses of ESSER funds that are at their disposal. The department shall provide training and technical support to district personnel throughout the process.

1.90. (SDE: ESSER Monthly Funding Report) The Department of Education is required to submit a monthly report to the Department of Administration, Executive Budget Office documenting the expenditure of federal funds allocated to South Carolina through the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Education Relief Fund and the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools Program. The Executive Budget Office, in collaboration with the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, shall determine how the data will be reported. The data shall document how federal funds are expended at the state and district level in accordance with federal guidelines on allowable expenditures and shall include information on how the funds have been used to offset the learning loss students are facing and mitigations taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Education and the Executive Budget Office shall post the monthly reports on their websites.

1.91. (SDE: Public School Virtual Program Funding) For Fiscal Year 2022-23, school districts shall be permitted to offer a virtual education program for up to five percent of its student population based on the most recent 135 day ADM count without impacting any state funding. The Department of Education shall establish guidelines for the virtual program and parameters students must meet in order to participate in the virtual program. School districts must submit their plans for the virtual program to the State Board of Education for approval.

School districts offering a virtual program must report their ADM counts for students participating in their virtual program and the number of students participating face to face for the 5th, 45th, 90th, and 135th day to the Department of Education.

For every student participating in the virtual program above the five percent threshold, the school district will not receive 47.22% of the State per pupil funding provided to that district as reported in the latest Revenue and Fiscal Affairs revenue per pupil report pursuant to Proviso 1.3. This amount shall be withheld from State Aid to Classrooms district allocation.

The five percent threshold shall not apply to students whose IEP or 504 status requires their participation in a program administered in a virtual format.

1.92. (SDE: Capital Funding for Disadvantaged Schools) The funds appropriated for Capital Funding for Disadvantaged Schools shall be prioritized by the Department of Education pursuant to subsections (A) and (B).

(A) Up to $25,000,000 of the funds shall be made available first to a local school district or districts that is consolidating with another school district. The funds may be used to support costs directly related to the consolidation which shall include, but are not limited to, salary adjustments, facilities, debt mitigation, millage rate adjustments, transportation, technology and other factors for which the district or districts demonstrates are necessary to complete consolidation. On or before August 1, the eligible districts must submit a preliminary plan and timeline for pursuing consolidation, including the use of the consolidation funds requested, to the Department of Education for review and approval. When the department has approved the final plan, the districts shall forward the plan to the local legislative delegation outlining the specific request that local legislation be enacted to effect the consolidation. The legislation may include, but is not limited to, composition of the consolidated board, transition procedures, and disposition and/or assumption of district assets and liabilities. Upon approval of a consolidation plan, the department shall make an initial allocation to the impacted districts and shall allocate remaining funds upon enactment of legislation formally consolidating the districts for the benefit of the consolidated district.

(B) The remaining funds shall be set aside by the department to create a source of state funding for local school district infrastructure based on need. Additional funds may be appropriated by the General Assembly with either recurring or non-recurring funds from the General Fund, EIA or lottery. Federal funds authorized by a federal agency or authorized by the General Assembly may also be included in this fund. The fund may also accept gifts from private sources.

The department shall submit recommendations to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to establish guidelines for the program consisting of award criteria, conditions for the awards and any match requirements by December 31. Criteria shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of a districts index of taxpaying ability, consideration of a districts or countys per capita income and the age and condition of the districts existing academic buildings as well as the ability to commence construction in a timely matter and the quality of the application.

For purposes of this provision, school infrastructure shall not include unimproved real property, centralized district administration facilities, or other facilities, including those normally identified with interscholastic sports activities.

(C) The Department of Education must submit to the General Assembly by June 30 of each year a report documenting, at a minimum, the number of applications received and approved, information on the types of infrastructure supported by these funds, and the projected and final costs of each project.

Unexpended funds may be carried forward from the prior fiscal year into the current fiscal year to be expended for the same purposes by the department and school districts.

1.93. (SDE: Partisanship Curriculum) For the current fiscal year, of the funds allocated by the Department of Education to school districts, no monies shall be used by any school district or school to provide instruction in, to teach, instruct, or train any administrator, teacher, staff member, or employee to adopt or believe, or to approve for use, make use of, or carry out standards, curricula, lesson plans, textbooks, instructional materials, or instructional practices that serve to inculcate any of the following concepts: (1) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex; (2) an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; (3) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his race or sex; (4) an individuals moral standing or worth is necessarily determined by his race or sex; (5) an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex; (6) an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex; (7) meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race; and (8) fault, blame, or bias should be assigned to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting any professional development training for teachers related to issues of addressing unconscious bias within the context of teaching certain literary or historical concepts or issues related to the impacts of historical or past discriminatory policies.

1.94. (SDE: Retired Teacher Salary Negotiation) With funds appropriated for State Aid to Classrooms, when hiring retired teachers for the 2022-23 school year, school districts uniformly may negotiate salaries below the school district salary schedule.

1.95. (SDE: Mask Mandate Prohibition) No school district, or any of its schools, may use any funds appropriated or authorized pursuant to this act to require that its students and/or employees wear a facemask at any of its education facilities. This prohibition extends to the announcement or enforcement of any such policy.

1.96. DELETED

1.97. (SDE: Magnet School Athletics) From funds authorized or appropriated, a public magnet school that shares a physical campus with another public magnet school must allow any student enrolled at a school on that physical campus to participate in an athletic sport not offered at the school in which the student is enrolled, provided the student meets all age and academic requirements for participation. For the purposes of athletic competition classification, schools with students participating pursuant to this provision must not have their school enrollments joined or modified due to compliance with this provision, nor shall any school be subjected to a change in athletic competition classification as a result of compliance. All public schools and all public school districts receiving funds authorized or appropriated are prohibited from expending any funds to pay membership dues or other funds to any organization that prevents a student from playing sub-varsity or varsity athletics or changes or alters a schools athletic competition classification or competition status as a result of any school or school districts compliance with this provision. This provision shall not limit the ability of any magnet school student, provided the student meets all age and eligibility requirements, to otherwise elect to participate in sub-varsity or varsity athletics at the students zoned or resident school.

1.98. DELETED

*1.99. (SDE: Noncertified Teacher Hiring) For the 2022-23 school year, a school district may hire noncertified teachers in critical needs geographic areas and subject areas if a certified teacher is not available. All noncertified teachers must possess baccalaureate degrees or graduate degrees from a regionally accredited college or university in the subject they are hired to teach. Districts must require that all noncertified teachers must undergo a background check pursuant to Sections 59-19-117 and 59-25-115. For purposes of this provision, noncertified teacher does not include applicants who meet eligibility requirements for the Career and Technology work-based certification in the respective fields. On a form prescribed by the department, districts must provide the Department of Education with the name of the noncertified teacher, school where the teacher is employed, and subject area in which the teacher was hired to teach. A district that terminates a registered noncertified teacher from employment shall notify the department of the termination and the reason for termination within ten days after the termination. An educator whose South Carolina educator certificate has been suspended or revoked, other than for Breach of Contract, shall not be employed as a noncertified teacher. If a noncertified teacher commits an offense covered by the Code of Conduct as promulgated by the State Board of Education, then the State Board of Education is authorized to revoke the educators registration.

1.100. DELETED

1.101. (SDE: Graduation Requirements) Of the funds appropriated or authorized herein, and pursuant to Section 59-39-100 of the 1976 Code, the Department of Education, through the State Board of Education, is directed to promulgate regulations to update the current graduation requirements to include within the existing credits a required half credit in personal finance. The regulation shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for first reading by September 30th.

1.102. (SDE: Charter School Management Organizations) A person paid or employed by an Education Management Organization (EMO) or a Charter Management Organization (CMO) shall not be allowed to serve on the board of any charter school sponsored by a public school district, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, or a public or independent institution of higher learning if the EMO or CMO is contracted to provide any services to the charter school. Any school violating this provision shall have fifty percent of all appropriated state funds withheld until the school becomes compliant with this provision. A person paid or employed by an Education Management Organization (EMO) or a Charter Management Organization (CMO) shall not be allowed to serve on the board of any authorizers board of a public school district, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, or a public or independent institution of higher learning. Any authorizing board violating this provision shall have fifty percent of all appropriated state funds retained for operations withheld until the authorizer and its board becomes compliant with this provision.

1.103. DELETED

1.104. DELETED

1.105. (SDE: READY Program) Funds for the Resources for Early Acceleration and Development in Youth (READY) program must be awarded by the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees to First Steps local partnerships through a competitive and targeted grants process. Grant awards must prioritize evidenced-based programs for children from birth through age three who live in rural communities and in communities where kindergarten readiness scores are consistently below the state average. Of the funds appropriated, no more than ten percent may be distributed to any one county, and no more than three percent may be retained by the Office of First Steps for administering, monitoring, and evaluating the program. An annual report on the states investment in early learning and development must be provided by the Office of First Steps to the General Assembly and the Governor by June 30, 2023.

1.106. (SDE: Education Data Dashboard) The Education Oversight Committee is directed to pilot an Education Data Dashboard. The data dashboard must interface with existing systems to provide school districts, schools, policymakers, families, and the public with meaningful information on school district, school, and system progress. The Education Data Dashboard would use existing data to document educational attainment and growth as well as financial expenditures of state, local, and federal funds. The Department of Education and public school districts shall provide accountability and financial data as requested by the committee for the establishment of the dashboard.

1.107. (SDE: Dyslexia Screener) Of the funds appropriated to the Dyslexia Screener, $1,500,000 shall be used by the State Department of Education to establish the Learning Ally - USC Literacy Screener Pilot Project.

**1.108. (SDE: Teaching Transformation Pilot Program) On or before July 31st of the current fiscal year, $1,000,000 shall be allocated to the University of South Carolinas College of Education for the design and implementation of a pilot program to reinvent and transform the states teaching profession. The goals of the pilot program are to:

(1) diversify the PK-12th grade educator workforce;

(2) address teacher shortages through innovations in educator development; and

(3) accelerate student learning and systems of whole child education.

The pilot program shall support at least three diverse school districts which shall include a minimum of one, with a maximum of two, large urban districts and a minimum of two, with a maximum of four, rural districts in order to:

(1) incentivize the recruitment and preparation of high quality educators including a focus on diversifying the teaching workforce for high-need students and stipends for student teachers/residents;

(2) support the development of a coherent and financially sustainable system, based on current school funding models, of teacher leadership that improves learning environments and educator retention and effectiveness; and

(3) produce several models of the school-university-community partnerships in South Carolina, testing evidence-based elements of a coherent system of teacher development including, but not limited to:

(a) prototyping a paid teacher residency for South Carolina, modeled from the medical profession, to develop well-prepared new recruits to teaching and new school designs to support teacher learning and leadership for whole child education;

(b) applying state of the art technology and tools that save time, not only to help teachers problem-solve instructional challenges, but also to teach students across schools and districts;

(c) reinventing the school day and/or school year calendar as teachers work on different contracts to create expanded and more personalized student learning as well as more opportunities for educators to lead;

(d) reducing teaching loads for some of the states top teachers, including over six thousand who are National Board certified, so they can lead without leaving the classrooms; and

(e) rethinking the teacher salary schedule to:

(i) include opportunities for additional pay for increased responsibility, leadership roles, and expanded impact; and

(ii) prototype a menu of financial and nonfinancial incentives for effective educators to work in priority schools, subjects, and grade levels.

State funding will support both an external evaluation of the pilot program as well as South Carolina districts participating in a national learning community of other school-university partnerships seeking to transform the educator workforce.

The pilot program to transform the teaching profession will be in partnership with selected South Carolina Historically Black Colleges and Universities which will be critical to recruiting and developing teachers of color. In addition, the pilot program will be designed and developed in collaboration with national partners, Education Resource Strategies and Bank Street College, bringing respective expertise in resource reallocations for innovative school staffing in public education and recruiting and preparing diverse teachers through teaching residences. The pilot program will be anchored in data collection underway by SC-TEACHER, with a grant funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as in effective educator practices from across the globe.

The pilot program shall compliment and/or enhance the states effective innovations in educator recruitment, induction, evaluation, and professional learning, and draw upon research evidence to create a transformative system of educator development including new ways to compensate teachers and principals that impact student learning and more efficient use of human capital across the State. Current teacher shortages cannot be addressed without transforming the teaching job and the profession itself.

1.109. (SDE: Base Student Cost/EFA) For Fiscal Year 2022-23, references to Base Student Cost and EFA for reimbursement purposes for other entities shall have the same meaning as in the previous fiscal year.

For Fiscal Year 2022-23, references to Base Student Cost and EFA for withholding purposes shall mean a withholding of State Aid to Classroom.

From funds appropriated to the Department of Education, the department will make recommendations in their annual budget request for any changes to Base Student Cost or EFA references in the annual appropriations act.

1.110. (SDE: Educational Services for Children with Disabilities Report) In order to determine whether educational services provided to students with disabilities are delivered effectively and efficiently and whether services or funding should be reformed, the Department of Education shall provide a report to the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children and to the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office on targets identified from the Annual Performance Report on the most recent State Performance Plan submitted as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004, Section 616 and Section 619 to include all Indicators 1-16 (Indicator 1-Graduation; Indicator 2-Drop-out; Indicator 3-Achievement; Indicator 4-Significant Discrepancy (Suspension); Indicator 5-School-aged Least Restrictive Environment; Indicator 6-Preschool Least Restrictive Environment; Indicator 7-Preschool Outcomes; Indicator 8-Parent Involvement; Indicator 9-Disproportionate Representation (All Special Education); Indicator 10-Disproportionate Representation (Selected Categories); Indicator 11-60-Day Evaluation Timeline; Indicator 12-Part C to B Transition; Indicator 13-Transition Components; Indicator 14-Post-Secondary Outcomes; Indicator 15-Mediations; and Indicator 16-Due Process Complaints) and Tables 1-5 (Table 1-Child Count; Table 2-Personnel; Table 3-Placement; Table 4-Exiting; and Table 5-Discipline) required under these sections that have not been met by a school district.

The department shall submit the required reports to the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children committee on or before August 1, 2022. The Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children is directed to report its finding and a work plan to assess and develop recommendations concerning service delivery to students with disabilities to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education by November 1, 2022.

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1.113. (SDE: Surplus Property) A school district must transfer, or offer for sale or lease, any surplus real property or property which has been vacant, unused, or unused for direct student instruction for the previous four school years and is not currently included in any district capital improvement plan for future use on or before July 1, 2022. All school districts must publish on their website by September 15, 2022, a list of properties that qualify under this provision.

A school district shall comply with the requirements of this provision by transferring such property to another governmental subdivision or state agency that has provided written confirmation of an intent to accept the property for public use by December 31, 2022. Any governmental subdivision or state agency providing such written confirmation must comply with all requirements related to the acquisition of real property or surplus property, and/or requirements related to the establishment of permanent improvement projects prior to accepting property transferred pursuant to this provision.

If no governmental subdivision or state agency confirms an intent to accept the property, the district shall offer the property for sale or lease at fair market value as determined by a neutral appraiser and in compliance with existing law providing for sale or lease of such property by a school district. If a school district fails to comply with this provision, the Department of Education must withhold five percent of all state payments to the district until the district complies.

1.114. (SDE: Teacher Recruitment and Retention) (A) The Department of Education shall convene a task force to examine and propose necessary revisions for improving teacher recruitment, retention, and advancement.

(B) The task force shall be comprised of the following individuals who each should have background and expertise in education:

(1) one member appointed by the Governor; who shall serve as Chair of the task force;

(2) the State Superintendent of Education or his designee,

(3) one member of the South Carolina House of Representatives appointed by the Chair of the House of Representatives Education and Public Works Committee;

(4) one member of the South Carolina Senate appointed by the Chair of the Senate Education Committee;

(5) one member appointed by the Chair of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee;

(6) one member appointed by the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee;

(7) one member appointed by the Chair of the Board of the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office;

(8) one member appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators;

(9) one member appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the South Carolina School Boards Association;

(10) two members appointed by the Commission of Higher Education. Both appointments shall be employed as a Dean or Interim Dean of a College of Education at an institution of higher learning. One appointee shall be from a public institution, and one shall be from a private institution;

(11) the current South Carolina State Teacher of the Year;

(12) three current classroom teachers, with at least one representative from each of the groups listed below, with direct instructional responsibilities, and at least one of which is employed at a Title I school, to be appointed by the Superintendent of Education upon the recommendation of the:

(a) Palmetto State Teachers Association;

(b) South Carolina Education Association; and

(c) South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators;

(13) a current participant in the Teaching Fellows program appointed by the Center for Educator Recruitment and Retention; and

(14) a representative from SC TEACHER appointed by the Dean of the College of Education of the University of South Carolina.

(C) Members of the task force shall receive no compensation but may receive per diem and mileage from the South Carolina Department of Education as provided for boards and commissions.

(D) In examining necessary revisions and improvements to the education profession, the task force must consider factors including:

(1) public input gathered through meaningful consultation with teachers, principals, district officials, education preparation programs including both alternative and traditional higher education providers, and members of the public, including conducting hearings to gather public input;

(2) research on how teacher salary structures can:

(a) improve teacher recruitment and retention;

(b) incentivize methods used within the teaching profession which have an evidence-based impact on student achievement; and

(c) address staffing shortages in critical needs geographic and content areas;

(3) assistance from the Southern Region Education Board, Education Commission of the States, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Center on Education and the Economy regarding educator recruitment, retention, and advancement from high performing jurisdictions; and

(4) information provided from the Working Conditions Survey administered by SC TEACHER.

(E) The task force must submit recommendations for potential reforms to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate by no later than May 31, 2023. Recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, the following areas:

(1) increasing recruitment to the teaching profession;

(2) improving teacher preparation;

(3) transforming compensation for teachers;

(4) enhancing the effectiveness of teacher evaluation;

(5) improving working conditions for all teachers; and

(6) identifying best practices from other jurisdictions and designing them for South Carolina.

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1.116. (SDE: Competency-Based Education) (A) In the current fiscal year, districts seeking to implement competency-based education may submit a waiver application to the State Board of Education in a format developed by the State Department of Education. For purposes of this proviso, competency-based education refers to a comprehensive learning approach for a student to master competencies and related standards along a personalized, self-paced, and flexible pathway. As part of the waiver application, districts may include in-person instruction, virtual instruction, self-guided learning, and experiential learning through approved off-campus educational opportunities in calculating instructional hours and may offer the required instructional days at any time during the school year, consistent with the law.

(B) Of the funds appropriated to the Department, the State Department of Education shall create evaluation criteria and guidelines for schools that are operating under a waiver pursuant to this proviso. A participating school shall submit required data for a biennial cyclical review on a form developed by the department. A report summarizing the reviews including the waivers requested and how they hindered implementation must be distributed to the Governor and members of the General Assembly no later than June 30, 2023.

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