reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-15. Virtual education program; eligibility; grades; exams; computer equipment and internet access.

(A) The State Board of Education is authorized to establish a virtual education program to provide South Carolina students access to distance, online, or virtual learning courses offered for an initial unit of credit. Additionally, the virtual education program shall offer access to credit recovery programs for students who have been identified by a school district as not having received credit for a course previously taken or for students who have been identified by a school district as not likely to receive credit for a course in which the student is currently enrolled. Students may enroll in courses for credit recovery based on policies established by the State Board of Education. The virtual education program shall not award a South Carolina High School diploma.
(B) A public, private, or homeschool student residing in South Carolina who is twenty-one years of age or younger must be eligible to enroll in the virtual education program. A private school or home school student enrolled in the virtual education program must not be entitled to any rights, privileges, courses, activities, or services available to a public school student other than receiving an appropriate unit of credit for a completed course.
(C) Local school districts shall accurately transcribe a student's final numeric grade to the student's permanent record and transcript. Home school students and private school students shall receive a certified grade report indicating date, course, and final numeric grade from the virtual education program or an entity approved by the State Board of Education.
(D) Students enrolled in an online course for a unit of credit must be administered final exams and appropriate state assessments in a proctored environment.
(E) It is not the responsibility of the school, district, or state to provide home computer equipment and Internet access for enrollment in courses provided by the virtual education program. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit a school or district from providing home computer equipment or Internet access to students enrolled in the virtual education program.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007; 2013 Act No. 84, Section 1, eff June 13, 2013.
Effect of Amendment
The 2013 amendment substituted "virtual education program" for "South Carolina Virtual School Program" throughout, in subsection (B) substituted "must be eligible" for "shall be eligible", deleted former subsection (C) relating to online initial credits, and redesignated the subsections accordingly.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-20. Housing and management of program; standards for courses; instructor certification and training.

(A) The South Carolina Virtual School Program shall be housed in and managed by the State Department of Education. The department may contract for distance learning courses, develop courses, or approve courses submitted by entities.
(B) Each course offered for a unit of credit shall be reviewed for correlation with the state adopted academic standards prior to being offered.
(C) All distance, online, or virtual learning courses offered for a unit of credit must be aligned with the state adopted academic standards, include appropriate course materials, and be approved by the State Department of Education.
(D) Instructors must hold a valid teaching certificate in each content area being taught or receive approval from the State Department of Education to teach the course.
(E) All virtual schoolteachers must receive appropriate preservice and in-service training pertaining to the organization, classroom management, technical aspects, monitoring of student assessment, and other pertinent training from the State Department of Education.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-30. Definitions

As used in this chapter:
(1) "Distance learning" means the acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction, encompassing all technologies and other forms of learning at a distance. Distance learning includes online and virtual courses.
(2) "Online learning" means learning delivered by web-based or internet-based technologies.
(3) "Proctored" means directly monitored by an adult authorized by the South Carolina Virtual School Program.
(4) "Virtual classroom" means the online learning space where students and instructors interact.
(5) "School year" means the one hundred eighty days of student instruction required pursuant to Section 59-1-420 and student instruction received as part of a summer school program.
(6) "Credit recovery" means self-paced, semester-long courses that target learning in areas of greatest weakness, allowing nontraditional or at-risk students to rapidly complete courses, recover credits, and progress to graduation.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-40. Guidelines and regulations.

The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines and promulgate regulations to include, but may not be limited to, the following:
(1) procedures and criteria to be used for the selection of online courses to be offered for a unit of credit;
(2) qualifications and registration requirements of students who may enroll in online courses to include provisions outlining the enrollment of students that have been expelled from school;
(3) procedures for private and homeschool students to enroll in courses offered;
(4) teacher qualifications and the student-to-teacher ratio for online courses;
(5) appropriateness and provisions for charging tuition and fees;
(6) procedures for establishing uniform evaluation of student progress and awarding of the final grade;
(7) process for maintaining student records and reporting and recording grades on the student's transcript;
(8) procedures and requirements for employment, supervision, and evaluation of teachers;
(9) procedures and requirements for supervision, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation of enrolled students; and
(10) student expectations.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-50. Adult education program pilot; recommendations to General Assembly.

Through the use of an online pilot program, the State Department of Education shall examine the feasibility of providing services of the South Carolina Virtual School Program to students enrolled in adult education programs and shall make recommendations to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2008.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-60. Annual report.

Annually, the State Board of Education shall provide the General Assembly a report that shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) list of courses offered through the virtual school;
(2) number of local school districts and number of the district students participating in the virtual school;
(3) private schools and number of the private school students participating in the virtual school;
(4) number of homeschool students participating in the virtual school;
(5) success rates for students by courses enrolled in the virtual school;
(6) number of students who dropped a course and reasons for dropping;
(7) expenditures made for the virtual school; and
(8) number of students unable to enroll because of space limitation.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 16 - South Carolina Virtual School Program › Section 59-16-70. Review of student records by Education Oversight Committee.

At the end of each semester, the State Department of Education shall provide student records, including course grades and performance on state assessments, to the Education Oversight Committee. The Education Oversight Committee shall monitor the impact of credits earned in the virtual school, on the school and district ratings, with particular attention to performance on end-of-course examinations and graduation rates.
HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 26, Section 1, eff May 15, 2007.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-10. School districts as bodies politic and corporate.

Every school district is and shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of __________ (a descriptive name may be designated by the county board of education or legislative act) School District No __________ (such number may be designated by the county board of education or legislative act), of __________ County (the name of the county in which the district is situated), the State of South Carolina. In that name it may sue and be sued and be capable of contracting and being contracted with to the extent of its school fund and holding such real and personal estate as it may have or come into possession of, by will or otherwise, or as is authorized by law to be purchased, all of which shall be used exclusively for school purposes.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-111; 1952 Code Section 21-111; 1942 Code Section 5319; 1938 (40) 429; 1950 (46) 2504.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-20. Alteration or division of school districts.

Unless otherwise expressly provided, the school districts of the various counties shall not be altered or divided except:
(1) By act of the General Assembly relating to one or more counties; or
(2) By authorization of the county boards of education under the following conditions:
(a) With the written approval of the Senator and the entire house legislative delegation from the county involved;
(b) Upon a written petition, signed by at least four fifths of the qualified electors embraced within the limits of each of the school districts involved, which shall state plainly to the county board of education the action petitioned and shall also bear the signed certificate of the members of the county board of registration that the number of electors who signed the petition represent at least four fifths of the qualified electors embraced within the limits of each of the school districts involved; or
(c) Upon the written petition, signed by at least one third of the qualified electors embraced within the limits of each of the school districts involved, which shall state primarily the action petitioned and shall bear the signed certificate of the members of the county board of registration that the number of the electors who signed the petition represent at least one third of the qualified electors embraced within the limits of each of the school districts involved; if such consolidation be approved favorably by a majority of the qualified electors of each of the school districts involved at an election called by the county board of education for the purpose.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-112; 1952 Code Section 21-112; 1942 Code Section 5319; 1938 (40) 429; 1950 (46) 2504; 1951 (47) 546.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-30. Effect of alteration or division of school districts on bonds or payment for buildings of existing districts.

When any school district laid out under Section 59-17-20 shall embrace cities or towns already organized into special school districts in which graded school buildings have been erected by the issue of bonds, by special taxation or by donation, all the territory included in such school district shall bear its just proportion of any tax that may be levied to liquidate such bonds or support the public schools therein.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-113; 1952 Code Section 21-113; 1942 Code Section 5319; 1938 (40) 429; 1950 (46) 2504.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-40. Alteration or division of school districts; consolidated district for entire county and district formed from two or more counties.

All of the school districts of any county may be consolidated into a single school district embracing the entire county in the manner provided by Section 59-17-20 for the alteration or division of school districts, and, whenever territory embraced in two or more counties is proposed to be formed into one school district, such district may be formed by the joint action of the boards of education of the respective counties as provided in Section 59-17-20 for the formation of school districts in a county.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-114; 1952 Code Section 21-114; 1942 Code Section 5319; 1938 (40) 429; 1950 (46) 2504.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-50. Consolidation of schools and school districts by county board of education.

A county board of education may consolidate schools and school districts, in whole or in part, whenever, in its judgment, such consolidation will promote the best interests of the cause of education in the county.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-114.1; 1952 Code Section 21-114.1; 1951 (47) 546.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-60. Filing order of consolidation.

When two or more districts are consolidated under the provisions of Section 59-17-50, the county board of education shall file a copy of the order of consolidation in the office of the clerk of court and with the State Board of Education. Such filing shall complete the consolidation of such districts for all intents and purposes.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-114.2; 1952 Code Section 21-114.2; 1951 (47) 546.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-70. Effect of consolidation.

Upon consolidation of any two or more school districts, all property, real and personal, and all assets of the districts forming the consolidated school district shall become the property of the consolidated district and all liabilities of the consolidating districts shall become the obligations of such consolidated district. Each such consolidated district shall be a body politic and corporate and its board of trustees shall have such powers as are provided by law.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-114.3; 1952 Code Section 21-114.3; 1951 (47) 546.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-80. Dissolution of school districts in adjoining counties.

Any school district formed of parts of two or more counties under the provisions of Section 59-17-40 may be dissolved in the same manner as that by which it may have been formed, as provided in said section.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 21-116; 1952 Code Section 21-116; 1942 Code Section 5320; 1932 Code Section 5353; Civ. C. '22 Section 2600; Civ. C. '12 Section 1739; 1910 (26) 694.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-100. School districts to provide Department of Education with copies of audit reports.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each school district of the State shall provide the State Department of Education each year with two copies of its audit report by December first following the close of the fiscal year.
HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 450; 1997 Act No. 108, Section 1.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-110. Duty of school districts to defend actions or proceedings against their employees.

In the event that any employee of any school district in South Carolina is prosecuted in any action, civil or criminal, or special proceeding in the courts of this State, or of the United States, by reason of any act done or omitted in good faith in the course of his employment, it is made the duty of the school district, when requested in writing by any such public school employee, to appear and defend the action or proceeding in his behalf.
HISTORY: 1984 Act No. 512, Part II, Section 48.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-120. Reissue of school bonds subject to debt service budget and debt limit.

Bonds issued by a school district under the bonded indebtedness limitation of Article X, Section 15(7)(a) of the South Carolina Constitution and called before the maturity date only may be reissued if the amount required to service the reissuance and to pay off the called bonds does not:
(1) increase by more than eight percent in any one year the amount of the district's budget needed to service the original bonded indebtedness; or
(2) exceed the debt limit of the district.
HISTORY: 1995 Act No. 55, Section 2.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-130. American Sign Language course; development of teacher qualifications and academic standards; satisfaction of foreign language credit requirement.

(A) The board of trustees of a school district may grant credit as a world language to a pupil who satisfactorily has completed a high school course in American Sign Language. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, American Sign Language awarded as a world language credit may be used to satisfy the foreign language credit requirement specified in Section 59-39-100.
(B) The State Department of Education shall determine the required qualifications for teachers of American Sign Language and shall develop academic standards to be approved by the State Board of Education.
(C) Nothing in this section may be construed to require South Carolina four-year colleges or universities to accept courses in American Sign Language to meet the foreign language admissions requirements set by the institution.
HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 344, Section 1; 2006 Act No. 326, Section 1, eff June 1, 2006.
Effect of Amendment
The 2006 amendment rewrote this section.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-140. Religion and public schools training for teachers and administrators.

(A) Effective July 1, 2001, each school district during annual in-service training shall provide a program of instruction for teachers and administrators in the essentials of constitutional protections and prohibitions as they relate to religion and public school operations. Subjects shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) student prayers;
(2) graduation prayers and baccalaureates;
(3) participation in or encouragement of religious activity by school officials;
(4) religion in school curriculum;
(5) religious content in student assignments;
(6) distribution and use of religious literature;
(7) student participation in religious events before and after school;
(8) religious persuasion versus religious harassment;
(9) religious holidays;
(10) permitted absences from objectionable lessons in religion;
(11) released time for religious instruction;
(12) teaching values;
(13) religious attire;
(14) Federal Equal Access Act;
(15) Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act;
(16) South Carolina Religious Freedom Act;
(17) other statutory and constitutional provisions regarding the establishment of religion and free exercise thereof, as they relate to a public school context;
(18) instruction on how to access legal advice concerning the establishment of religion and free exercise thereof in a public school context; and
(19) instruction on how to access the State Department of Education's guidelines on religion and the public schools on the department's website.
(B) Once a teacher or administrator has completed the program of instruction contained in this section, it is not necessary that they participate in the same program of instruction on an annual basis. However, such teachers and administrators who have completed the program of instruction shall annually participate in instruction regarding updates and new developments in the subject matter contained in this section.
HISTORY: 2001 Act No. 4, Section 7C.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-150. Promotion of walking or bicycling to school safety.

(A) Municipal and county governing bodies shall work with school districts located in their jurisdictions to identify barriers and hazards to children walking or bicycling to and from school. The municipalities, counties, and districts may develop a plan for the funding of improvements designed to reduce the barriers and hazards identified. The sources of these funds may include federal funding or grants, state funding, or funding from private sources. Nothing in this section shall obligate any agency of federal, state, or local government to provide funding for identified improvements.
(B) Each school district in this State may establish a Safe Routes to School District Coordinating Committee. The coordinating committee shall include parents, children, teachers, administrators, local law enforcement officials, public health officials, interested citizens, and other persons familiar with the transportation needs of the school district. Duties of the coordinating committee may include gathering information about the schools in the district through surveys and traffic counts; organizing incentive-based events and contests to encourage students to try new modes of transportation; and promoting the program through school newsletters, assemblies, web sites, and other means to reach parents and students.
Any school within the district may establish a Safe Routes to School Team. The team shall include parents, children, teachers, administrators, and neighbors of the school. The team may be expanded to include local law enforcement officials, public health officials, and other persons familiar with the transportation needs of the school. The team shall select a representative to serve on the District Coordinating Committee. Duties of the team may include gathering information about their school through surveys and traffic counts; organizing incentive-based events and contests to encourage students to try new modes of transportation; and promoting the program through school newsletters and other means to reach parents and students.
(C) The first Wednesday of October of each year is designated as "Walk or Bicycle with Your Child to School Day" in each school district of this State to promote walking or riding bicycles to school by students, with escorts if necessary, and to identify needed improvements such as sidewalks or safer pedestrian routes not open to vehicular traffic.
HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 307, Section 2, eff September 8, 2004.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-155. Automated external defibrillator program; immunity from civil liability; state contract for purchase of defibrillators.

(A) Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, each school district shall develop and implement an automated external defibrillator program meeting the requirements of Chapter 76 of Title 44 of the 1976 Code for each high school in the district. The program must include provisions that:
(1) require an operational automatic external defibrillator on the grounds of the high school;
(2) require all persons who are reasonably expected to use the device to obtain appropriate training, including completion of a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or a basic first aid course that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and demonstrated proficiency in the use of an automated external defibrillator. The school district superintendent, or the superintendent's designee, shall determine who is reasonably expected to use the device;
(3) establish guidelines for periodic inspections and maintenance of the defibrillators; and
(4) define the purpose of the program and the manner in which the program will operate.
(B)(1) Any person or entity acting in good faith and gratuitously shall be immune from civil liability for the use of an automated external defibrillator unless the person was grossly negligent in the use.
(2) Any designated automated external defibrillator user meeting the requirements of Section 44-76-30(1) and acting according to the required training shall be immune from civil liability for the application of an automated external defibrillator unless the application was grossly negligent.
(3) A person or entity acquiring an automated external defibrillator and meeting the requirements of Section 44-76-30 or an automated external defibrillator liaison meeting the requirements of Section 44-76-30 shall be immune from civil liability for the use of an automated external defibrillator by any person or entity described in items (1) or (2) of this subsection.
(4) A prescribing physician shall be immune from civil liability for authorizing the purchase of an automated external defibrillator, unless the authorization was grossly negligent.
(C) Any person or entity, acting in good faith and gratuitously, that teaches or provides a training program for cardiopulmonary resuscitation that includes training in the use of automated external defibrillator is immune from civil liability for providing this training for use if the:
(1) person or entity has provided the training in accordance with the guidelines and policies of a national training organization, as defined in Section 44-76-30(1);
(2) person providing the training is authorized to deliver that course or curriculum; and
(3) training delivery was not grossly negligent.
(D) The Department of Administration may establish a state contract for the purchase of automated external defibrillators.
HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 278, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008, first applies for the 2008-2009 school year.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 17 - School Districts › Section 59-17-160. Model fire and safety policy and program guidelines.

(A) Prior to the beginning of the 2019-2020 School Year, the State Department of Education and the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall collaborate and develop model fire and safety policies and program guidelines that must be made available to each school district and charter school in the State. The provisions of this section do not apply to charter schools whose instruction is primarily delivered online.
(B) Each school district board of trustees and the governing body of each charter school shall adopt a policy and program for school facility fire and safety, including inspections, before the beginning of the 2020-2021 School Year. The policy and program must:
(1) be adopted in open meetings in which the public may provide comment on the terms of the policies and programs;
(2) include routine self-assessments; and
(3) be published on the district's or charter school's Internet website in a prominent location that is easily accessible by the public.
(C) Prior to July 1, 2021, each district and charter school shall submit its fire and safety policy and program to the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the State Department of Education. The office and department shall collaborate in the review of the school policies and programs. Within one hundred twenty days of the receipt of a policy or program, the office and department must jointly provide written comments to the district on how the policies and programs may be improved.
(D) Local school district boards of trustees and charter school governing bodies may request technical assistance in the development of fire and safety policies and programs.
HISTORY: 2018 Act No. 256 (S.709), Section 1, eff July 2, 2018.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-100. Performance based accountability system for public education established; "accountability" defined.

The General Assembly finds that South Carolinians have a commitment to public education and a conviction that high expectations for all students are vital components for improving academic achievement. It is the purpose of the General Assembly in this chapter to establish a performance-based accountability system for public education which focuses on improving teaching and learning so that students are equipped with a strong academic foundation. Moreover, to meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, all students graduating from public high schools in this State should have the knowledge, skills, and opportunity to be college ready, career ready, and life ready for success in the global, digital, and knowledge-based world of the twenty-first century as provided in Section 59-1-50. All graduates should have the opportunity to qualify for and be prepared to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses, without the need for remedial coursework, postsecondary job training, or significant on-the-job training. Accountability, as defined by this chapter, means acceptance of the responsibility for improving student performance and taking actions to improve classroom practice and school performance by the Governor, the General Assembly, the State Department of Education, colleges and universities, local school boards, administrators, teachers, parents, students, and the community.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2017 Act No. 94 (H.3969), Section 4, eff June 10, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
The 2008 amendment reprinted this section with no apparent change.
2017 Act No. 94, Section 4, amended the section, providing additional purposes concerning the profile of the South Carolina graduate.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-110. Objectives.

The system is to:
(1) use academic achievement standards to push schools and students toward higher performance by aligning the state assessment to those standards and linking policies and criteria for performance standards, accreditation, reporting, school rewards, and targeted assistance;
(2) provide an annual report card with a performance indicator system that is logical, reasonable, fair, challenging, and technically defensible, which furnishes clear and specific information about school and district academic performance and other performance to parents and the public;
(3) require all districts to establish local accountability systems to stimulate quality teaching and learning practices and target assistance to low performing schools;
(4) provide resources to strengthen the process of teaching and learning in the classroom to improve student performance and reduce gaps in performance;
(5) support professional development as integral to improvement and to the actual work of teachers and school staff; and
(6) expand the ability to evaluate the system and to conduct in-depth studies on implementation, efficiency, and the effectiveness of academic improvement efforts.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008.
Effect of Amendment
The 2008 amendment reprinted this section with no apparent change.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-300. Adoption of educational standards in core academic areas.

The State Board of Education is directed to adopt grade specific performance-oriented educational standards in the core academic areas of mathematics, English/language arts, social studies (history, government, economics, and geography), and science for kindergarten through twelfth grade and for grades nine through twelve adopt specific academic standards for high school credit courses in mathematics, English/language arts, social studies, and science. The standards are to promote the goals of providing every student with the competencies to:
(1) read, view, and listen to complex information in the English language;
(2) write and speak effectively in the English language;
(3) solve problems by applying mathematics;
(4) conduct research and communicate findings;
(5) understand and apply scientific concepts;
(6) obtain a working knowledge of world, United States, and South Carolina history, government, economics, and geography; and
(7) use information to make decisions.
The standards must be reflective of the highest level of academic skills with the rigor necessary to improve the curriculum and instruction in South Carolina's schools so that students are encouraged to learn at unprecedented levels and must be reflective of the highest level of academic skills at each grade level.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008.
Effect of Amendment
The 2008 amendment in the introductory paragraph, substituted "high school credit courses" for "benchmark courses".
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-330. Coordination and annual administration of National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).

The State Department of Education is directed to coordinate the annual administration of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) to obtain an indication of student and school performance relative to national performance levels. A school randomly selected by NAEP must comply with the administration of the assessment to obtain an indication of state performance relative to national performance levels.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2006 Act No. 254, Section 5, eff March 24, 2006; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008.
Effect of Amendment
The 2006 amendment rewrote this section by deleting the second sentence which provided "The first administration of this test must occur no later than the 2000-2001 school year" and added the fourth sentence relating to teacher training and the fifth sentence relating to modifications to the readiness assessment to provide literacy development information.
The 2008 amendment omitted Section 59-18-330 relating to first grade readiness tests and renumbered this section from Section 59-18-340; in the first sentence substituted "Department" for "Board" and "coordinate the annual administration of" for "administer annually" and added the second sentence.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-340. PSAT, pre-ACT, or tenth grade Aspire tests to assess tenth grade students; availability; use of results.

High schools shall offer state-funded PSAT, pre-ACT, or tenth grade Aspire tests to each tenth grade student in order to assess and identify curricular areas that need to be strengthened and reinforced. Schools and districts shall use these assessments as diagnostic tools to provide academic assistance to students whose scores reflect the need for such assistance. Schools and districts shall use these assessments to provide guidance and direction for parents and students as they plan for postsecondary experiences.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2006 Act No. 254, Section 6, eff March 24, 2006; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2017 Act No. 94 (H.3969), Section 9, eff June 10, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
The 2006 amendment rewrote this section.
The 2008 amendment renumbered this section from Section 59-18-350 without text changes.
2017 Act No. 94, Section 9, substituted ", pre-ACT, or tenth grade Aspire" for "PLAN" and "reinforced" for "reenforced".
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-350. Cyclical review of state standards and assessments; analysis of assessment results.

(A) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Education Oversight Committee, shall provide for a cyclical review by academic area of the state standards and assessments to ensure that the standards and assessments are maintaining high expectations for learning and teaching. At a minimum, each academic area should be reviewed and updated every seven years. After each academic area is reviewed, a report on the recommended revisions must be presented to the Education Oversight Committee and the State Board of Education for consideration. The previous content standards shall remain in effect until the recommended revisions are adopted pursuant to Section 59-18-355. As a part of the review, a task force of parents, business and industry persons, community leaders, and educators, to include special education teachers, shall examine the standards and assessment system to determine rigor and relevancy.
(B) For the purpose of developing new college and career readiness English/language arts and mathematics state content standards, a cyclical review must be performed pursuant to subsection (A) for English/language arts and mathematics state content standards not developed by the South Carolina Department of Education. The review must begin on or before January 1, 2015, and the new college and career readiness state content standards must be implemented for the 2015-2016 school year.
(C) The State Department of Education annually shall convene a team of curriculum experts to analyze the results of the assessments, including performance item by item. This analysis must yield a plan for disseminating additional information about the assessment results and instruction and the information must be disseminated to districts not later than January fifteenth of the subsequent year.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2014 Act No. 200 (H.3893), Section 4, eff June 19, 2014.
Editor's Note
2014 Act No. 200, Section 5, provides as follows:
"SECTION 5. On the effective date of this act, South Carolina will no longer be a governing or advisory state in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Furthermore, South Carolina may not adopt or administer the Smarter Balanced Assessment."
Effect of Amendment
The 2008 amendment renumbered this section from Section 59-18-360; in subsection (A), deleted the second sentence requiring initial review by 2005; in the second and third sentences added "and the State Board of Education"; and added the fifth sentence relating to the previous content standards remaining in place; and, at the beginning of subsection (B), deleted "Beginning with the 2005 assessment results,".
2014 Act No. 200, Section 4, in subsection (A), deleted the former fourth sentence, relating to approval by the Education Oversight Committee, and rewrote the 4th sentence, relating to the previous content standards; added subsection (B); and redesignated former subsection (B) as subsection (C).
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-355. Content standards revisions; required approval.

(A)(1) A revision to a state content standard recommended pursuant to Section 59-18-350(A), as well as a new standard or a change in a current standard that the State Board of Education otherwise considers for approval as an accountability measure, may not be adopted and implemented without the:
(a) advice and consent of the Education Oversight Committee; and
(b) approval by a Joint Resolution of the General Assembly.
(2) General Assembly approval required by item (1)(b) does not apply to a revision recommended pursuant to Section 59-18-350(A), other approval of a new standard, and other changes to an old standard if the revision, new standard, or changed standard is developed by the State Department of Education.
(B) A revision to an assessment recommended pursuant to Section 59-18-350(A), as well as a new assessment or a change in a current assessment that the State Board of Education otherwise considers for approval as an accountability measure, may not be adopted and implemented without the advice and consent of the Education Oversight Committee.
(C) Upon initiating a change to an existing standard, including a cyclical review, the Education Oversight Committee and the Department of Education shall provide notice of their plans and intent to the General Assembly and the Governor.
(D) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to prevent the Department of Education, Board of Education, and Education Oversight Committee from considering best practices in education standards and assessments while developing its own standards and assessments.
HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 200 (H.3893), Section 2, eff June 19, 2014.
Editor's Note
2014 Act No. 200, Section 5, provides as follows:
"SECTION 5. On the effective date of this act, South Carolina will no longer be a governing or advisory state in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Furthermore, South Carolina may not adopt or administer the Smarter Balanced Assessment."
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-360. Dissemination of assessment results.

Beginning with the 2010 assessment administration, the Department of Education is directed to provide assessment results annually on individual students and schools by August first, except when assessments are being updated and new achievement standards are being set, in a manner and format that is easily understood by parents and the public. In addition, the school assessment results must be presented in a format easily understood by the faculty and in a manner that is useful for curriculum review and instructional improvement. The department is to provide longitudinally matched student data from the standards-based assessments and include information on the performance of subgroups of students within the school. The department must work with the Division of Accountability in developing the formats of the assessment results. Schools and districts are responsible for disseminating this information to parents.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2003 Act No. 89, Section 5, eff July 23, 2003; 2006 Act No. 254, Section 7, eff March 24, 2006; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2017 Act No. 94 (H.3969), Section 10, eff June 10, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
The 2003 amendment substituted "seven" for "four" preceding "years" in the second sentence.
The 2006 amendment designated subsection (A) and added subsection (B) relating to analysis of assessment results.
The 2008 amendment renumbered this section from Section 59-18-370 and in the first sentence, added "Beginning with the 2010 assessment administration," and "by August first,".
2017 Act No. 94, Section 10, inserted "except when assessments are being updated and new achievement standards are being set,", and made a nonsubstantive change.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-700. Alignment of criteria for instructional materials with educational standards.

The criteria governing the adoption of instructional materials must be revised by the State Board of Education to require that the content of such materials reflect the substance and level of performance outlined in the grade specific educational standards adopted by the state board.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008.
Effect of Amendment
The 2008 amendment substituted "must" for "shall".
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-710. Recommendations regarding state's accreditation system.

The State Department of Education shall provide recommendations regarding the state's accreditation system to the State Board of Education. The recommendations must be derived from input received from broad-based stakeholder groups. In developing the criteria for the accreditation system, the State Board of Education shall consider including the function of school improvement councils and other school decision-making groups and their participation in the school planning process.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2008 Act No. 353, Section 2, Pt 1A.B, eff July 1, 2009.
Effect of Amendment
The first 2008 amendment rewrote this section.
The second 2008 amendment made identical changes.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-910. Cyclical review of accountability system; stakeholders; development of necessary skills and characteristics.

Beginning in 2020, the Education Oversight Committee, working with the State Board of Education and a broad-based group of stakeholders, selected by the Education Oversight Committee, shall conduct a comprehensive cyclical review of the accountability system at least every five years and shall provide the General Assembly with a report on the findings and recommended actions to improve the accountability system and to accelerate improvements in student and school performance. The stakeholders must include the State Superintendent of Education and the Governor, or the Governor's designee. The other stakeholders include, but are not limited to, parents, business and industry persons, community leaders, and educators. The cyclical review must include recommendations of a process for determining if students are graduating with the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate to be successful in postsecondary education and in careers. The accountability system needs to reflect evidence that students have developed these skills and characteristics.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2017 Act No. 94 (H.3969), Section 12, eff June 10, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
The 2008 amendment rewrote this section.
2017 Act No. 94, Section 12, substituted "Beginning in 2020" for "Beginning in 2013", and added provisions requiring that the cyclical review must include recommendations of a process for determining if students are graduating with certain skills and characteristics.
2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 59 - Education › Chapter 18 - Education Accountability Act › Section 59-18-920. Report card requirements for charter, alternative, and career and technology schools.

A charter school established pursuant to Chapter 40, Title 59 shall report the data requested by the Department of Education necessary to generate a report card and a rating. The performance of students attending charter schools sponsored by the South Carolina Public Charter School District must be included in the overall performance ratings of each school in the South Carolina Public Charter School District. The performance of students attending a charter school authorized by a local school district must be reflected on a separate line on the school district's report card. An alternative school is included in the requirements of this chapter; however, the purpose of an alternative school must be taken into consideration in determining its performance rating. The Education Oversight Committee, working with the State Board of Education and the School to Work Advisory Council, shall develop a report card for career and technology schools.
HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 400, Section 2; 2005 Act No. 49, Section 7, eff May 3, 2005; 2006 Act No; 274, Section 2, eff May 3, 2006; 2008 Act No. 282, Section 1, eff June 5, 2008; 2012 Act No. 164, Section 16, eff May 14, 2012; 2017 Act No. 94 (H.3969), Section 13, eff June 10, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
The 2005 amendment made nonsubstantive language changes throughout and in the second sentence substituted "career and technology" for "vocational".
The 2006 amendment rewrote this section.
The 2008 amendment reprinted this section without apparent change.
The 2012 amendment inserted ", unless there is a mutual agreement to include the scores in the local school district ratings".
2017 Act No. 94, Section 13, amended the section, deleting provisions prohibiting the use of charter school student performance in a district's overall performance ratings.