Legislative Update for the Week of May 29,
2006
The South Carolina Supreme Court refused to
reverse its decision that TERRI participant’s retirement deductions were
unconstitutional. This decision amounts to around $30 million plus interest
to be returned to those affected.
The General Assembly did
not approve the State’s budget before adjournment. Members will return on
June 14, 2006 to complete their deliberation.
Legislative Update for
the Week of May 22, 2006
The South Carolina
Retirement System has filed an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court
ruling regarding the 6.5% retirement deduction from retired individuals who
continue to work under a covered employee to be unconstitutional.
Senate Bill 148
(Release Time for Religious Instruction) has passed both houses and waits
the Governor’s signature. The bill allows local boards of trustees to award
up to two credits for religious instruction.
House Bill 4449 (Tax
Reform) has passed both chambers and waits the Governor’s signature. The
bill allows for the following provisions:
- Eliminate school
operation taxes on owner-occupied homes by adding a one cents sales tax
- Allows voters to add
an additional tax of one cents to reduce further taxes
- Provide $28.7
million to 20 poor rural districts
- Give $57.2 million
to homeowners for county operations taxes
- Reduce the sales tax
on groceries to 3 cents from 5 cents beginning October 1, 2006
- Create a new sales
tax-free holiday for Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving (This event is
in addition to the August school supply taxes)
The budget conference
committee will continue its deliberation on the State’s $6.7 million budget
this week.
Legislative Update for
the Week of May 8, 2006
Senate Bill 1004 (State Assessment) was
amended by the House Education Committee to include language regarding the
State’s Four Year-Old/Kindergarten Program. According to the amendments,
public school and private entities may apply to the early childhood
education providers under the program and will receive $2, 880.00 per child
enrolled. Both private and public providers must use approved curriculum and
certified teachers. The State Board of Education will oversee public school
programs while the Office of First Steps will oversee the private providers.
During the first year of the program, only the eight trial districts from
the education-funding lawsuit will participate. After the first year, other
districts will be added to the program.
The Senate passed an
amended House Bill 4449 (Property Tax Relief). The amendments established a
property tax relief package that increases the statewide sales tax by a
half-cent (an extra penny for every $2.00 purchased) to cut county operating
costs. The half-cent would not apply to groceries or hotel accommodations.
The plan also allows voters to decide on a county-by-county basis weather to
raise their local sales tax higher to cut school operating costs and other
forms of property taxes.
State Board of Education
Actions of May 9, 2006
The South Carolina State Board of Education
approved the following guidelines:
·
Guideline revisions to the
Program of Alternative Certification (PACE) were approved for first reading.
The revisions include:
- Two years
full-time work experience is defined as two years of postsecondary work
experience that includes one continuous year of full-time work and no
more than one year of combined part-time work experience, or an
earned advanced degree from a regionally accredited college or
university or the college/university has been approved by the South
Carolina State Board of Education for certification purposes.
- The statement of
eligibility indicates to a school district that the candidate meets
all eligibility criteria for admission to PACE.
-
Guideline revisions
to Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Professional Teaching (ADEPT)
were approved for first reading. The evaluation of guidance counselors,
speech therapist, and librarians will remain the same. The new ADEPT
guidelines will be piloted during the 2006-2007 school year. The
guidelines include:
1.
Attention to student
achievement and what measures are used to improve it.
2.
Goals Base Evaluation tied to
certificate renewal.
3.
The teacher’s dossier
replacing the interview requirement.
4.
The deleting of the
Provisional Contract year and adding an assistance/diagnostic year.
5.
Evaluators tested for
approval.
A
complete copy of the guidelines may be found at
www.scteachers.org.
Legislative Update for the Week of May
1, 2006
The Senate adopted
the following provisions of a State budget:
- The Base Student
will be $2,367.
- The second phase
of the Education Economic Development Act was funded at $14.1 million.
Middle and high school career specialists are to be hired from these
funds.
- High Schools that
Work will receive $1.6 million.
- Student health and
fitness will receive $4.1 million to implement additional physical
education requirements
- Gifted and
Talented will receive and additional $5 million.
- The Education
Accountability Act will receive $11.3 million.
- An additional $6.5
million will fund new National Board Certification teachers.
- The Senate added
$17.6 million to the House $6 million for 4k Education.
A conference
committee composed of House and Senate members will meet to iron out
differences with the budget.
The Governor signed a
bill recognizing a statewide charter school district. The law allows only
State and federal dollars to follow a student who attends a charter school
approved by the statewide charter school district.
House Bill 3187
(South Carolina Virtual Charter
School District) was approved by
a subcommittee of the House Education Committee. The bill allows charter
schools to offer instruction online for students from kindergarten through
grade 12. The bill was amended to create a South Carolina Virtual School
Program open to all secondary schools, including private and home
schooled. Students could take as many as 10 credits online of the 24
required to graduate.
Efforts to attach
provisions of Putting Parents in Charge to other bills were defeated in
the House of Representatives. It took every Democratic representative and
fifteen (15) Republican representatives to defeat the efforts.
Legislative Update for the Week of April
17, 2006
The
Senate will deliberate the week of April 24, 2006 on the state’s $5.6
billion dollar budget. The Senate Finance Committee has added an
additional $68 million for education with $24 million directed to 4-K
education.
The Charter School
Conference Committee have agreed upon a compromise version that allows
individuals or nonprofit groups seeking to start a charter school to now
turn to either their local school district or the South Carolina Public
Charter School District for approval.
Legislative Update for
the Week of April 3, 2006
The Senate Education Committee approved the following actions:
- State Board
Regulation 3056 (End-of-Course Tests) removes the requirement of end of
course tests for Biology and Applied Biology 2.
- Senate Bill 148
(Released Time Credit Act) allows local boards of trustees to award high
school students elective carnegie units of credit for the completion of
released time classes in religious instruction as long as the
instruction is secular in nature.
The House K-12
Education Subcommittee approved the following actions:
- Senate Bill 114
(Adoption of Instructional Materials) requires the State Board to only
approve text books that have critical thinking skills.
- Senate Bill 1004
(State Assessment Program) allows for the elimination of PACT as the
sole formative assessment for elementary and middle schools. The bill
also allows school districts to select from a list of formative
assessments approved by the State Board and that a study should be
conducted to allow testing on line.
House Bill 4812
(Capital Reserve Bill) was approved by the House that allows for the
following provisions:
- School bus
purchases $26.1 Million
- Instructional
materials $1.9 Million
- First Steps Early
Childhood $2 Million
House Bill 4429
(School Start Date) waits approval by the Governor. The bill mandates that
schools can not start earlier than the third Monday of August beginning
with the school year 2007-2008.
Legislative Update for
the Week of March 20, 2006
House Bill 4046
(School Bus Replacement Cycle) was approved by the Senate Education
Committee and waits approval by the Senate. The bill requires that the
state must institute a twelve years replacement cycle for school buses.
Senate Bill 1107
(Sign Language) was approved by the Senate Education Committee and waits
approval by the Senate. The bill allows students to receive credit in sign
language courses.
The House of
Representatives will begin debate on the budget during the week of March
27, 2006. The budget has the following highlights:
1.
The Base Student Cost is
projected to be $2, 364.00 per student (This is fully funded).
2.
The Education and Economic
Development Act is funded at $14.8 million.
3.
First Steps is funded at $6
million.
4.
The purchase of new school
buses is funded at $26.1 million.
5.
Teachers will receive a 4.6%
pay increase on the average.
Legislative Update for
the Week of March 13, 2006
House Bill 3109
(School Bud Drivers) was approved by the House of Representatives. The
bill require bus drivers to have a physical before taking a school bus
drivers test. A physical must be conducted every 2 years. The bill now
heads to the Senate for approval.
Senate Bill 1107
(Sign Language Course) was approved by the Senate Education K-12
Subcommittee. The bill allows sign language courses to count as a foreign
language course credit for graduation. The bill now heads to the full
Senate Education Committee for approval.
Senate Bill 1004 and
House Bill 4328 (State-Wide Testing Program) were approved by the Senate.
The bill replaces PACT and allows districts that have a formative
assessment to continue to use it if its meets state standards and
criteria.
Legislative update for
the Week of March 6, 2006
The House of
Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee approved a state appropriation
budget of $6.5 billion. The budget includes a base student cost of $2,
367. The budget will be forwarded to the full House for approval.
The Senate Education
Committee approved the following bills:
- Senate Bill 54
(Uniform Start Date for Schools) and House Bill 4429 (School Term) were
amended to require that all schools in South Carolina will not start
until after the third Monday in August each year.
- House Bill 4328
(State-Wide Assessment Program) allows a school district to select from
an approved list of formative assessments and also allows for alternate
year testing of science and social studies each year. This bill would
replace PACT Testing.
The State Board of
Education approved amended regulation 43-262.4 (End-of-Course Tests) for
second reading. The amended regulation deletes the requirement for a
student to pass exit examination tests in science and social studies. The
State Board also rejected the recommended wording of its biology standards
by the Education Oversight Committee. The Oversight Committee wanted the
following wording “The student will demonstrate an understanding of
biological evolution and the diversity of life by using data from a
variety of scientific sources to investigate and critically analyze
aspects of evolutionary theory”.
The Senate Education
K-12 Subcommittee approved the following bills to be forwarded for
deliberation before the Senate Education Committee:
- S. 1107 (Sign
Language) allows high school credit to be awarded to a student who
completes high school courses in American Sign Language.
- H. 4046 (School Bus
Replacement Cycle) requires the State Board of Education to implement a
school bus replacement cycle to replace approximately one-twelfth of its
fleet each year.
The House of
Representatives has placed H. 3573 (Bullying) on its contested calendar.
Several members object to the bill.
Legislative Update for
the Week of February 20, 2006
The K-12 Education Senate Subcommittee
approved House Bill 4328 (State-Wide Assessment). The bill allows
districts to choose from an approved list of formative assessments in
place of PACT. The bill waits deliberation before the Senate Education Committee.
The K-12 House
Education Subcommittee approved State Board Regulation 2984 (Denial,
Revocation, and Suspension of Credentials). This regulation gives the
State Board of Education the power to suspend a teaching certificate based
upon the following:
- incompetence
- willful neglect of
duty
- willful neglect of
State Board Regulations
- unprofessional
conduct
- drunkenness
- cruelty
- crimes against the
laws of the United States
- immorality
- moral turpitude
- dishonesty
- evidence of
unfitness for the position
- sale or possession
of narcotics
- obtaining a
fraudulent certificate
- test security
violation
- failure to comply
with a court order for child support
- failure to
complete a successful formal evaluation process at the annual level
- failure to comply
with local contract
Legislative Update for
the Week of February 5, 2006
House Bill 4429
(Uniform Start Date) was approved by a subcommittee of the Senate and
waits approval by the full Senate Education Committee. The bill mandates
that all schools may not start before August 25tth of each year
and end no more than seven days after the last day of the
PACT test.
House Bill 4328
(State-Wide Assessment) was approved by a subcommittee of the Senate and
waits approval by the full Senate Education Committee. The bill allows a
school district to select from a list of approved formative assessments to
replace PACT. The bill further requires the State Board to adopt a developmentally
appropriate formative reading assessment for first and second grades.
House Bill 3573
(Bullying) was approved by the House Education committee and waits
deliberation in the House of Representative. The bill requires school
boards to development policies against bullying and training for teachers.
Legislative Update for
the Week of January 30, 2006
Senate Bill 98 (Safe
Schools Act to Prevent School Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying) was
approved by a House subcommittee on Education. The bill has the following
provisions:
- Each school
district shall adopt a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or
bullying at school.
- The State Board is
directed to develop model policies that would be applicable for grades
kindergarten through twelve to assist local school districts in
developing policies.
- Schools are
directed to include on their report card the number of bullying
incidents
The bill remains
before the full House Education Committee for discussion and deliberation.
House Bill 4449
(Property Tax Relief) was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee
and was debated on the House floor this week. The bill allows for a
additional two cents tax that would replace a school district’s
operational fund budget. This type of tax is regressive and should not
pass. Please contact your House member and voice opposition to this tax.
House Bill 4429
(Uniform School Start Date) was approved by a subcommittee of the House
of Education Committee and waits placement on the full committee for
debate and deliberation. It is our position that a school’s start date is
a local decision and should not be dictated by the State.
State Board
Regulation 43-259 (Graduation Requirements) was approved by the full
House of Education Committee and waits placement on the House Calendar.
The regulation requires each high school student to take Physical Science
before taking the Exit Exam. Keyboarding can count no more than a half
unit towards the required full unit of Computer Science. A three semester
hour college course will count for a full unit of dual credit.
State Board
Regulation 43-262 (Assessment Program) was approved by the full House of
Education Committee and waits placement on the House Calendar. The
regulation allows a student’s IEP team to annually determine whether a
student with disability would participate in the State’s High School
Assessment Program (HSAP) if the student meets the following conditions:
- The student failed
to pass any part of HSAP during the initial administration.
- The student has
not earned any carnagie units in the core curriculum.
- The student has
not enrolled into a core curriculum course required to graduate.
The student is still
required to take HSAP or HSAP-Alternative during the second spring after
initial enrollment in the ninth grade.
House Bill 4449
(Property Tax Relief) was approved by a subcommittee of the House Ways and
Means Committee. The bill imposes a two cents sales tax to replace
district operational funds. The bill further freezes property taxes of a
current homeowner and only increases it when it is sold. Representative
Bill Clyburn was the only descending on the Committee. We need to support
Representative Clyburn because the bill is a regressive tax that will hurt
public education.
House Bill 3010
(District Charter School Act) was placed on Special Order by the Senate.
The Special Order derailed Senator Matthews, Pinckney, and Fords attempts
to kill the bill. The bill is now open for debate and a potential vote for
approval in the Senate. This is a bad bill. It will allow State funds to
pay for a charter school governed by a new School District.
Legislative Update for the Week of January 17, 2006
House Bill 4328
(State Assessment Program) was approved by the full House Education and
Public Works Committee and will be placed on the House Calendar for
deliberation. The bill allows for the following provisions:
- Elimination of the
PACT Tests
- The creation of a
statewide adoption list of formative assessments that provide diagnostic
information to a school district
- The creation of a
developmentally appropriate formative reading assessment for first and
second grade
- To provide annual
sampling of science and social studies assessment to certain students in
grades 3-8
- To conduct a study
to determine the feasibility and cost of converting the State Assessment
Program to be computer based
- To convene a task
force to study alternative graduation requirements for certain
circumstances
The House Ways and Means Committee subcommittee on Property Taxes is
currently discussing several bills to replace property tax for school
operational purposes with a two cents sales tax. This type of tax is
regressive and would be harmful to public education in the long run.
Please contact your House member and express your concern about these
bills.
