Capitol Report
By Rep. Robert Q. Williams
House District 62
The House of Representatives amended, approved and sent the Senate H.3759, the “S.C. Education, Career Opportunity and Access for All Act.”
The legislation makes comprehensive revisions that are offered as a means of ensuring that the state’s public school students receive the training needed to meet 21st Century demands.
New emphasis is placed on mathematics and technology that includes a requirement for each public high school in the state to offer at least one rigorous, standards-based computer science course.
Enhancements are made to the Read to Succeed Initiative that focus on crucial literacy skills.
Provisions are made to afford public school students a smoother transition into higher education and workforce opportunities.
These include expanded dual enrollment programs and improved access to state scholarship funding to cover training costs.
The legislation raises the minimum teacher salary statewide and offers an array of incentives geared towards attracting individuals to teaching and retaining those professionals in the classroom.
Some of the incentives focus on encouraging teachers to pursue their careers in schools that are failing to meet goals for academic performance and in areas of the state that are experiencing the greatest economic distress.
Enhanced accountability provisions are included to direct assistance to schools that are struggling academically and to transform or close chronically underperforming schools.
A school district consolidation protocol is established for merging less populous districts that are failing to meet standards for student performance.
Local school board members are subjected to ethics provisions.
A Special Council on Revitalizing Education is created to advise policy makers on ways to improve collaboration among state agencies and institutions and what steps should be taken to ensure that the state’s public education system is emphasizing skills demanded in the workplace.
The State Board of Education is charged with conducting, at least every five years, a cyclical review of grade appropriate standards for computer science, computational thinking, and computer coding for grades kindergarten through grade 12.
No later than the beginning of the 2020 2021 school year, each public high school and public charter high school must offer at least one rigorous, standards based computer science course.
The course is to be made available in a traditional classroom setting, in a dual enrollment course, blended learning environment, online based, or other technology based format tailored to meet the needs of each participating student.
The Office of First Steps and the State Department of Education (SDE) must provide a report to the General Assembly regarding how to increase the number of children attending state-funded four-year-old kindergarten programs.
The State Board of Education is charged with approving no more than five reliable and valid early literacy and numeracy screening assessment instruments for selection and use by school districts in kindergarten through third grade.
Assessments must be given at the beginning of the school year.
For students who need additional assistance, the screening will also occur during the middle and end of the school year.
Assessment results must be reported to the State Department of Education, the agency that is responsible for monitoring S.C. student progress.
The legislation provides for an expansion of dual enrollment opportunities so that students who want to go to college already have at least one year of college credit by creating a uniform, statewide credit articulation agreement between K-12 and higher education.
The Advisory Committee on Academic Programs is required to develop a statewide dual enrollment articulation agreement that will replace all locally created agreements between K-12 and higher education.
The legislation emphasizes an accountability system that should let parents know if schools are successful in preparing students for eventual success in college or on the job.
To further this effort, the state Department of Education must continuously monitor student progress in grades K-12, and provide parents and students with lexile and quantile scores derived from assessments.
In addition to using lexile and quantile scores, high school equivalency assessment thresholds may also serve as common admission scores to technical colleges.
A test in an English/language arts and mathematics course may be used to satisfy the requirement.
A test for every course is not required.
High schools or career centers must have a minimum of three career pathways, with at least one pathway in a high-skill, high-demand area.
Pathways must be reviewed every three years and updated as needed.
School districts must coordinate with each other to ensure student access to multiple pathways.
Upon Department approval of bus routes, districts may provide transportation for students.
The state’s minimum teacher salary is increased to $35,000.
The board of trustees of a local school district may authorize the daily mileage reimbursement of a teacher who must travel more than 25 miles each way between home and school.
This reimbursement may not exceed the existing federal rate.
