H 3704 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 3704 General Bill, By M.F. Jaskwhich, Allison, B.O. Baker, H.H. Clyborne,
R.S. Corning, T.E. Huff, H.G. Hutson, Littlejohn, C.V. Marchbanks, Phillips,
Robinson, E.C. Stoddard, C.H. Stone, Trotter, Vaughn, C.C. Wells and
Young-Brickell
A Bill to amend Title 59, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
education, by adding Chapter 68 so as to enact the South Carolina Parental
Choice in Education Act which establishes three models which authorize a
student to attend a school in his district other than the one to which he is
assigned or in another district under certain restrictions, conditions, and
limitations, to provide that these three models must be pilot tested over a
three-year period, and to provide that further use of these three models after
the three-year pilot testing period is not authorized without the
authorization of the General Assembly by Act or Joint Resolution.
03/11/93 House Introduced and read first time HJ-14
03/11/93 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-15
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 68 SO
AS TO ENACT THE SOUTH CAROLINA PARENTAL CHOICE IN
EDUCATION ACT WHICH ESTABLISHES THREE MODELS
WHICH AUTHORIZE A STUDENT TO ATTEND A SCHOOL IN HIS
DISTRICT OTHER THAN THE ONE TO WHICH HE IS ASSIGNED
OR IN ANOTHER DISTRICT UNDER CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS,
CONDITIONS, AND LIMITATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT THESE
THREE MODELS MUST BE PILOT TESTED OVER A
THREE-YEAR PERIOD, AND TO PROVIDE THAT FURTHER USE
OF THESE THREE MODELS AFTER THE THREE-YEAR PILOT
TESTING PERIOD IS NOT AUTHORIZED WITHOUT THE
AUTHORIZATION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY ACT OR
JOINT RESOLUTION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that the students in South
Carolina's schools and their parents will become more informed about
and involved in the public educational system if students and their
parents are provided greater freedom to determine the most effective
school for meeting their individual educational needs. There is no
"right" school for every student and permitting students to
choose from among different schools with differing assets will increase
the likelihood that some marginal students stay in school and that other,
more motivated students find their full academic potential.
The General Assembly further finds that giving more options to
parents and students with respect to where they attend school will
increase the responsiveness and effectiveness of the state's schools since
teachers, administrators, and school board members will have added
incentive to satisfy the educational needs of the students who reside in
the district.
The General Assembly finds that these benefits of enhanced quality
and effectiveness in our schools justify permitting a student to apply for
admission to a school in any district beyond the one in which he resides,
provided that the transfer by this student would not adversely affect the
desegregation of either district.
SECTION 2. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 68
South Carolina
Parental Choice in Education Act
Article I
General Provisions: Pilot Testing
Section 59-68-100. This chapter may be cited as the `South Carolina
Parental Choice in Education Act'.
Section 59-68-110. As used in this chapter:
(1) `At-risk student' means a student who, based on certain criteria
as specified in this chapter for assessing students, is considered to be a
potential dropout from school.
(2) `Parent' means the natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian
of a dependent child.
(3) `Participating school' means a public or private school located
in the State that enters into an agreement with the State Department of
Education in accordance with this chapter.
(4) `Private school' means a school that is not maintained with
public funds, that charges tuition or fees for the services it provides, and
that is in compliance with the laws of this State.
(5) `Public school' means a school operated by publicly elected or
appointed school officials in which the program and activities are under
the control of these officials and which is supported by public funds.
(6) `Resident school district' means a geographical area surrounding
a public school from which students are assigned.
(7) `School' means a school that is authorized to provide elementary
or secondary education, or both, under state law.
Section 59-68-130. In order to achieve the purpose of this chapter,
the State Board of Education shall develop and the State Department of
Education shall implement three parental choice in education model
programs as provided for in Articles 3, 5, and 7 of this chapter. The
State Department of Education, in conjunction with the local school
districts affected, shall pilot test these three models for a three-year
period in selected school districts beginning with school year 1993-94.
Section 59-68-140. The State Department of Education shall conduct
an evaluation of the three model choice programs after a three-year pilot
testing period. The evaluation shall report on efficiency of spending,
comparing budgets with like districts without choice programs, student
performance, and attitudes of parents, teachers, school administrators,
and students. The evaluation shall also report on whether or not the
certificate choice model contained in Article 3 of this chapter should be
expanded from at-risk students to all students. The evaluation must be
given to the House Education and Public Works Committee and the
Senate Education Committee. The three parental choice models
established in this chapter after the three-year pilot test period may not
be used further without the authorization of the General Assembly by act
or joint resolution.
Section 59-68-150. To assist parents and students in making
educational choices permitted under this chapter, the State Department
of Education must publish and make available a list of the participating
schools and a Parent Information Center must be established in the
department or in the Office of Accountability. This center shall collect
comprehensive information on each school district in which pilot testing
of these models is occurring and must provide and use this information
in counseling and assisting parents in choosing the most appropriate
school for their children.
Section 59-68-160. The State Board of Education shall promulgate
regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
Section 59-68-170. The provisions of this chapter are supplemental
to other provisions and requirements of law relating to school attendance
of pupils.
Article 3
Certificate for Public or
Private School Choice
Section 59-68-300. The first parental choice model is entitled
`Certificate for Public or Private School Choice' and is a program in
which the parent of each at-risk student receives from the district school
board, on request, a certificate that may be used for educational services
at a participating school selected by the child's parent in accordance with
this article.
Section 59-68-310. (A) Each public school in a district shall become
a participating school. The responsible officials for each private school
in the district shall decide whether that school shall become a
participating school.
(B) Subject to the provisions of subsection (C), a participating
school shall admit at-risk children with certificates who apply, up to the
limit of the school's capacity, after reserving places for children admitted
in accordance with the school's regular admissions practices.
(C) (1) A participating school must be granted deregulation status
and shall establish criteria for the admission of at-risk children with
certificates consistent with the admissions criteria it regularly applies.
(2) In the case of a participating public school, the district
school board shall establish criteria for the equitable allocation of places
for at-risk children with certificates if there are insufficient places to
serve all at-risk children requesting places.
Section 59-68-320. A participating school shall enter into an
agreement with the State Department of Education. The agreement must
provide that the participating school furnish an at-risk child an education
equivalent to that provided to all other children in the school when an
at-risk child tenders a certificate in accordance with this article, is
accepted at the school and, if applicable, pays a supplementary tuition
to satisfy any remainder of a participating school's tuition.
Section 59-68-330. A parent of an at-risk child with a certificate may
use the certificate for educational services at a participating school only
if the child is admitted to the participating school.
Section 59-68-340. The value of a certificate must be set at one
hundred percent of the pupil expenditure supplied by the State based
upon the Education Finance Act weighting, but no certificate may be
redeemed for more than the amount of the tuition and fees regularly
charged by the participating school providing the educational services.
Section 59-68-350. At-risk students should also have an equal
opportunity of educational choices and therefore have the option under
this choice model of using the certificate to attend private schools in the
manner authorized by this article.
Section 59-68-360. A student in grades one through twelve who is
considered an at-risk student pursuant to criteria established by the
National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University is an eligible
at-risk student under this article.
Section 59-68-370. (A) A parent of an at-risk child with a certificate
shall present the certificate to the participating school that the child
attends. The participating school shall present the certificate for
payment or redemption to the district school board.
(B) A participating public school shall receive funds equal to the full
value of a certificate for each certificate presented by the respective
participating public school in addition to its regular budget.
(C) A participating public school shall lose funds equal to the full
value of a certificate for each resident school district at-risk student who
transfers from the respective participating public school.
(D) A participating private school shall receive funds equal to a
percentage of the full value of a certificate, in accordance with this
subsection, for each certificate presented by the respective participating
private school.
(E) For the first school year, beginning with the 1993-94 school
year, a participating private school shall receive sixty percent of the
value of a certificate as established in Section 59-68-340, for each
certificate presented by the respective participating private school. Each
subsequent school year, the percentages of the value of a certificate
received by a participating private school increases ten percent until the
percentage equals one hundred percent.
Section 59-68-380. (A) A participating school shall provide
assurance to the district school board that it is in compliance with
appropriate requirements prohibiting discrimination.
(B) A participating school shall publish or otherwise make available
information regarding:
(1) participation in the certificate program;
(2) program of instruction;
(3) achievement data regarding students attending the school,
which may be sated in the aggregate;
(4) incidence of drug abuse;
(5) school discipline and safety;
(6) other matters that may be specified in regulations.
Article 5
Nonresident Public School Choice
Section 59-68-500. The second parental choice model is entitled
`nonresident public school choice' and is a public school choice program
established to enable a pupil to attend a public school in a district in
which the pupil does not reside, subject to the restrictions contained in
this article.
Section 59-68-510. Before a pupil may attend a school in a
nonresident district, the pupil's parent or guardian must submit an
application to the nonresident district. This application must be
postmarked not later than February first of the year in which the pupil
would begin the fall semester at the nonresident district, except that for
school year 1993-94, the application must be postmarked thirty days
after the State Department of Education selects a particular district or
districts in which this model is to be pilot-tested.
Section 59-68-520. A school board may, by resolution, determine
that it will not admit any nonresident pupils to its schools pursuant to
this article.
Section 59-68-530. The school board of a participating district shall
adopt, by resolution, specific standards for acceptance and rejection of
applications. Standards may include the capacity of a program, class,
grade level, or school building. Nothing in this article requires a school
district to add teachers or classrooms or in any way exceed the
requirements and standards established by existing law. Standards may
not include an applicant's previous academic achievement, athletic or
other extracurricular ability, handicapping conditions, English
proficiency level, or previous disciplinary proceedings.
Section 59-68-540. Within sixty days of the receipt of an application
from a nonresident pupil seeking admission under the terms of this
article, a participating district shall notify the parent or guardian and the
resident district in writing as to whether the pupil's application has been
accepted or rejected. If an application is rejected, the nonresident
district shall state in the notification letter the reasons for rejection.
Section 59-68-550. The responsibility for transportation for a
nonresident pupil must be borne by the pupil, except that the resident
district may transport the student to the district boundary to a point
agreeable to the parent or the nonresident district within either the
resident or nonresident district and count that student in the resident
district's enrollment for transportation funding purposes only. The
nonresident district may provide transportation from the resident
district's boundary or from a point agreeable with the parent or the
resident district within either the resident or nonresident district to a
school in the nonresident district and count that student in the
nonresident district's enrollment for transportation funding purposes
only.
Section 59-68-560. A nonresident district shall accept credits toward
graduation that were awarded by another district.
Section 59-68-570. Except as otherwise provided in Section
59-68-520, for purposes of the Education Finance Act, the Educational
Improvement Act, and other applicable provisions of law, the
nonresident student must be counted as a part of the average daily
enrollment of the district to which the student has transferred. All
add-on weightings generated by the student must also be transferred to
the district of attendance.
Section 59-68-580. The provisions of this article and all pupil choice
options created in this article are subject to the following limitations:
(1) No student may transfer to a nonresident district where the
percentage of enrollment for the student's race, plus or minus five
percent, exceeds that percentage in his resident district.
(2) In any instance where the provisions of item (1) would result in
a conflict with a desegregation court order, the terms of the order
govern.
Section 59-68-590. A student who transfers to a nonresident district
is not eligible for interscholastic athletic competition for one year from
the date of the beginning of the transfer.
Article 7
Intradistrict Choice
Section 59-58-700. The third parental choice model is entitled
`intradistrict choice' and is a program whereby an intradistrict choice
plan is established in the particular districts under guidelines and
conditions specified by the State Department of Education. The choice
program may include magnet schools, alternative schools, or controlled
choice plans, and must include postsecondary options. Opportunities for
students to take college courses simultaneously for high school
graduation and college degree credit must be available under the
following conditions:
(1) prior written approval of the high school principal for the
cross-registration must be obtained;
(2) the college must accept the student for admission to the courses;
and
(3) the courses must be given by the college for degree credits.
Schools that comply with this standard shall not be penalized in
receiving state appropriations.
Section 59-58-710. A participating school is not obligated to provide
transportation for a child residing outside of the participating school's
resident school district. However, the school may provide transportation
as a service. Parents and students have the responsibility for
transportation to the postsecondary institution.
Section 59-58-720. The local school board of trustees shall establish
policies consistent with this article."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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