South Carolina General Assembly
123rd Session, 2019-2020

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

S. 240

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Fanning and Campsen
Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\19429wab19.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3256, 3347

Introduced in the Senate on January 8, 2019
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Education

Summary: School start date

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/12/2018  Senate  Prefiled
  12/12/2018  Senate  Referred to Committee on Education
    1/8/2019  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 147)
    1/8/2019  Senate  Referred to Committee on Education 
                        (Senate Journal-page 147)

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/12/2018

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 59-1-425, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE UNIFORM START DATE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT AND VEST SOLE AUTHORITY FOR SETTING THE START DATE OF A DISTRICT IN THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE DISTRICT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 59-1-425(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(A)    A local school district board of trustees of the State has the authority to establish an annual school calendar for teachers, staff, and students. The statutory school term is one hundred ninety days annually and must consist of a minimum of one hundred eighty days of instruction covering at least nine calendar months. However, beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, the opening date for students must not be before the third Monday in August, except for schools operating on a year-round modified school calendar. Three days must be used for collegial professional development based upon the educational standards as required by Section 59-18-300. The professional development must address, at a minimum, academic achievement standards including strengthening teachers' knowledge in their content area, teaching techniques, and assessment. No more than two days may be used for preparation of opening of schools and the remaining five days may be used for teacher planning, academic plans, and parent conferences. The number of instructional hours in an instructional day may vary according to local board policy and does not have to be uniform among the schools in the district."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on March 13, 2019 at 2:51 PM