2023-2024 Bill 305 Text of Previous Version (May. 02, 2024)

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

A bill

to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-25-60 so as to provide that an individual's prior work experience may be awarded on an initial teaching certificate if the prior experience is in or related to the content field of the certificate, and to provide that existing certificate holders may also RECEIVE the same credit for prior work experience.

Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 25, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-25-60. (A) When reviewing an application by an individual for an educator certificate, the State Department of Education shall award years of experience on the educator certificate for occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which the individual qualifies. One year of experience credit may be awarded for every year of full-time relevant work experience completed by the individual. Years of experience shall be awarded solely for the purpose of advancement on the State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule. To be eligible for years of experience on the educator certificate, the individual must complete and submit a verification of relevant work experience form developed by the State Department of Education with the application for an educator certificate.

(B) Individuals that entered the teaching profession prior to July 1, 2023, with occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of their teaching certificate may complete and submit the verification of relevant work experience form to the State Department of Education to have additional years of experience added to their certificate for the purposes of advancing on the State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule. If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible individual may be entitled to have their pay adjusted for the current school year to reflect the new experience step on the employing district's salary schedule. However, the individual is not entitled to retroactive pay for the increased years of experience during prior years of teaching or for any purpose other than advancement on the State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule.

(C) Nothing in this section alters any existing requirements for receiving an educator certificate. Individuals with the work experience identified in subsection (A) must still meet all other existing requirements in order to receive an educator certificate.

(D) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing additional years of experience to be awarded for purposes other than advancement on the State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule. Years of experience awarded pursuant to this section for relevant work experience are not considered service credit for the purposes of the state retirement or state health plans administered by PEBA.

SECTION 2. The State Department of Education shall make available the work experience verification form described in this act no later than one hundred eighty days after the approval by the Governor.

SECTION 3. This act may be cited as the "Educator Assistance Act".

SECTION 4. Article 3, Chapter 25, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-25-112. A professional certificate issued by the State Board of Education is permanent unless revoked or suspended and is not subject to renewal. No teacher may be required to renew a professional certificate issued by the board.

SECTION 5. Article 1, Chapter 101, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-101-145. The State Department of Education, in collaboration with the Education Oversight Committee, is authorized to use data that is already being collected through current processes to report on the in-state and out-of-state college enrollment, college persistence, and postsecondary completion of South Carolina's high school graduates. The department shall work to streamline data collection timelines and processes to reduce the burden and increase the efficiency of such data collection and reporting.

SECTION 6. Section 59-25-420 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(C) Teachers who submit their contract prior to May eleventh pursuant to subsection (A) have ten days after publication of the employing district's salary schedule for the coming school year to notify the district's board of trustees in writing that the teacher wishes to withdraw his acceptance of his contract. If a teacher submits his request within ten days, the district is prohibited from reporting the withdrawal of prior acceptance as a breach of contract pursuant to Section 59-25-530.

SECTION 7. Section 59-25-530 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 59-25-530. Any teacher who fails to comply with the provisions of his contract without the written consent of the school board shall be or as provided in Section 59-25-420 is deemed guilty of unprofessional conduct. A breach of contract resulting from the execution of an employment contract with another board within the State without the consent of the board first employing the teacher makes void any subsequent contract with any other school district in South Carolina for the same employment period. Upon the formal complaint of the school board, substantiated by conclusive evidence, the State board shallmay suspend or revoke the teacher's certificate, for a period not to exceed one calendar year. The State Board shall not hear a complaint from a school board pursuant to this section unless it is received within thirty days of the breach. The period for educator certificate suspension due to breach of contract must begin on the date such contract is breached with the district and run for a period of time deemed appropriate by the State Board of Education, not to exceed six months from the date of breach, if the educator is not employed in a certified position by another public school district or public school. If the educator is employed in a certified position by another public school district or public school, the period of suspension may not exceed six months, effective the date of the board's determination. State education agencies in other states with reciprocal certification agreements shall be notified of the revocation of the certificateThe department shall provide notification of the suspension to other state educator licensing authorities.

SECTION 8. Sections 59-101-130 and 59-101-140 of the S.C. Code are repealed.

SECTION 9. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

SECTION 10. This act takes effect July 1, 2024.

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