Several positive bills we covered in last month’s Statehouse Insider have seen substantive improvements and made further progress. Read below to see how these proposals are shaping up as we near the halfway mark of South Carolina’s legislative session.
Grading floor ban clears major legislative hurdle
Originating as a simple ban on grading floors—a practice CALN was among the first to raise public awareness of—H.5073 has developed into a comprehensive measure to clean up South Carolina’s grading practices and bolster academic integrity.
First, the bill would prohibit districts or schools from requiring teachers to assign students a minimum grade that exceeds their actual performance. A violation would carry a 10% state funding penalty.
Second, it would prohibit the inclusion of formative assessments (used to measure a student’s knowledge growth throughout the year and provide teachers with feedback) in calculating a student’s final grade, which is already prohibited by budget proviso with limited exceptions.
Finally, it would require a student to submit all necessary assignments for a course to be eligible for district-approved credit or content recovery, ensuring students demonstrate a genuine effort before makeup opportunities become available.
During Tuesday’s House EPW Committee hearing, Rep. Jackie Terribile, a former member of the SC State Board of Education, said that it was teachers she heard from the most who raised concerns about this practice, a sentiment we have heard as well. A Palmetto State Teachers Association spokesperson said that setting a grading floor creates low expectations for students, according to the SC Daily Gazette, and that many students will do the bare minimum amount of work needed to pass.
The full House EPW Committee advanced H.5073 on Feb. 24 with amendments. You can read about the history of grading floors here or click here for more information.
Improvements to school board training bill
This bill (S.70), which provides for a model code of ethics for school board members and revises a statutory training requirement, is in much better shape following positive changes adopted by lawmakers during the Senate process.
Under this amended version, the state Department of Education must adopt a required training program for board members following their election/re-election. The training may be provided by the department or other entities it designates. A trustee who fails to receive this training within six months of taking office shall have his name submitted to the governor for removal (however, they would first be notified that they are out of compliance and given a reasonable window to satisfy their training before removal a proceeding occurs.)
You can read about the bill in full in our previous update; however, some details, including the district designation component, have been modified or removed following the Senate’s amendments.
The bill passed the Senate 39-2 on Feb. 24 and was sent to the House.
Parental Rights Act Passes House
Much to their credit, House lawmakers have prioritized the passage of a widely supported measure, known as the Parental Rights Act. It received a near-unanimous third reading vote (105-1) with amendments on Feb. 19, sending it to the Senate.
The bill (H.4757) affirms a series of fundamental parents’ rights in state law, such as the right to direct the education of their children, make and consent to their physical and mental healthcare decisions, and participate in parent-teacher or school organizations offered by a district. That includes the right of parents to inspect all curriculum and teacher-training materials for any class their child is enrolled in, occurring either in person or online.
If passed, local school boards will need to adopt a parents’ rights policy that aligns with State Board of Education (SBE) guidelines. Parents may file a complaint to address violations, which may be appealed to SBE. H.4757 also establishes a private cause of action in the event all previous options have been exhausted, subject to various criteria.
The bill’s progress puts South Carolina closer than ever to strengthening parental rights in education and providing substantive recourse when violations occur.
Student Physical Privacy Act makes progress
If the Student Physical Privacy Act (H.4756) sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The bill seeks to codify existing state budget protections that require public schools to designate multi-use restrooms, changing facilities, and sleeping quarters by biological sex, while extending similar requirements to public colleges and universities. In addition, both K-12 schools and higher learning institutions must provide at least one single-user restroom under the bill.
It also ensures that during overnight stays for school-authorized events, students are not required to share a bedroom, restroom, or changing facility with a person of the opposite sex, unless that person is a family member. Finally, the bill establishes a private right of action for certain violations, giving affected students and employees grounds to sue offending schools.
While the budget has done its job as a temporary vehicle for these protections, a law would give them permanency and stronger legal footing.
The bill passed 96-19 in the House on Jan. 29, and would then be advanced by a Senate Education subcommittee on Feb. 24. It awaits a full committee hearing.