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S. 1170
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Setzler, Lourie and Sheheen
Document Path: l:\council\bills\dt\27049bb08.doc
Introduced in the Senate on March 4, 2008
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Education
Summary: Office of Gifted and Talented Education
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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3/4/2008 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-4
3/4/2008 Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-4
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 59-20-60, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SCHOOL DISTRICT EVALUATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT FIVE-YEAR PLANS MUST INCLUDE OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES TO ACCELERATE STUDENT LEARNING; TO AMEND SECTION 59-29-170, RELATING TO PROGRAMS FOR TALENTED STUDENTS, SO AS TO EXTEND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS BY THE EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT RECEIVED FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION BY SCHOOLS WITH FEWER THAN FORTY IDENTIFIED GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS, AND TO INCREASE THE LIFE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD BY TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EACH ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCORE OF THREE OR HIGHER AND BY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR STUDENTS EARNING AN INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA; BY ADDING SECTION 59-29-171 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION; BY ADDING SECTION 59-29-172 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE OFFICE OF GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION MUST REVIEW REGULATIONS AND PROGRAM GUIDELINES AND THAT DISTRICTS MUST ADOPT POLICIES FOR ENROLLMENT PRACTICES; BY ADDING SECTION 59-29-173 SO AS TO ESTABLISH TALENT DEVELOPMENT GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS IN WHICH FEWER THAN TEN PERCENT OF GRADES THREE THROUGH TWELVE ARE IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED AND TALENTED; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-29-174 SO AS TO ESTABLISH A BOARD OF CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION FOR ELEMENTARY THROUGH SECONDARY STUDENTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS POWERS AND DUTIES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that:
(1) The academic achievement of South Carolina's strongest students must be nurtured and accelerated. Accordingly, these students must be given access to educators with appropriate knowledge and skills in working with gifted and talented young people, to accelerated instruction including challenging materials and experiences, to talent development for those students who do not meet the eligibility standards but have potential to succeed in the program, and to state support for continuous improvement.
(2) The objectives of this act are to:
(a) prepare, develop, and endorse educators to work with gifted and talented students so that they have the skills and knowledge to guide students in the development of their gifts and talents;
(b) provide accelerated curriculum and instruction models, including challenging materials and experiences;
(c) develop students who currently do not meet eligibility standards so that they may participate successfully in the gifted and talented program; and
(d) provide state level direction, research, outreach, support, and evaluation to ensure continuous program improvement.
SECTION 2. Section 59-20-60(3) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(3) Each school district board of trustees shall cause the district and each school in the district to develop comprehensive five-year plans with annual updates to outline the District and School Improvement Plans. Districts which have not begun a strategic planning cycle must do so and develop a plan no later than the 1994-1995 school year. Districts which have undertaken such a planning process may continue in their planning cycle as long as the process meets the intent of this section and the long-range plans developed or under development can be amended to encompass the requirements of this section. For school year 1993-1994, districts may submit either the improvement plan consistent with State Department guidelines or their five-year comprehensive plan.
The State Board of Education shall recommend a format for the plans which will be is flexible and adaptable to local planning needs while encompassing certain state mandates, including the early childhood and academic assistance initiative plans pursuant to Section 59-139-10. Each district and school plan must include objectives and strategies that recognize the knowledge and skill level students possess when entering the classroom and build upon these so that learning is accelerated for all students, including those students identified under the provisions of Section 59-29-170. All district and school plans must be reviewed and approved by the board of trustees. The District Plan should must integrate the needs, goals, objectives, strategies, and evaluation methods outlined in the School Plans. Measures of effectiveness must include outcome and process indicators of improvement and must provide data regarding what difference the strategies have made. Staff professional development must be a priority in the development and implementation of the plans and must be based on an assessment of needs. Long and short-range goals, objectives, strategies, and time lines need to must be included."
SECTION 3. Section 59-29-170 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-29-170. (A) Not later than August 15, 1987, gifted and talented students at the elementary and secondary levels must be provided programs during the regular school year or during summer school to develop their unique talents in the manner the State Board of Education must specify and to the extent state funds are provided. The Education Oversight Committee shall study the implementation of this section and report its findings to the General Assembly by July 1, 1986 2010, and triennially thereafter. By August 15, 1984, The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations establishing the criteria for student eligibility in Gifted and Talented Programs. The funds appropriated for Gifted and Talented Programs under the Education Improvement Act of 1984 must be allocated to the school districts of the state on the basis that the number of gifted and talented students served in each district bears to the total of all those students in the state. However, districts unable to identify more than forty students using the selection criteria established by regulations of the State Board of Education shall receive fifteen thousand dollars an amount equal to the salary and fringe benefits costs of one-half a full-time teacher and a base of five thousand dollars for materials and related program costs annually. Provided, further, school districts shall serve gifted and talented students according to the following order of priority: (1) grades 3-12 academically identified gifted and talented students not included in the state-funded Advanced Placement Program for eleventh and twelfth grade students; (2) after all students eligible under priority one are served, students in grades 3-12 identified in one of the following visual and performing arts areas: dance, drama, music, and visual arts must be served; and (3) after all students eligible under priorities one and two are served, students in grades 1 and 2 identified as academically or artistically gifted and talented must be served. All categories of students identified and served shall be funded at a weight of .30 for the base student cost as provided in Chapter 20 of this title. Where funds are insufficient to serve all students in a given category, the district may determine which students within the category shall be served. Provided, further, no district shall be prohibited from using local funds to serve additional students above those for whom state funds are provided.
(B) South Carolina public colleges and universities are encouraged to award preferential consideration in admission decisions to students who have earned a passing grade in one or more Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate program courses. Furthermore, the LIFE scholarship for students entering South Carolina colleges and universities with Advanced Placement examination scores of three or higher shall be increased by two hundred dollars for each Advanced Placement exam score or five hundred dollars for each student earning an International Baccalaureate diploma."
SECTION 4. Chapter 29, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-29-171. (A) There is created in the State Department of Education an Office of Gifted and Talented Education to expand support and coordination for the Talent Development Program, on-going educator professional development, curriculum leadership, and advocacy for collaborations that promote the highest levels of academic and artistic achievement.
(B) The Education Oversight Committee is directed to conduct triennial evaluations of the state's gifted and talented programs to include the endowed higher education centers of excellence, state support and the programs and services provided by public schools and districts. The evaluation shall incorporate measures of program quality, teacher development, and student performance initially and over their educational careers."
"Section 59-29-172. (A) The Office of Gifted and Talented Education of the State Department of Education shall review regulations and program guidelines and make recommendations for changes to ensure that public school programs serving gifted and talented students encompass policies and procedures for early admission to a school or level of schooling and grade skipping. Each school district board of trustees shall adopt policies providing for early admission and grade skipping so that a student entering school in advance of the attendance requirements outlined in Sections 59-63-20 and 59-65-10 may be counted for state funding. The Office also shall recommend changes to ensure that content acceleration, including single subject acceleration and compressing or compacting curriculum are implemented in the public schools of the State.
(B) The State Board of Education, upon the advice of state leaders in gifted and talented education, shall publish a list of instructional materials and curriculum guides aligned with state content standards in the core academic disciplines and the arts so that students identified as gifted and talented have access to materials written at their higher level of reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning.
(C) Schools and school districts are encouraged to implement intradistrict and interdistrict enrollment practices to ensure that students in the gifted and talented program have access to the curriculum and instruction most appropriate to their gifts and talents. When two or more districts collaborate to provide a multidistrict program, student performance must be incorporated in the annual school and district report cards such that the student performance data is reported at the school the student attends and with the district in which the student resides.
Section 59-29-173. (A) Using prior school year student information, a school in which fewer than ten percent of grades three through twelve average daily membership is identified for the gifted and talented program using criteria established by the State Board of Education and which has been endorsed a talent development demonstration site by its district board of trustees may apply for a three-year Talent Development Grant. Schools identified for technical assistance under the provisions of Section 59-18-1500 shall receive priority consideration in the grants program.
(B) The purpose of the Talent Development Grant is to diagnose gaps between an individual student's performance and potential, to provide accelerated instruction, and to provide enrichment activities and additional time so that the student's gifts and talents can be realized. The Talent Development Grant is to be used by the school district, individually, or in combination with another school district, the Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, a public or private entity, a community organization or an institution of higher education to provide instruction and developmental experiences for students with the potential, but not the knowledge and skill levels, to succeed in the gifted and talented program.
(C) The Talent Development Grant must incorporate measurable objectives, activities that include in-school and out-of-school time, parental involvement, and a longitudinal performance evaluation. Talent Development Grants are to be awarded by the State Board of Education initially for the 2009-2010 school year and may be renewed upon successful completion of the prior three-year grants. Individual grants shall be not more than one hundred thousand dollars annually.
Section 59-29-174. (A) There is created a Board of Centers of Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education for Elementary-Secondary Students. The Board is composed of:
(1) a member to be appointed by the Governor;
(2) a member to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(3) a member to be appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(4) a member to be appointed by the Commission on Higher Education;
(5) a member to be appointed by the Council of Presidents of South Carolina Higher Education Institutions;
(6) a member to be appointed by the South Carolina Association of Colleges of Teacher Education;
(7) a member to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;
(8) a member to be appointed by the State Board of Education;
(9) a member to be appointed by the South Carolina Consortium for Gifted Education;
(10) a school district or consortia coordinator of programs for academically gifted and talented students to be appointed by the chairman of the Senate Education Committee;
(11) a school district or consortia coordinator of programs for artistically gifted and talented students to be appointed by the chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee;
(12) an elementary classroom teacher of gifted and talented students to be appointed by the chairman of the Senate Education Committee;
(13) a secondary classroom teacher of gifted and talented students to be appointed by the chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee; and
(14) two national advisors in education of gifted and talented students to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.
(B) There is created an endowment for the Board of Centers of Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education for Elementary-Secondary Students.
(1) The endowment must be funded to reach an aggregate not to exceed fifteen million dollars. The endowment fund must be managed by the State Treasurer, subject to awards from the endowment as provided in this chapter. Interest earnings of the endowment must remain in the fund.
(2) The purpose of the endowment is to establish endowed professorships, demonstration programs, and outreach activities at no fewer than four South Carolina public or private institutions of higher education. The endowed professors shall conduct research, provide program leadership, and implement changes in the educator preparation and professional development programs so that there is a cadre of teachers and counselors with the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and support to gifted and talented students in the state.
(3) Programs at institutions of higher education must be based upon the standards for teacher knowledge and skills for gifted and talented education approved by the National Association for Gifted Children, the Council on Exceptional Children, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. At least one center of excellence shall focus on artistically gifted and talented students.
(4) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, public or private institutions of higher education, individually or in conjunction with one or more institutions of higher education, may apply for awards from the endowment. An application for an award shall:
(a) provide documentation of private or public matching funds to be received each year of the award in an amount equal to twenty percent of the amount for which the application is made;
(b) provide an institutional commitment to the Board of Centers for not less than six years;
(c) be in an amount of not less than one million dollars and not more than three million dollars;
(d) document that the application has significant potential to impact the immediate and long-term achievement of South Carolina's gifted and talented students; and
(e) provide specific partnering activities with other institutions, public schools and school districts, businesses, or the community.
(5) Upon determination by the Board of Centers of Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education for Elementary-Secondary Students that application requirements have been met, the board shall appoint an external advisory panel whose members are chosen from outside South Carolina for their expertise in the field of gifted and talented education to review the applications. The members appointed to the panel shall have no affiliation with the South Carolina institutions of higher education. The panel shall convene in the state to review the proposals and to verify the commitments made by the applicant institutions. Thereafter, the panel shall make a report and recommendation to the board as to the merits of the applications not more than ninety days after submission to the panel. The board shall then make a determination as to whether or not to award the matching funds and as to the amount of the award.
(6) Staff and support for the operations of the board and the panels must be provided by the State Department of Education. The department shall approve all necessary funds for the prudent operation of the board, including per diem, subsistence, and mileage expenses of board members as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions, and for the costs and expenses of panel members. The expenditures authorized by this section must be provided from the endowment.
(7) The State Department of Education shall administer a program of tuition reimbursement so that public school teachers may earn credits to achieve an endorsement on their teaching certificates which confirms their preparation to teach gifted and talented students. Requirements for the endorsement shall remain at six semester hours through 2010 and shall increase to twelve semester hours beginning in 2011. Until January 1, 2001, the State Board of Education may establish conditions under which teachers currently teaching in the gifted and talented program who display evidence of a history of demonstrated student achievement may be awarded the endorsement."
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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