Rep. FRANK proposes the following amendment (LC-5179.DG0001H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding appropriately numbered SECTIONS to read:

SECTION X. Chapter 66, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Article 3

School Protection Officer Act

 Section 59-66-310.  For the purposes of this article:
  (1) "Board" means a local government school board or the board of trustees of a government institution of higher learning, and does not include the governing board of a private or parochial school.
  (2) "Firearm safe" means a secure and protective storage container for firearms and firearm ammunition and to which access is restricted by use of combination lock, digital lock, or fingerprint identification. A firearm safe must be certified by Underwriters Laboratories or its successor organization.
  (3) "Frangible bullet" means a bullet designed to disintegrate into tiny particles upon impact to minimize their penetration for reasons of range safety to limit environmental impact, or to limit the danger around the intended target.
  (4) "Government school employee" means a person employed by a school district, as defined in Section 59-1-160, or a government institution of higher learning, as defined in Section 59-103-5.
  (5) "School" means government, private, and parochial K-12 schools and institutions of higher learning.
  (6) "School protection officer" means a person certified as having successfully completed a one week training course offered by the Law Enforcement Training Council and Center for School Safety pursuant to Section 23-23-112 and intended to provide armed protection and other specific public safety and first responder functions to government school children and employees.
  (7) "Self-defense spray device" means a device capable of carrying and ejecting, releasing, or emitting a nonlethal solution capable of incapacitating a violent threat.

 Section 59-66-320.  Beginning with the 2025-2026 School Year, a school board may designate employees as school protection officers to provide armed protection and other related public safety functions to attendees and employees of each government school, with specialized training from the Center for School Safety as required by the Law Enforcement Training Council. The responsibilities and duties of a school protection officer are voluntary and are in addition to his normal responsibilities and duties. Compensation for additional duties relating to service as a school protection officer must be funded by the employing school, which is prohibited from using state funds to provide this compensation.

 Section 59-66-330.  (A) A person designated as a school protection officer may possess a firearm or a self-defense spray device on the school premises if he:
  (1) holds a valid concealed weapons permit pursuant to Article 4, Chapter 31, Title 23;
  (2) successfully completes school protection officer training pursuant to Section 23-23-112;
  (3) keeps the weapon on his person at all times while on the premises except when locked in the school firearm safe;
  (4) keeps the weapon concealed when not in use or locked in the school firearm safe;
  (5) uses only frangible bullets in an effort to avoid ricochets; and
  (6) has no history of violence or unmanaged anger documented by his employer.
 (B) A government school employee who seeks designation as a school protection officer shall apply for the designation in writing to the school by whom he is employed, using forms created by the State Department of Education and furnished by the school in its administrative offices and on its Internet website. An applicant also shall submit with the application proof that he holds the permit and certification required in subsection (A). An applicant may apply for a provisional permit before he completes the requisite certification to ensure the board will otherwise approve his application upon satisfaction of the other requirements of this chapter. In the case of a K-12 school employee, the principal of the school at which the employee submits an application must approve the application before it may be considered by the school board as provided in subsection (C). In the case of an employee of an institution of higher education, the chief administrative officer of the institution at which the employee submits an application must approve the application before it may be considered by the board of trustees of the institution.
 (C) A school board shall hold a public hearing to decide whether to designate any of its employees as school protection officers before the school board may designate an employee to serve as a school protection officer. Notice of the hearing must be published, but the name of any specific employee under consideration for receiving the designation may not be made public. The board's discussion of the qualifications of a specific, individual government school employee to be designated as a school protection officer must occur in executive session.

 Section 59-66-340.  (A) A school board that designates an employee as a school protection officer shall, within thirty days after making the designation, provide written notification of the designation to the Director of SLED. This notification must include the:
  (1) full name, date of birth, and address of the officer;
  (2) name of the government school that made the designation; and
  (3) date on which the district made the designation.
 (B) The Director of SLED shall maintain a listing of all persons designated by school districts as school protection officers and shall make this list available to all law enforcement agencies.
 (C) Notwithstanding another provision of law, identifying information collected under the authority of this section is not subject to disclosure under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.

 Section 59-66-350.  (A) A school protection officer who fails to keep his firearm secure on his person or in the school firearm safe while that the firearm is on school property in violation of Section 59-66-330(A)(3) or (4) immediately must be removed from the classroom, have his designation as a school protection officer revoked, and be subject to employment termination proceedings by the board.
 (B) A school board may revoke the designation of a person as a school protection officer for any reason and immediately shall notify the designated school protection officer, in writing, of the revocation, except when revocation is made pursuant to subsection (A). The school board also shall within thirty days after the revocation notify the Director of SLED in writing of the revocation. A person whose designation as a school protection officer is revoked has no right to appeal the revocation decision or other means of redress.

 Section 59-66-360. A school protection officer must complete continuing education training as considered appropriate by the Law Enforcement Training Council. Failure to comply with this requirement shall result in the immediate suspension of the officer's designation until he completes the requirements and pays a reinstatement fee to the school.

 Section 59-66-370. The designation of an officer expires at the end of his contract period, but may be extended by the board of an additional year annually if he continues to satisfy the requirements of this section.

 Section 59-66-380. A school protection officer has an affirmative duty to notify the school board if he is charged with any criminal acts except for minor traffic violations. The school board shall suspend his certification until it determines whether the charges are violent in motive, in which case it shall revoke the designation.

SECTION X. Section 16-23-420(F) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (F) This section does not apply to a person who:
  (1) is authorized to carry concealed weapons pursuant to Article 4, Chapter 31, Title 23 when upon any premises, property, or building that is part of an interstate highway rest area facility.; or
  (2) is designated as a school protection officer pursuant to Article 3, Chapter 66, Title 59.

SECTION X. (A) Chapter 66, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is redesignated "School Safety".
 (B) Sections 59-66-20, 59-66-30, and 59-66-40 are redesignated as Article 1 entitled, "General Provisions".

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.