S 1227 General Bill, By Land, H.U. Fielding, F. Gilbert, I.E. Lourie, Matthews, 
T.W. Mitchell, M.F. Mullinax, Patterson, Peeler, T.H. Pope, Saleeby, Setzler and 
Washington
 A Bill to amend Section 59-18-30, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
 relating to the criteria for evaluating the quality of education in the school
 districts of this State and the process for declaring a school district
 seriously impaired, so as to add an additional criterion for such evaluation
 pertaining to capital improvement needs which directly impact upon the
 educational opportunities and learning of students.

   01/28/92  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-8
   01/28/92  Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-8

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-30, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THIS STATE AND THE PROCESS FOR DECLARING A SCHOOL DISTRICT SERIOUSLY IMPAIRED, SO AS TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL CRITERION FOR SUCH EVALUATION PERTAINING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS WHICH DIRECTLY IMPACT UPON THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND LEARNING OF STUDENTS.

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

SECTION 1. Section 59-18-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-18-30. Before January 1, 1985, the The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Select Committee, shall develop criteria for evaluating the quality of education in the school districts of the State. The criteria must include, but is not limited to:

(1) improvement of Statewide Testing Program (STP) and Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) test results;

(2) dropout rate;

(3) accreditation deficiencies; and

(4) failure rate on the high school exit exam; and

(5) Capital Improvement needs which directly impact upon the educational opportunities and learning of students.

The State Board of Education shall develop regulations for the implementation of this section. Prior to January 1, 1985, and by By January first of each year thereafter, the State Department of Education shall apply the adopted criteria to appropriate data collected for all school districts.

When the screening process indicates that all minimum criteria standards are met, the districts will must be so notified by the Department of Education. When the screening process indicates potential problems, technical assistance in resolving the potential problems will must be offered by the Department of Education.

When the screening process indicates that the quality of education in a given school district is seriously impaired, the State Superintendent, with the approval of the State Board of Education shall appoint a Review Committee to study educational programs in that district and identify factors affecting the impairment of quality and, no later than the end of the school year, make recommendations to the State Board of Education for corrective action. Within thirty days thereafter the State Department of Education shall notify the superintendent and district board of trustees of the recommendations approved by the State Board of Education. Such The Review Committee shall must be composed of State Department of Education staff, representatives from selected school districts, representatives from higher education, and one or more noneducators.

If the recommendations approved by the State Board of Education are not satisfactorily implemented by the school district within six months after receiving the recommendations, the State Superintendent, with the approval of the State Board of Education, shall be is granted authority to do any of the following:

(1) Declare a state of emergency in the school district. Within thirty days thereafter, the State Superintendent shall present evidence as to the state of emergency to a called, joint meeting of the Education Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The State Superintendent of Education, the superintendent of the district concerned, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the district shall be required to testify along with such other witnesses as the committees may desire to call. Upon conclusion of the testimony, the joint committees, by vote of a majority of those committee members present and voting, may either concur or nonconcur in the finding of a state of emergency. If a majority of the committee members concur with the finding of a state of emergency, the State Superintendent of Education may cause state funds for any or all programs under the South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984 to be escrowed for the duration of the emergency with the understanding that he may thereafter release funds from escrow for any program which he determines to have been restored to standard even though the state of emergency may not as yet be terminated for the district as a whole. The state of emergency may be declared ended by vote of a majority of the members voting at a called joint meeting of the Education Committees of the House and Senate and thereupon the escrowed funds may be released to the district during the next twelve-month period as the State Superintendent may prescribe.

(2) Furnish continuing advice and technical assistance in implementing the aforementioned recommendations of the State Board of Education.

(3) Recommend to the Governor that the office of superintendent be declared vacant. The Governor may thereupon so declare after which the superintendent may furnish an interim replacement until the vacancy is filled by the board of trustees."

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