H 4957 Session 112 (1997-1998)
H 4957 General Bill, By A.W. Byrd, Breeland, J. Brown, Cave, Clyburn, Harvin,
M. Hines, Howard, Inabinett, Lee, Littlejohn, Lloyd, Maddox, W. McLeod,
McMahand, Moody-Lawrence, Neilson, Scott, J. Smith, Spearman and Stuart
A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO
EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 138, SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA
CAMPUS-BASED CHILD CARE ACT" WHICH AUTHORIZES THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER
EDUCATION TO AWARD GRANTS TO POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CAMPUS-BASED CHILD CARE SERVICES FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS.
04/02/98 House Introduced and read first time HJ-34
04/02/98 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-35
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING
CHAPTER 138, SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH
CAROLINA CAMPUS-BASED CHILD CARE ACT"
WHICH AUTHORIZES THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER
EDUCATION TO AWARD GRANTS TO POSTSECONDARY
INSTITUTIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CAMPUS-BASED CHILD CARE SERVICES FOR LOW-INCOME
STUDENTS.
Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly finds that:
(1) earning potential increases significantly when individuals
attend college for any period of time;
(2) public assistance recipients who complete college are more
likely to leave public assistance permanently;
(3) students who are parents and receive campus-based child
care are more likely to remain in school and to graduate more rapidly
and at a higher rate than students who are parents and do not receive
campus-based child care;
(4) students who are parents rate access to campus-based child
care programs as an important factor affecting their college
enrollment;
(5) children placed in high quality child care programs exhibit
significant positive results from the experience, including:
(a) higher earnings as adults;
(b) higher rates of secondary school graduation;
(c) lower rates of retention in grade level;
(d) lower rates of teenage pregnancy; and
(e) reduced need for special education or social services;
(6) the public saves seven dollars for every one dollar invested
in quality child care; and
(7) campus-based child care programs may have an increasingly
difficult time accessing federal child care funds under the structure
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 138
Campus-Based Child Care
Section 59-138-10. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina
Campus-Based Child Care Act'.
Section 59-138-20. For purposes of this chapter:
(1) 'Commission' means the Commission on Higher Education;
(2) 'low-income student' means a student who is eligible to
receive a federal Pell Grant for the fiscal year for which the
determination is made.
Section 59-138-30. The purpose of this chapter is to support the
participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education
through the provision of campus-based child care services.
Section 59-138-40. (A) The Commission on Higher Education
may award grants to institutions of higher education to assist the
institutions in providing campus-based child care services to
low-income students.
(B) The amount of a grant awarded to an institution of higher
education under this chapter for a fiscal year shall not exceed one
percent of the total amount of all federal Pell Grant funds awarded to
students enrolled at the institution of higher education for the
preceding fiscal year. However, a grant under this section must be
awarded in an amount that is not less than ten thousand dollars.
(C) The commission shall award a grant under this section for a
period of three years and the grant may be renewed for three years.
(D) Subject to Section 59-138-80, the commission shall make grant
payments annually to eligible institutions.
Section 59-138-50. (A) An institution of higher education is
eligible to receive a grant under this chapter for a fiscal year if the
total amount of all federal Pell Grant funds awarded to students
enrolled at the institution of higher education for the preceding fiscal
year equals or exceeds one million dollars.
(B) Grant funds awarded under this chapter must be used by an
institution of higher education to support or establish a campus-based
child care program serving the needs of low-income students enrolled
at the institution of higher education.
(C) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit an
institution of higher education that receives grant funds pursuant to
this chapter from serving the child care needs of the community
served by the institution.
Section 59-138-60. An institution of higher education desiring a
grant under this chapter shall submit an application to the
commission at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the commission may require. Each application shall:
(1) demonstrate that the institution is an eligible institution
described in Section 59-138-50(A);
(2) specify the amount of funds requested;
(3) demonstrate the need of low-income students at the
institution for campus-based child care services by including in the
application student demographics and other relevant data;
(4) contain a description of the activities to be assisted,
including whether the grant funds will support an existing child care
program or a new child care program;
(5) identify the resources the institution will draw upon to
support the child care program and the participation of low-income
students in the program, including, but not limited to, accessing
social services funding, using student activity fees to help pay the
costs of child care, using resources obtained by meeting the needs of
parents who are not low-income students, and accessing foundation,
corporate, or other institutional support and demonstrate that the use
of the resources will not result in increases in student tuition;
(6) contain an assurance that the institution will meet the child
care needs of low-income students through the provision of services
or through a contract for the provision of services;
(7) in the case of an institution seeking assistance for a new
child care program:
(a) provide a timeline, covering the period from receipt of the
grant through the provision of the child care services, delineating the
specific steps the institution will take to achieve the goal of providing
low-income students with child care services;
(b) specify any measures the institution will take to assist
low-income students with child care during the period before the
institution provides child care services; and
(c) include a plan for identifying resources needed for the
child care services, including space in which to provide child care
services and technical assistance, if necessary;
(8) contain an assurance that any child care facility assisted
under this chapter will meet the applicable state or local government
licensing, certification, approval, or registration requirements; and
(9) contain a plan for any child care facility assisted under this
chapter to become accredited within three years of the date the
institution first receives assistance under this chapter.
Section 59-138-70. Each institution of higher education receiving
a grant under this chapter shall report to the commission eighteen
months and thirty-six months after receiving the first grant payment
under this chapter. The report shall include:
(1) data on the population served under this chapter;
(2) information on campus and community resources and
funding used to help low-income students access child care services;
(3) information on progress made toward accreditation of any
child care facility; and
(4) information on the impact of the grant on the quality,
availability, and affordability of campus-based child care services.
Section 59-138-80. The commission shall make the third annual
grant payment under this chapter to an institution of higher education
only if the commission determines, on the basis of the eighteen
month report submitted under Section 59-138-70 that the institution
is making a good faith effort to ensure that low-income students at
the institution have access to affordable, quality child care
services."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 1998.
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