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CHAPTER 43.
State Board of Education
SECTION 232.
Defined Program 6-8.
43-232. Defined Program 6-8.
Each school district board of trustees shall ensure quality schooling by providing a rigorous, relevant curriculum for all students.
Each school district shall examine the academic achievement standards adopted by the South Carolina State Board of Education. Elementary, middle, and high school faculty and staff shall work together to ensure that students are prepared to achieve these standards.
I. Basic Program/Curriculum for Grades 6-8
Instruction in the subject areas shall be scheduled for each student for a minimum of 1800 minutes or 30 hours per week including lunch, or the equivalent time on a yearly basis. The subjects shall include, but not be limited to:
A. Subject Areas
English/Language Arts (These courses shall include skill development in reading, writing, listening and speaking.)
Mathematics
Sciences (Environmental education is required as an integral part of the science curriculum.)
Social Studies (Environmental education is required as part of the social studies curriculum; eighth grade social studies must include South Carolina history.)
Health (This includes components as outlined in the Comprehensive Health Education Act, which includes a minimum of 250 minutes of comprehensive health instruction for at least nine (9) weeks annually.)
Physical Education (Students who are physically or mentally unable to take the physical education course provided for students shall take a suitably modified course in physical education. If a student is unable to complete the physical education course then the course shall be modified to meet the educational ability of the student. Section 59-29-80)
Visual/Performing Arts (These courses shall include, but may not be limited to, music and art.)
Exploratory Programs (At least one elective in an occupational or exploratory program shall be scheduled. Programs should include key concepts in areas of digital literacy; computing systems; networks and the internet; and data and analysis.)
Foreign Language (A separate course is recommended, but not required. If a separate course is not offered, foreign languages should be incorporated in the basic curriculum.)
Schools must determine the amount of instructional time in a subject area as approved by the local board of trustees and the State Superintendent of Education. The school day must be at least six hours including lunch, or its equivalent weekly.
A school which includes any combination of grades 5-8 when housed with grades 7 or 8 may elect for all of the combination of grades 5-8 to meet, on a subject by subject basis, the minimum instructional times or the minimum curriculum requirements for either grades 4-5 or grades 6-8, unless otherwise prohibited by law.
B. High School Credit
When approved by the principal and the parents, a student promoted to the seventh or eighth grade may take units of ninth grade or higher work for high school credit. The high school courses offered must be limited to courses that are currently in the 9-12 section of the Activity Coding System for the Student Information System with the exception of physical education and health education courses. It is expected that students taking courses for high school credit have been taught and mastered the middle school level standards prior to taking the courses for high school credit. The number of high school credits permitted at the middle school or junior high school level must be determined by the local school district.
C. Alcohol and Drugs
Through special instruction, schools shall provide age-appropriate instruction regarding the dangers in the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Instruction shall emphasize problems related to their use and effects upon the total community. Instruction shall be offered in all schools of the State and shall be studied and presented as thoroughly and in the same manner as all other required subjects in grades 6-8.
D. Guidance Program/School-to-Work Initiative
1. A comprehensive guidance program, including career development, is required in schools having any combination of grades 6-8.
2. Each school district shall offer a range of mentoring opportunities for students beginning no later than the seventh grade. Students participating in any of the work-based programs shall have the written permission of their parents or legal guardians in order to engage in such experiences. Adult supervision shall be provided for mentoring opportunities.
3. Curriculum activities consisting of educational opportunities, career information resources and career development programs shall be included in subject areas for grades 6-8.
4. Beginning in grade 6, students and their parents and/or legal guardians in collaboration with appropriate school personnel shall prepare a plan for a variety of career options in which the student has an interest.
5. In grade 7, students and their parents and/or legal guardians in collaboration with appropriate school personnel shall revise career planning records in which the student has an interest.
6. In grade 8, students and their parents and/or legal guardians in collaboration with appropriate school personnel shall review and revise the career planning record. The record shall include a high school course of study based on a major plan and an alternate plan for career options in which the student has an interest and the postsecondary programs of study related to achieving a career goal.
E. Library/Media Program
Library media programs and technology resources are required and accessible to all students and staff and are appropriate to achieve the strategies and goals in each school renewal or district strategic plan.
II. Innovative Approaches
A school encompassing any combination of grades 6-8 may implement an innovative approach if it is approved by the local board of trustees and is incorporated in the school and district plans.
III. Class Size, Grades 6-8:
A. The maximum teacher load shall not exceed 150 students daily. Maximum class size shall not exceed the following:
Grade 6
30:1 (English/language arts and math)
35:1 (other subjects)
Grades 7-8
35:1 (all academic and exploratory subjects)
No class shall exceed 35 students in membership.
B. Exceptions:
1. A maximum of 40 students per period with a total teaching load of 240 students daily is permitted for physical education teachers. If physical education and health are taught on alternate days to the same class, the 40 student maximum and 240 student total is also permitted for health. When health is taught as a separate subject, the teaching load is a maximum of 35 students per period and a total of 150 students per day.
2. Music teachers may teach a maximum of 240 pupils daily. No class shall exceed 40 students in membership. Exception: When band, chorus, and orchestra require rehearsals of the entire membership, any number is acceptable if adequate space is available.
3. When a teacher's daily schedule includes a combination of subjects, the maximum daily teaching load shall be calculated on the basis of 30 students per academic class and 40 students for each music or physical education class. (Example: 3 classes of math of 30 each = 90 + 2 classes of P.E. of 40 each = 80. Teacher is not overloaded but teaches maximum allowable.)
Maximum teacher load requirements and individual class size limits are the same for mini courses as any other classes.
IV. Additional Regulatory Requirements
Additional regulatory requirements related to the basic program include, but are not limited to, the following:
Gifted and Talented Reg. 43-220
Health Education Reg. 43-238
Summer School Programs Reg. 43-240
Special Education, Education of Students with Disabilities Reg. 43-243
Academic Assistance Programs - Grades 4-12 Reg. 43-268
V. Student Records
1. Each school shall have an appropriate means of reporting academic achievement to parents.
2. The district shall maintain accurate student data according to the pupil accounting system prescribed by the State Department of Education (SCDE). A record of all dropouts shall be filed by school, grade, race, and sex. The superintendent shall verify the accuracy of the enrollment attendance, membership by category, and dropout reports submitted to the Office of Finance, SCDE.
VI. Emergency Closings
Full days missed because of weather or other circumstances must be made up. Early dismissal days shall be reported to the Director, Office of Federal and State Accountability.
HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 21, Issue No. 6, Part 1, eff June 27, 1997; State Register Volume 39, Issue No. 6, Doc. No. 4476, eff June 26, 2015; SCSR 42-5 Doc. No. 4783, eff May 25, 2018.
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