S 0868 General Bill, By Hayes, Courson, Grooms, Bauer, Mescher, Thomas, Giese, 
Leatherman, Wilson, Russell, Waldrep, Peeler, Cork, Martin, Ford, Branton, 
Gregory, Alexander and Courtney

Similar(H 4249, H 4250)
 A BILL TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA SAFETY IN SCHOOLS ACT OF 1999", INCLUDING
 PROVISIONS TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING
 SECTION 59-17-135 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER FOR EACH
 MIDDLE, JUNIOR, AND HIGH SCHOOL IN THIS STATE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN
 WHICH THESE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SHALL BE EMPLOYED, TRAINED, AND ASSIGNED,
 TO PROVIDE THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN THE ANNUAL GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
 BEGINNING WITH FISCAL YEAR 2000-2001, SHALL PROVIDE CERTAIN FUNDING FOR THESE
 OFFICERS, TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR COUNTY WITH A SCHOOL WITH A
 HIGH INCIDENCE OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE MAY APPLY FOR MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL RESOURCE
 OFFICER AT THAT SCHOOL, TO REQUIRE EACH MIDDLE, JUNIOR, OR HIGH SCHOOL WITH AN
 INTERCOM SYSTEM TO DEVELOP VERBAL SECURITY CODES TO BE USED TO WARN TEACHERS
 AND STAFF OF CERTAIN TYPES OF IMPENDING DANGER; TO PROVIDE THAT SCHOOL
 RESOURCE OFFICERS SHALL COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
 ANTI-CRIME PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP LOCAL INITIATIVES AGAINST SCHOOL VIOLENCE, BY
 ADDING SECTION 59-63-365 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ARRESTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
 AGENCY MUST NOTIFY THE SENIOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ARREST OF A STUDENT
 FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES AND TO PROVIDE THE ADMINISTRATOR MUST NOTIFY THE
 STUDENT'S TEACHERS OF THE ARREST AND OFFENSES ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED BY THE
 STUDENT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-23-50, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL
 SALE OF PISTOLS TO CERTAIN PERSONS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR THE SALE
 OF A PISTOL TO A PERSON UNDER TWENTY-ONE.

   05/26/99  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-6
   05/26/99  Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-6

TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA SAFETY IN SCHOOLS ACT OF 1999", INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 59-17-135 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER FOR EACH MIDDLE, JUNIOR, AND HIGH SCHOOL IN THIS STATE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH THESE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SHALL BE EMPLOYED, TRAINED, AND ASSIGNED, TO PROVIDE THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN THE ANNUAL GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, BEGINNING WITH FISCAL YEAR 2000-2001, SHALL PROVIDE CERTAIN FUNDING FOR THESE OFFICERS, TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR COUNTY WITH A SCHOOL WITH A HIGH INCIDENCE OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE MAY APPLY FOR MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER AT THAT SCHOOL, TO REQUIRE EACH MIDDLE, JUNIOR, OR HIGH SCHOOL WITH AN INTERCOM SYSTEM TO DEVELOP VERBAL SECURITY CODES TO BE USED TO WARN TEACHERS AND STAFF OF CERTAIN TYPES OF IMPENDING DANGER; TO PROVIDE THAT SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SHALL COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ANTI-CRIME PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP LOCAL INITIATIVES AGAINST SCHOOL VIOLENCE, BY ADDING SECTION 59-63-365 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ARRESTING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY MUST NOTIFY THE SENIOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ARREST OF A STUDENT FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES AND TO PROVIDE THE ADMINISTRATOR MUST NOTIFY THE STUDENT'S TEACHERS OF THE ARREST AND OFFENSES ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED BY THE STUDENT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-23-50, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL SALE OF PISTOLS TO CERTAIN PERSONS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR THE SALE OF A PISTOL TO A PERSON UNDER TWENTY-ONE.

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

SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "South Carolina Safety in Schools Act of 1999".

SECTION 2. The General Assembly finds that a safe and secure school environment is one of the prerequisites to students learning at their full potential. In South Carolina, over nine thousand five school crimes were committed during the 1997-98 school year, an increase of over twenty-one percent. In addition, during the 1997-98 school year, serious crimes increased in our schools by more than twelve percent. A school resource officer can help deal with these problems by being present and in uniform on school campuses to monitor student behavior and enforce the laws of this State. Such an officer in every middle, junior, and high school of this State will make South Carolina schools safer for students and teachers alike, will provide disciplinary assistance and enforcement to teachers and administrators, and will improve the quality of South Carolina public education by reducing and deterring classroom crime and violence.

SECTION 3. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-17-135. (A) The General Assembly in the annual general appropriations act beginning with fiscal year 2000-2001 shall provide seventy-five percent of the funding required to provide a school resource officer for every middle, junior, and high school in this State. The funding provided shall be complementary to and integrated with those school resource officers already in place through the utilization of federal funds. The funding provided by the General Assembly for school resource officers shall include funds for salary, equipment, uniforms, and training.

(B) A school resource officer for purposes of this section is defined as a certified law enforcement officer who shall have the same powers and authority as do deputy sheriffs of the county wherein they are assigned. School resource officers shall be employed by the sheriff of their particular county and shall be assigned for administrative and pay purposes to the sheriff's department. However, they shall work at the schools to which they are assigned on a full-time basis in the manner the governing body of the county in conjunction with the applicable school board shall direct.

(C) A county governing body may elect to accept or not accept the state funding provided in subsection (A) for school resource officers for the schools of that county. If a county governing body elects to accept such state funding, these funds may only be used for school resource officers in the manner required by this section and by law.

(D) Nothing herein prevents a school resource officer from working at more than one school in a school district or county and these officers also may be assigned to cover student interscholastic activities occurring after normal school hours.

(E) A school district or county with a school which has a high incidence of school violence, as determined by the report compiled by the Department of Education pursuant to Section 59-63-330, may apply for the funding to provide more than one school resource officer at any school with a high incidence of school violence.

(F) Each middle, junior, or high school of this State with an intercom or other type of voice communication system to each classroom shall develop a security code made up of key words known to each teacher and administrator which shall notify them of immediate impending danger if announced over the intercom or voice communication system. Schools are authorized to develop different codes for different types of danger to include weather, fire, and intruders on school property presenting a threat to the physical safety of students and faculty or to the school. School personnel upon hearing the security code shall implement an evacuation plan or other plans designed to be put into effect for that type of danger after the security code has been announced.

(G) School resource officers shall coordinate efforts with existing public and private anti-crime programs to further develop local initiatives to prevent school violence."

SECTION 4. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-63-365. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a student is arrested and charged with committing an offense listed in subsection (B), the arresting law enforcement agency must notify the senior administrator of the school the student attends of the arrest and the offense for which the student is charged. The arresting agency is authorized to request information concerning school enrollment from the student. The administrator is required to notify each teacher or instructor in whose class the student is enrolled of the student's arrest for an offense listed in subsection (B).

(B) The offenses for which the senior school administrator must be notified are:

(1) assault and battery against school personnel, as defined in Section 16-3-612;

(2) assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity;

(3) a violent offense as defined in Section 16-1-60;

(4) an offense in which a weapon defined in Section 59-63-370 is used; or

(5) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44.

(C) Each school district must develop a policy for schools to follow within the district which ensures that the confidential nature of this information is maintained.

SECTION 5. Section 16-23-50 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 297 of 1998, is further amended to read:

"Section 16-23-50. (A)(1) A person, including a dealer, who violates the provisions of this article, except Section Sections 16-23-20 and 16-23-30(c), is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(2) A person violating the provisions of Section 16-23-20 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(3) A person violating the provisions of Section 16-23-30(c) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for a mandatory minimum term of two years and fined not more than two thousand dollars.

(B) In addition to the penalty provided in this section, the pistol involved in the violation of this article must be confiscated. The pistol must be delivered to the chief of police of the municipality or to the sheriff of the county if the violation occurred outside the corporate limits of a municipality. The law enforcement agency that receives the confiscated pistol may use it within the agency, transfer it to another law enforcement agency for the lawful use of that agency, trade it with a retail dealer licensed to sell pistols in this State for a pistol or any other equipment approved by the agency, or destroy it. A weapon must not be disposed of in any manner until the results of any legal proceeding in which it may be involved are finally determined. If the State Law Enforcement Division seized the pistol, it may keep it for use by its forensic laboratory. Records must be kept of all confiscated pistols received by the law enforcement agencies under the provisions of this article."

SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.