S 0867 General Bill, By Hawkins
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 59-63-45 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT
 FOR ATTENDING ANOTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO PROVIDE THAT A CHILD ENROLLED IN THE
 WRONG SCHOOL DISTRICT DUE TO AN ERROR BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT REQUIRED
 TO PAY TUITION FOR THAT SCHOOL YEAR, TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY
 ONLY REMOVE A STUDENT ENROLLED IN THE DISTRICT AS A RESULT OF DISTRICT ERROR
 IF THE DISTRICT CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT THE ERROR WAS DUE TO THE PERSON
 RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE CHILD KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY
 MISREPRESENTING THE CHILD'S RESIDENCE TO THE DISTRICT, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE
 PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR EDUCATING A CHILD MAY RECOVER ACTUAL DAMAGES, PUNITIVE
 DAMAGES, COSTS, AND ATTORNEY'S FEES FROM A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT VIOLATES THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.

   12/05/07  Senate Prefiled
   12/05/07  Senate Referred to Committee on Education
   01/08/08  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-36
   01/08/08  Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-36
   01/18/08         Scrivener's error corrected

TO AMEND SECTION 59-63-45 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT FOR ATTENDING ANOTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO PROVIDE THAT A CHILD ENROLLED IN THE WRONG SCHOOL DISTRICT DUE TO AN ERROR BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY TUITION FOR THAT SCHOOL YEAR, TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY ONLY REMOVE A STUDENT ENROLLED IN THE DISTRICT AS A RESULT OF DISTRICT ERROR IF THE DISTRICT CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT THE ERROR WAS DUE TO THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE CHILD KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY MISREPRESENTING THE CHILD'S RESIDENCE TO THE DISTRICT, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR EDUCATING A CHILD MAY RECOVER ACTUAL DAMAGES, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, COSTS, AND ATTORNEY'S FEES FROM A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.

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

SECTION    1.    Section 59-63-45 is amended to read:

"Section 59-63-45.    (A)    Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, a A nonresident child otherwise meeting the enrollment requirements of this chapter may attend a school in a school district which he is otherwise qualified to attend if the person responsible for educating the child pays an amount equal to the prior year's local revenue per child raised by the millage levied for school district operations and debt service reduced by school taxes on real property owned by the child paid to the school district in which he is enrolled. The district may waive all or a portion of the payment required by this section.

(B)(1)    A school district must waive all of the payment required by subsection (A) when a nonresident child is enrolled at a school in the district if:

(a)    the person responsible for educating the child contacts a school district to determine whether the child should attend schools in that district;

(b)    the person responsible for educating the child provides the school district with complete and accurate information concerning the child's place of residence;

(c)    the school district erroneously informs the person that the child is a resident of that school district, is eligible to attend schools within that district, and identifies the school at which the child should be enrolled; and

(d)    the person enrolls the child at that school in good faith.

(2)    A child enrolled at a school under the circumstances described in subsection (B)(1) must be allowed to complete the academic year at the school at which he is enrolled.

(3)    A school district may remove a child enrolled at a school under the circumstances described in subsection (B)(1) or require that the child pay tuition as provided in subsection (A) only upon a finding that the person responsible for educating the child knowingly and intentionally misled the district concerning the residence of the child. The finding and the basis upon which the finding was made must be transmitted to the members of the county legislative delegation no later than thirty days before the child is to be removed from school or required to begin tuition payments.

(4)    The person responsible for educating the child may recover, on behalf of the child, actual damages, punitive damages, costs, and reasonable attorney fees from a school district that violates any provision of this subsection.

(5)    The provisions of this subsection do not apply if the school district discovers its error and informs the person responsible for educating the child of its error prior to the child's enrollment or the child attending class at the school.

(B)(C)    Students attending a school pursuant to this section must be counted in enrollment for purposes of determining state aid to the district.

(C)(D)    If the payment to the school district is not made within a reasonable time as determined by the district, the child must be removed from the school after notice is given.

(D)(E)    Any nonresident student enrolled in the schools of a district no later than September 9, 1996, shall not be required to meet the conditions of subsection (A) of this section as long as the student is continuously enrolled in the district and as long as the student meets the qualifications provided by law for attending the schools of the district."

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