H 4279 General Bill, By Lucas, Bales and Whatley

Similar(S 1110)
 A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
 59-104-25 SO AS TO ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR THE AWARDING OF PALMETTO FELLOWS
 SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS WHO ATTEND "MAGNET SCHOOLS" OR SCHOOLS WITH "OPEN
 ENROLLMENT" AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN RETROACTIVE BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS
 CURRENTLY ENROLLED WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE FOR PALMETTO FELLOWS
 SCHOLARSHIPS UNDER THE ABOVE PROVISIONS.

   11/10/99  House  Prefiled
   11/10/99  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works
   01/11/00  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-404
   01/11/00  House  Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-404

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 59-104-25 SO AS TO ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR THE AWARDING OF PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS WHO ATTEND "MAGNET SCHOOLS" OR SCHOOLS WITH "OPEN ENROLLMENT" AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN RETROACTIVE BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS CURRENTLY ENROLLED WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE FOR PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIPS UNDER THE ABOVE PROVISIONS.

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

SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-104-25. (A) For the purposes of awarding Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) a 'magnet school' is any public school with all of the following characteristics:

(a) it is attended by students outside their attendance zone who could not attend it if it were not a magnet school; and

(b) it emphasizes an academic theme or specialization;

(c) it was established for desegregation purposes;

(2) 'open enrollment' means that a school district allows students to enroll at schools not in their attendance zone or does not use attendance zones and allows students or their families to choose the school they attend.

(B) For all students in magnet schools as defined in subsection (A), whenever rank in class is a factor for determining eligibility to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, the rank in class assigned to each student shall be the rank in class that student would have had in the high school he or she would have attended if there had been no magnet school. If the school district allows open enrollment for grades ten, eleven, or twelve, the student's rank in class shall be computed as if that student had attended the school closest to his or her residence.

(C) Nothing in subsection (B) above shall affect the rank in class of any student for the purposes of determining eligibility for a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship in any nonmagnet school in any school district with magnet schools.

(D) Any student enrolled in the fall of 1998, spring, summer, or fall of 1999, or the spring of 2000 in an institution eligible to participate in the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship program, who would have been eligible to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship under the provisions of this section combined with other criteria, shall receive a refund for all tuition, fees, and costs covered by the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship program during the academic term comprising fall of 1998, the spring, summer, or fall of 1999, or the spring of 2000.

(E) Any student attending a magnet school who would have been eligible to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship in the absence of subsections (A) through (D) shall also be eligible to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship."

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