S 31 Session 112 (1997-1998)
S 0031 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO
EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 68, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE A PUPIL TO ATTEND A PUBLIC
SCHOOL IN A DISTRICT OTHER THAN THE ONE IN WHICH HE RESIDES UNDER CERTAIN
RESTRICTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND LIMITATIONS.
01/14/97 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-95
01/14/97 Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-95
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING
CHAPTER 68, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE A PUPIL TO ATTEND A
PUBLIC SCHOOL IN A DISTRICT OTHER THAN THE ONE IN
WHICH HE RESIDES UNDER CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS,
CONDITIONS, AND LIMITATIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that the students in
South Carolina's public schools and their parents will become more
informed about and more involved in the public educational system
if students and their parents are provided greater freedom to
determine the most effective school for meeting their individual
educational needs. There is no "right" school for every
student and permitting students to choose from among different
schools with differing assets will increase the likelihood that some
marginal students stay in school and that other, more motivated
students fulfill their full academic potential.
The General Assembly further finds that giving more options to
parents and students regarding where they attend public school will
increase the responsiveness and effectiveness of the state's schools
since teachers, administrators, and school board members will have
added incentive to satisfy the educational needs of the students who
reside in the district.
The General Assembly finds that these benefits of enhanced quality
and effectiveness in our public schools justify permitting a student to
apply for admission to a school in any district beyond the one in
which he resides, provided that the transfer by this student would not
adversely affect the desegregation of either district.
SECTION 2. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 68
Attendance in Another District
Section 59-68-10. This chapter may be cited as the `South Carolina
Public School Choice Act of 1997.'
Section 59-68-20. A public school choice program is established
to enable a pupil to attend a school in a district in which the pupil
does not reside, subject to the restrictions contained in this chapter.
Section 59-68-30. Before a pupil may attend a school in a
nonresident district, the pupil's parent or guardian must submit an
application to the nonresident district. This application must be
postmarked or received not later than February 1, of the year in
which the pupil would begin the fall semester at the nonresident
district, except that for school year 1997-98, this date does not apply.
Section 59-68-40. A school board may, by resolution, determine
that it will not admit any nonresident pupils to its schools pursuant to
this chapter.
Section 59-68-50. The school board of a participating district shall
adopt, by resolution, specific standards for acceptance and rejection
of applications. Standards may include the capacity of a program,
class, grade level, or school building. Nothing in this chapter
requires a school district to add teachers or classrooms or in any way
exceed the requirements and standards established by existing law.
Standards may not include an applicant's previous academic
achievement, athletic or other extracurricular ability, handicapping
conditions, English proficiency level, or previous disciplinary
proceedings.
Section 59-68-60. Within sixty days of the receipt of an
application from a nonresident pupil seeking admission under the
terms of this chapter, a participating district shall notify the parent or
guardian and the resident district in writing as to whether the pupil's
application has been accepted or rejected. If an application is
rejected, the nonresident district shall state in the notification letter
the reasons for rejection.
Section 59-68-70. Except as otherwise provided herein, the
responsibility for transportation for a nonresident pupil must be borne
by the pupil. The resident district may transport the student to the
district boundary or to a point agreeable to the parent or the
nonresident district within either the resident or nonresident district
and count that student in the resident district's enrollment for
transportation funding purposes only. The nonresident district may
provide transportation from the resident district's boundary or from
a point agreeable with the parent or the resident district within either
the resident or nonresident district to a school in the nonresident
district and count that student in the nonresident district's enrollment
for transportation funding purposes only.
Section 59-68-80. A nonresident district shall accept credits
toward graduation that were awarded by another district.
Section 59-68-90. Except as otherwise provided in Section
59-68-70, for purposes of the Education Finance Act (EFA), the
Educational Improvement Act (EIA), and other applicable provisions
of law, the nonresident student must be counted as a part of the
average daily enrollment of the district to which the student has
transferred. All add-on weightings generated by the student must
also be transferred to the district of attendance.
Section 59-68-100. The provisions of this chapter and all pupil
choice options created hereby are subject to the following limitations:
(1) No student may transfer to a nonresident district where the
percentage of enrollment for the student's race, plus or minus five
percent, exceeds that percentage in his resident district.
(2) In any instance where the provisions of item (1) would result
in a conflict with a desegregation court order, the terms of the order
govern.
Section 59-68-110. A student who transfers to a nonresident
district is not eligible for interscholastic athletic competition for one
year from the date of the beginning of the transfer.
Section 59-68-120. The State Board of Education may
promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
chapter and is further authorized to resolve disputes arising under
Sections 59-68-70 through 59-68-110 of this chapter.
Section 59-68-130. The provisions of this chapter are
supplemental to other provisions and requirements of law relating to
school attendance of pupils."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor,
and applies beginning with the school year 1997-98.
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