H 4819 General Bill, By Govan, Townsend, G. Brown, Clyburn, McLeod, Weeks, 
Whipper, Moody-Lawrence, Lee, Mack, J.E. Smith, Allen, Branham, Breeland, 
J. Brown, R. Brown, Clark, Clemmons, Cobb-Hunter, Emory, Gourdine, J. Hines, 
M. Hines, Hosey, Howard, Littlejohn, Lloyd, Loftis, Mahaffey, J.H. Neal, Parks, 
Rivers, Rutherford, Scott, Sinclair, F.N. Smith, Snow, Taylor and Tripp

Similar(S 1106)
 A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY DESIGNATING
 SECTIONS 59-29-10 THROUGH 59-29-220 AS ARTICLE 1, GENERAL PROVISIONS, OF
 CHAPTER 29, TITLE 59; BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 29, TITLE 59 SO AS TO
 ENACT THE FINANCIAL LITERACY INSTRUCTION ACT OF 2004, TO PROVIDE FOR THE
 DEVELOPMENT OR ADOPTION OF A CURRICULUM FOR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO TEACH
 FINANCIAL LITERACY, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FUND TO RECEIVE
 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY INSTRUCTION.

   02/19/04  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-58
   02/19/04  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-58
   04/13/04  House  Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Education and Public Works HJ-3
   04/14/04  House  Amended HJ-90
   04/14/04  House  Read second time HJ-91
   04/15/04  House  Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-19
   04/20/04  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-12
   04/20/04  Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-12
   05/25/04  Senate Committee report: Favorable Education SJ-16
   05/27/04  Senate Read second time SJ-210
   05/27/04  Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
                     amendments SJ-210
   06/02/04  Senate Amended SJ-141
   06/03/04         Scrivener's error corrected

AMENDED

June 2, 2004

H. 4819

Introduced by Reps. Govan, Townsend, G. Brown, Clyburn, McLeod, Weeks, Whipper, Moody-Lawrence, Lee, Mack, J.E. Smith, Allen, Branham, Breeland, J. Brown, R. Brown, Clark, Clemmons, Cobb-Hunter, Emory, Gourdine, J. Hines, M. Hines, Hosey, Howard, Littlejohn, Lloyd, Loftis, Mahaffey, J.H. Neal, Parks, Rivers, Rutherford, Scott, Sinclair, F.N. Smith, Snow, Taylor and Tripp

S. Printed 6/2/04--S.    [SEC 6/3/04 1:16 PM]

Read the first time April 20, 2004.

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY DESIGNATING SECTIONS 59-29-10 THROUGH 59-29-220 AS ARTICLE 1, GENERAL PROVISIONS, OF CHAPTER 29, TITLE 59; BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 29, TITLE 59 SO AS TO ENACT THE FINANCIAL LITERACY INSTRUCTION ACT OF 2004, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OR ADOPTION OF A CURRICULUM FOR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO TEACH FINANCIAL LITERACY, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FUND TO RECEIVE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY INSTRUCTION.

Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION    1.    Sections 59-29-10 through 59-29-220 of the 1976 Code are designated as Article 1, General Provisions, of Chapter 29, Title 59.

SECTION    2.    Chapter 29, Title 59, of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-29-410.    (A)    The State Board of Education shall develop or adopt curricula, materials, and guidelines for local school boards to use in implementing a program of instruction on financial literacy within courses currently offered in high schools in this State.

(B)    The financial literacy program shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in the following areas:

(1)    opening a bank account and assessing the quality of a bank's services;

(2)    balancing a check book;

(3)    spending, credit, credit scoring, and managing debt, including retail and credit card debt;

(4)    completing a loan application;

(5)    the implications of an inheritance;

(6)    the basic principles of personal insurance policies;

(7)    computing state and federal income taxes;

(8)    local tax assessments;

(9)    computing interest rates by various mechanisms;

(10)    understanding simple contracts;

(11)    contesting an incorrect billing statement;

(12)    savings and investing; and

(13)    state and federal laws concerning finance.

Section 59-29-420.    The State Board of Education and local boards of trustees may establish a special fund in which to receive public appropriations and private contributions to provide financial incentives to be used to:

(1)    defray the costs of financial literacy training for teachers;

(2)    reward a school or teacher who wins or achieves results at a certain level of success in a financial literacy competition;

(3)    reward a student who wins or achieves results at a certain level of success in a financial literacy competition;

(4)    fund activities including books, games, field trips, computers, or other activities related to financial literacy education.

Section 59-29-425.    Of the funds received pursuant to Section 59-29-420, the State Board of Education shall award grants to local school boards of trustees to provide financial incentives for the promotion of financial literacy as outlined in that section. In awarding grants, every effort shall be made to ensure that all geographic areas of the State are represented.

Section 59-29-430.    The State Board of Education shall incorporate the elements of the financial literacy program in Section 59-29-410(B) into the South Carolina Academic Standards of Instruction for kindergarten through twelfth grade."

SECTION    3.    Section 59-17-135 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 4 of 2001, is amended by adding a lettered subsection at the end to read:

"( )(1)    Conduct grades are intended to provide parents or guardians with an assessment of student behavior and must not be included as part of a student's transcript or in the compilation of a student's GPA. Each teacher in a public school of this State shall indicate a conduct grade on a student's report card for each subject taught. However, if a teacher provides instruction in more than one subject to the same student, an overall conduct grade may be issued. Conduct grades must be indicated by the letter 'S' for satisfactory, 'N' for needs improvement, or 'U' for unsatisfactory. If a student receives a letter grade of 'N' or 'U', a teacher comment must be provided as an explanation of the grade. Comments for a student receiving a letter grade of 'S' are optional.

(2)    Each school or district shall have a conduct grading program in place before the effective date of this subsection and shall have the program reviewed by the State Department of Education, Office of Character Education to determine whether the program meets the intent of this section. Each program is to include measurable objectives for each character trait as provided for in this section."

SECTION    4.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.