A bill

to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-25-425 so as to limit teacher duties under school district salary schedules to classroom and certain related duties, to prohibit the assignment of extracurricular duties without consent and extra compensation as stated in the teaching contract, to require school districts to develop related plans for implementing these provisions, to define necessary terms, and to make these provisions applicable beginning with teaching contracts issued for the 2024-2025 School Year.

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly finds that teachers are valued professionals whose base compensation must be for performing their professional responsibility of teaching students; and

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly finds the proper function of public schools necessarily involves personnel to perform numerous nonteaching functions, such as bus duty, recess duty, lunch duty, coaching, club sponsorship, and assisting with other afterschool activities; and

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly finds that school districts must endeavor to study and develop solutions that balance the importance of compensating professional educators for performing their professional duties with ensuring the needs for schools to ensure nonteaching functions are performed either by teachers who are provided extra compensation and a collaborative effort of volunteers. Now, therefore,

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

SECTION 1.A.   Article 5, Chapter 25, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

   Section 59-25-425.   (A) With respect to duties and compensation, a teacher's contract shall specify:

      (1) salary, based on the district salary schedule, which:

         (a) only may be considered compensation for instruction, planning, and attending faculty meetings and professional development; and

         (b) may not be considered compensation for performing extracurricular duties; and

      (2) any extracurricular duties that the teacher agrees to perform, the amount of time the teacher agrees to provide each such duty, and additional compensation to be provided for each such duty.

(B) A teacher may not be required to perform extracurricular duties, regardless of compensation, as an express or implied condition for employment.

(C) Each school district shall develop and implement a plan ensuring the proper performance of extracurricular duties in schools either by securing the assistance of volunteers, employing additional nonprofessional staff, or providing extra compensation and other incentives to professional staff who contract to provide extracurricular duties. In developing and implementing this plan, a district should solicit input and support from school improvement councils, parent-teacher organizations, and other interested groups. Each district shall develop its initial plan for implementation before the beginning of the 2024-2025 School Year, and update it before July first annually thereafter.

(D) For purposes of this article, "extracurricular duties" include bus duty, recess duty, lunch duty, and those duties performed by a teacher outside the regular school day that involve students and are not directly related to the instructional program, such as coaching duties, taking tickets at sporting events, and acting as a faculty sponsor for a student club. Extracurricular duties do not include such things as time spent in parent-teacher conferences or activities related to courses taught by the teacher, such as band concerts that are performed as a part of band class.

B.    The provisions of this section are applicable to teacher contracts beginning with the 2024-2025 School Year.

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

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