Bill 4957

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                    4957
Type of Legislation:            General Bill GB
Introducing Body:               House
Introduced Date:                19980402
Primary Sponsor:                Byrd
All Sponsors:                   Byrd, M. Hines, Inabinett,
                                Breeland, Harvin, Spearman, Lee,
                                Howard, Moody-Lawrence, Clyburn, Scott,
                                Stuart, Neilson, McLeod, McMahand,
                                J. Smith, Lloyd, Littlejohn, Maddox,
                                J. Brown and Cave 
Drafted Document Number:        psd\7334ac.98
Residing Body:                  House
Current Committee:              Education and Public Works
                                Committee 21 HEPW
Subject:                        Campus-Based Child Care Act,
                                Colleges and Universities, Minors

Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

House   19980402  Introduced, read first time,             21 HEPW
                  referred to Committee

A BILL

TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 138, SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPUS-BASED CHILD CARE ACT" WHICH AUTHORIZES THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION TO AWARD GRANTS TO POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAMPUS-BASED CHILD CARE SERVICES FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS.

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly finds that:

(1) earning potential increases significantly when individuals attend college for any period of time;

(2) public assistance recipients who complete college are more likely to leave public assistance permanently;

(3) students who are parents and receive campus-based child care are more likely to remain in school and to graduate more rapidly and at a higher rate than students who are parents and do not receive campus-based child care;

(4) students who are parents rate access to campus-based child care programs as an important factor affecting their college enrollment;

(5) children placed in high quality child care programs exhibit significant positive results from the experience, including:

(a) higher earnings as adults;

(b) higher rates of secondary school graduation;

(c) lower rates of retention in grade level;

(d) lower rates of teenage pregnancy; and

(e) reduced need for special education or social services;

(6) the public saves seven dollars for every one dollar invested in quality child care; and

(7) campus-based child care programs may have an increasingly difficult time accessing federal child care funds under the structure of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

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

SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-138-10. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Campus-Based Child Care Act'.

Section 59-138-20. For purposes of this chapter:

(1) 'Commission' means the Commission on Higher Education;

(2) 'low-income student' means a student who is eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant for the fiscal year for which the determination is made.

Section 59-138-30. The purpose of this chapter is to support the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education through the provision of campus-based child care services.

Section 59-138-40. (A) The Commission on Higher Education may award grants to institutions of higher education to assist the institutions in providing campus-based child care services to low-income students.

(B) The amount of a grant awarded to an institution of higher education under this chapter for a fiscal year shall not exceed one percent of the total amount of all federal Pell Grant funds awarded to students enrolled at the institution of higher education for the preceding fiscal year. However, a grant under this section must be awarded in an amount that is not less than ten thousand dollars.

(C) The commission shall award a grant under this section for a period of three years and the grant may be renewed for three years.

(D) Subject to Section 59-138-80, the commission shall make grant payments annually to eligible institutions.

Section 59-138-50. (A) An institution of higher education is eligible to receive a grant under this chapter for a fiscal year if the total amount of all federal Pell Grant funds awarded to students enrolled at the institution of higher education for the preceding fiscal year equals or exceeds one million dollars.

(B) Grant funds awarded under this chapter must be used by an institution of higher education to support or establish a campus-based child care program serving the needs of low-income students enrolled at the institution of higher education.

(C) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit an institution of higher education that receives grant funds pursuant to this chapter from serving the child care needs of the community served by the institution.

Section 59-138-60. An institution of higher education desiring a grant under this chapter shall submit an application to the commission at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the commission may require. Each application shall:

(1) demonstrate that the institution is an eligible institution described in Section 59-138-50(A);

(2) specify the amount of funds requested;

(3) demonstrate the need of low-income students at the institution for campus-based child care services by including in the application student demographics and other relevant data;

(4) contain a description of the activities to be assisted, including whether the grant funds will support an existing child care program or a new child care program;

(5) identify the resources the institution will draw upon to support the child care program and the participation of low-income students in the program, including, but not limited to, accessing social services funding, using student activity fees to help pay the costs of child care, using resources obtained by meeting the needs of parents who are not low-income students, and accessing foundation, corporate, or other institutional support and demonstrate that the use of the resources will not result in increases in student tuition;

(6) contain an assurance that the institution will meet the child care needs of low-income students through the provision of services or through a contract for the provision of services;

(7) in the case of an institution seeking assistance for a new child care program:

(a) provide a timeline, covering the period from receipt of the grant through the provision of the child care services, delineating the specific steps the institution will take to achieve the goal of providing low-income students with child care services;

(b) specify any measures the institution will take to assist low-income students with child care during the period before the institution provides child care services; and

(c) include a plan for identifying resources needed for the child care services, including space in which to provide child care services and technical assistance, if necessary;

(8) contain an assurance that any child care facility assisted under this chapter will meet the applicable state or local government licensing, certification, approval, or registration requirements; and

(9) contain a plan for any child care facility assisted under this chapter to become accredited within three years of the date the institution first receives assistance under this chapter.

Section 59-138-70. Each institution of higher education receiving a grant under this chapter shall report to the commission eighteen months and thirty-six months after receiving the first grant payment under this chapter. The report shall include:

(1) data on the population served under this chapter;

(2) information on campus and community resources and funding used to help low-income students access child care services;

(3) information on progress made toward accreditation of any child care facility; and

(4) information on the impact of the grant on the quality, availability, and affordability of campus-based child care services.

Section 59-138-80. The commission shall make the third annual grant payment under this chapter to an institution of higher education only if the commission determines, on the basis of the eighteen month report submitted under Section 59-138-70 that the institution is making a good faith effort to ensure that low-income students at the institution have access to affordable, quality child care services."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 1998.