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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
June 6, 2002
H. 4054
S. Printed 6/6/02--S.
Read the first time February 19, 2002.
TO AMEND SECTION 59-25-115, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO AN APPLICANT FOR INITIAL EDUCATION CERTIFICATION BEING REQUIRED TO UNDERGO A STATE FINGERPRINT REVIEW, SO AS TO REVISE THE TIME WHEN SUCH AN APPLICANT MUST UNDERGO THIS REVIEW, THE MANNER OF THIS REVIEW, AND THE INDIVIDUALS TO WHOM THIS PROVISION APPLIES.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 59-25-115 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 387 of 1990, is amended to read:
"Section 59-25-115. All persons applying for initial certification to become certified education personnel in this State shall undergo a state fingerprint review to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history and a fingerprint review to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history. All persons enrolled in a teacher education program, prior to beginning full-time clinical teaching experience in this State, must undergo a state criminal records check by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and a national criminal records check supported by fingerprints by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Individuals applying for initial teacher certification must have undergone a criminal records check by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and a national criminal records check supported by fingerprints by the Federal Bureau of Investigation within eighteen months of applying for teacher certification.
The fee charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, if any, for the fingerprint review must be paid by the individual applying for initial certification.
All institutions of higher learning in this State offering education as a major must inform potential education majors considering teaching as a career that their prior criminal history could prevent certification as a teacher in South Carolina. Students may then choose to have a SLED background check for advisement purposes."
SECTION 2. Section 59-111-110 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 281 of 2000, is amended to read:
"Section 59-111-110. No tuition may be charged for a period of four school years by any state-supported college or university or any state-supported vocational or technical school for children or spouses, if married to a person employed by or in the service of a South Carolina governmental entity or a South Carolina organization at the time of disability or death and if not remarried in the case of death, of:
(1) firemen, both regularly employed and members of volunteer organized units, organized rescue squad members, members of the Civil Air Patrol, law enforcement officers, or corrections officers, as defined herein, including reserve and auxiliary units of counties or municipalities who become totally disabled or are killed in the line of duty on or after July 1, 1964;
(2) government employees who become totally disabled or are killed in the line of duty while working on state time on or after July 1, 1996, as a result of a criminal act committed against them which constitutes a felony under the laws of this State.
The tuition authorized to be paid by this section applies only to undergraduate courses or curriculum at a state-supported South Carolina college or university or vocational or technical school and may be paid for a period not exceeding four years, regardless of the number of state-supported colleges, universities, or state-supported vocational or technical schools the child or spouse attends."
SECTION 3. Section 59-29-55 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-29-55. The State Board of Education shall examine the current status of the teaching of South Carolina History. By the 1989-1990 school year, each public school of the State must instruct students in the history of the black people as a regular part of its history and social studies courses. The State Board of Education shall establish regulations for the adoption of history and social studies textbooks which incorporate black history and shall, through the State Department of Education, assist the school districts in developing and locating suitable printed materials and other aids for instruction in black history. Black History must be included in the curriculum standards with questions relating to Black History included in testing assessments. An annual professional development conference must be conducted by the State Department of Education on the teaching of Black History to assist teachers with the implementation and use of the standards. The State Board of Education shall examine curricular material for grades 1-6 to determine the level of emphasis on the relationship of agriculture and other industries to the South Carolina economy.
SECTION 4. (A) Chapter 23 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 59-23-510. All construction, improvement, and renovation of public school buildings and property on or after the effective date of this section shall comply with the latest applicable standards and specifications set forth in:
(1) the building code, plumbing code, mechanical code, standard gas code, fire code, and successor codes promulgated by the Southern Building Codes Congress International, Inc.;
(2) the Model Energy Code as published by the Council of American Building Officials;
(3) the National Electrical Code as published by the National Fire Protection Association; and
(4) the applicable standards as specified and modified in the South Carolina School Facilities Planning and Construction Guide as published by the South Carolina Department of Education.
Section 59-23-520. All construction, improvements, and renovation of public school buildings and property shall be inspected by the State Superintendent of Education or the superintendent's designee for compliance with the applicable codes and standards.
A certificate of occupancy must be obtained from the State Superintendent of Education or the superintendent's designee before any such building may be occupied."
(B) Article 1, Chapter 23 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 5. Section 59-18-1500 (A)(4) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(A)(4) The school, in conjunction with the district board, must inform the parents of children attending the school of the ratings received from the State Board of Education and must outline the steps in the revised plan to improve performance, including the support which the board of trustees has agreed to give the plan. This information must go to the parents no later than February first April thirtieth. This information must also be advertised in at least one South Carolina daily audited newspaper of general circulation in the area. This notice must be published within ninety days by April thirtieth of receipt of the report cards issued by the State Department of Education and must be a minimum of two columns by ten inches (four and one-half by ten inches) with at least a twenty-four point bold headline. The notice must include the following information: name of school district, name of superintendent, district office telephone number, name of school, name of principal, telephone number of school, school's absolute performance rating and improvement performance rating on student academic performance, and strategies which must be taken by the district and school to improve student performance. Reports required in Sections 59-139-10, 59-20-60 and 59-18-1500 may be consolidated and submitted by April thirtieth; and"
SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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