South Carolina General Assembly
121st Session, 2015-2016

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A24, R45, S154

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Shealy and Campsen
Document Path: l:\s-res\ks\007boe .ls.ks.docx

Introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2015
Introduced in the House on February 3, 2015
Passed by the General Assembly on May 14, 2015
Governor's Action: June 1, 2015, Signed

Summary: Interscholastic activities

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/3/2014  Senate  Prefiled
   12/3/2014  Senate  Referred to Committee on Education
   1/13/2015  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 106)
   1/13/2015  Senate  Referred to Committee on Education 
                        (Senate Journal-page 106)
   1/27/2015  Senate  Committee report: Favorable Education 
                        (Senate Journal-page 17)
   1/28/2015          Scrivener's error corrected
   1/28/2015  Senate  Read second time (Senate Journal-page 32)
   1/28/2015  Senate  Roll call Ayes-39  Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 32)
   1/29/2015  Senate  Read third time and sent to House 
                        (Senate Journal-page 10)
    2/3/2015  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 25)
    2/3/2015  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 25)
   4/23/2015  House   Committee report: Favorable Education and Public Works 
                        (House Journal-page 10)
   4/28/2015          Scrivener's error corrected
   4/28/2015  House   Debate adjourned until Thur., 4-30-15 
                        (House Journal-page 78)
   4/30/2015  House   Debate adjourned until Tues., 5-5-15 
                        (House Journal-page 12)
    5/5/2015  House   Requests for debate-Rep(s). Hiott, GM Smith, Spires, 
                        Wells, Clary, Sottile, Kirby, Anderson, Cyburn, 
                        Corley, McEachern, Douglas, Cobb-Hunter, McKnight, 
                        Ridgeway, Hayes, Daning, Crosby, Anthony, Bales, 
                        Southard, Jefferson (House Journal-page 26)
    5/7/2015  House   Debate adjourned until Wed., 5-13-15 
                        (House Journal-page 57)
   5/13/2015  House   Read second time (House Journal-page 30)
   5/13/2015  House   Roll call Yeas-98  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 30)
   5/14/2015  House   Read third time and enrolled (House Journal-page 22)
   5/28/2015          Ratified R 45
    6/1/2015          Signed By Governor
    6/4/2015          Effective date 06/01/15
    6/5/2015          Act No. 24

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/3/2014
1/27/2015
1/28/2015
4/23/2015
4/28/2015


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A24, R45, S154)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 59-39-160, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION MAY GRANT A WAIVER OF THE REQUIREMENTS IF A STUDENT'S INELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES IS DUE TO A LONG-TERM ABSENCE AS A RESULT OF A MEDICAL CONDITION, BUT THE STUDENT HAS BEEN MEDICALLY CLEARED TO PARTICIPATE OR FOR ANY OTHER REASONABLE CIRCUMSTANCE AS DETERMINED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

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

Waivers expanded

SECTION    1.    Section 59-39-160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section    59-39-160.    (A)    To participate in interscholastic activities, students in grades nine through twelve must achieve an overall passing average and either:

(1)    pass at least four academic courses, including each unit the student takes that is required for graduation; or

(2)    pass a total of five academic courses. Students must satisfy these conditions in the semester preceding participation in the interscholastic activity, if the interscholastic activity occurs completely within one semester or in the semester preceding the first semester of participation in an interscholastic activity if the interscholastic activity occurs over two consecutive semesters and is under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina High School League.

(B)    Academic courses are those courses of instruction for which credit toward high school graduation is given. These may be required or approved electives. All activities currently under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina High School League remain in effect. The monitoring of all other interscholastic activities is the responsibility of the local boards of trustees. Those students diagnosed as handicapped in accordance with the criteria established by the State Board of Education and satisfying the requirements of their Individual Education Plan (IEP) as required by Public Law 94-142 are permitted to participate in interscholastic activities. A local school board of trustees may impose more stringent standards than those contained in this section for participation in interscholastic activities by students in grades nine through twelve.

(C)    The State Board of Education may grant a waiver of the requirements of this section.

(1)    This waiver may be granted when a written statement from a school district superintendent and athletic director has been received stating circumstances, including, but not limited to:

(a)    a student's ineligibility to participate in interscholastic activities is due to misinformation concerning eligibility requirements being provided by district personnel;

(b)    a student's ineligibility to participate in interscholastic activities is due to a long-term absence as a result of a medical condition, but the student has been medically cleared to participate by his health care practitioner; or

(c)    any reasonable circumstance as determined by the State Board of Education.

(2)    The State Board of Education shall establish guidelines to administer this section."

Time effective

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

Ratified the 28th day of May, 2015.

Approved the 1st day of June, 2015.

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This web page was last updated on July 20, 2015 at 3:59 PM