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COMMITTEE REPORT
April 22, 2021
H. 3591
S. Printed 4/22/21--H. [SEC 4/26/21 1:22 PM]
Read the first time January 12, 2021.
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 3591) to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section 59-26-35 so as to improve the means for evaluating educator preparation programs by providing, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Chapter 26, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-26-35. (A) The State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Department of Education, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the Center for Research on Teacher Education (SC-TEACHER), and the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, shall form a commission to conduct a detailed assessment of the current data infrastructure, develop metrics, determine weightings, construct a unified data upload system, and construct public and private facing data reports, including, but not limited to, annually publishing before November first an online report card known as the 'South Carolina Educator Preparation Report Card'. The report card must be made available on the State Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education's websites. The commission shall develop a format that each educator preparation program must use on its website that shows all required information regarding its respective program. The report card shall evaluate the ability of educator preparation programs, including alternative programs, to prepare new teachers for success in South Carolina's classrooms, as well as describe the school and district contexts in which completers work. The report card must include data on a variety of measures to provide an overall picture of how well each educator preparation program prepares effective educators and meets state goals, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) number of undergraduate and graduate completers;
(2) placement and one, three, and five year retention rates by districts and regions of the State;
(3) performance-based assessments of candidates;
(4) ability of program to recruit a strong, diverse cohort of candidates and prepare them to teach in the content areas of greatest need;
(5) quality of clinical experiences, including access to qualified and trained mentors, time in the field, and opportunities to apply knowledge and skills in the clinical setting;
(6) effectiveness of individuals who completed a provider's program and are employed in a public school classroom. The information must be differentiated by provider and, where applicable, across content areas; and
(7) graduate and employer satisfaction.
(B) Under consultation with the commission, SC-TEACHER shall develop metrics and instrumentation to evaluate the working conditions of educators, extent and quality of mentoring available to new educators, and universal graduate and employer satisfaction surveys.
(C) The State Department of Education, each educator preparation program, and each school district shall report all data to SC-TEACHER as requested by the State Board of Education to complete the evaluation."
SECTION 2. Chapter 26, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-26-120.(A) The State Department of Education annually before December first shall provide each college of education and state-approved educator preparation program with information regarding its graduates. Information must be provided to a college of education or educator preparation program regarding each of its individual educator graduates and must include, but is not limited to:
(1) linking teacher candidates from each program with valid, reliable, nationally normed performance assessments that are data and evidence-based and can assess teaching effectiveness.
(2) results of ADEPT Evaluation by individual educator graduate;
(3) records of employee certification by individual educator graduate; and
(4) other information requested by the programs designed to enhance the ability of the college of education or educator preparation program to provide improved education services.
(B) A college of education or educator preparation program receiving individualized information regarding its graduates pursuant to subsection (A) shall:
(1) develop and use a unique system for identifying each individual educator graduate for whom it receives such individualized information;
(2) strictly maintain the confidentiality of all information that can be used to identify an individual educator graduate for whom it receives such information; and
(3) not share such information with a third party without the express written consent of the educator.
(C) Information provided to a college of education or educator preparation program pursuant to this section is not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
MERITA A. ALLISON for Committee.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
State Expenditure
This bill directs the State Board of Education, with assistance from SDE, CHE, and RFA, to develop and annually publish an online report card known as the "South Carolina Teacher Preparation Report Card." The report card must evaluate the ability of educator preparation programs, including alternative programs, to train new teachers for success in classrooms. The report card must include data on an expansive list of measures. SDE, each educator preparation program, and each school district must report any data as requested by the State Board of Education to complete the evaluation.
The bill also requires SDE to provide each college of education and state-approved educator preparation program with information regarding its graduates before December 1st annually. The information must include criteria as outlined in the bill. Also, a college of education or educator preparation program must develop and use a unique system for identifying individual educator graduates. Information provided to a college of education or educator preparation program pursuant to this section is not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
State Department of Education. SDE indicates that this bill will increase general fund expenses of the agency by a range of $636,231 to $810,381 in FY 2021-22. Of this amount, $135,806 is for recurring funds for 2 FTEs (1 Administrative Assistant and 1 Education Associate II), including fringe. The remaining range of $500,425 to $674,575 is for non-recurring funds. Of the non-recurring amount, $7,000 is for equipment for the 2 new FTEs. The remainder of the non-recurring funds, which is a range of $493,425 to $667,575, is for the procurement of an educator preparation data and reporting system to encompass provider accreditation, for program review and approval, for data collection and reporting, and for the publication of the required report cards. The cost of the system depends upon the number of hours required for development. Further, recurring general fund expenses of the agency are expected to increase by an additional $66,000 in FY 2022-23 for maintenance, server and technical upgrades, and for programming updates to the enterprise data system.
State Agency Schools. We anticipate that the state agency schools will be able to comply with the reporting requirements within the normal course of business. Therefore, this bill is not expected to have an expenditure impact on the state agency schools.
Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. RFA anticipates that the provisions of this section can be accomplished within existing appropriations. Therefore, this bill is not expected to have an expenditure impact on the agency.
Commission on Higher Education. CHE indicates that public institutions are mandated to report data to the commission, while private institutions self-report data. CHE will be responsible for validating the data from private institutions. Further, CHE anticipates being able to accomplish the requirements of the bill within the normal course of business as long as the data and reporting from private institutions is not voluminous. Therefore, the bill is not expected to have an expenditure impact on CHE.
Institutions of Higher Education. The institutions of higher education indicate that they are unclear as to how a unique identification system will be established pursuant to the provisions of the bill. The establishment of this unique identifier would require the collaboration of all institutions of higher education, as well as other agencies. Due to this uncertainty, the institutions are unable to determine the cost at this time. Therefore, the expenditure impact on the institutions of higher education is undetermined. We will update this impact statement if additional information becomes available.
State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education. SBTCE does not offer educator preparation programs through its technical colleges. Therefore, this bill will have no expenditure impact on SBTCE.
Local Expenditure
The bill requires each school district to report any data as requested by the State Board of Education to complete the evaluation pursuant to the provisions of the bill.
We anticipate that the local school districts will be able to comply with the reporting requirements within the normal course of business. Therefore, the bill is not expected to have an expenditure impact on local school districts.
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 59-26-35 SO AS TO IMPROVE THE MEANS FOR EVALUATING EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS BY PROVIDING FOR THE ANNUAL DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA TEACHER PREPARATION REPORT CARD; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-26-120 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHALL PROVIDE CERTAIN EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS WITH CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING GRADUATES OF THOSE PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS MAY NOT SHARE IDENTIFIABLE EDUCATOR DATA WITH THIRD PARTIES WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT, AND TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 26, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-26-35. (A) The State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Department of Education, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, shall develop and annually publish before November first an online report card known as the 'South Carolina Teacher Preparation Report Card'. The report card shall evaluate the ability of educator preparation programs, including alternative programs, to train new teachers for success in South Carolina's classrooms. The report card must include data on a variety of measures to provide an overall picture of how well each educator preparation program prepares effective teachers and meets state goals, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) number of undergraduate and graduate completions;
(2) placement and retention rates by districts and regions of the State;
(3) performance of candidates on basic skills examination;
(4) ability of program to recruit a strong, diverse cohort of candidates and prepare them to teach in the content areas of greatest need;
(5) quality of clinical experiences; and
(6) effectiveness of individuals who completed a provider's program and are employed in a public school classroom. The information must be differentiated by provider and, where applicable, across content areas.
(B) The State Department of Education, each educator preparation program, and each school district shall report all data as requested by the State Board of Education to complete the evaluation."
SECTION 2. Chapter 26, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-26-120. (A) The State Department of Education annually before December first shall provide each college of education and state-approved educator preparation program with information regarding its graduates. Information must be provided to a college of education or educator preparation program regarding each of its individual educator graduates and must include, but is not limited to:
(1) SCPASS and SC READY, or the succeeding assessment, scores aggregated by classroom, content, and/or grade, school, district, and learner demographic;
(2) Student learning objective data aggregated by classroom, content, and/or grade, school, district, and learner demographic;
(3) results of ADEPT Evaluation by individual educator graduate;
(4) records of employee certification by individual educator graduate; and
(5) other information requested by the programs designed to enhance the ability of the college of education or educator preparation program to provide improved education services.
(B) A college of education or educator preparation program receiving individualized information regarding its graduates pursuant to subsection (A) shall:
(1) develop and use a unique system for identifying each individual educator graduate for whom it receives such individualized information;
(2) strictly maintain the confidentiality of all information that can be used to identify an individual educator graduate for whom it receives such information; and
(3) not share such information with a third party without the express written consent of the educator.
(C) Information provided to a college of education or educator preparation program pursuant to this section is not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval of the Governor.
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