A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT THE "MERIT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 2026"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-680 SO AS TO ENSURE THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF DEI STRUCTURES AND RACE-CONSCIOUS CONSIDERATIONS, ADMISSIONS, HIRING, PROMOTION, AND RETENTION DECISIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA'S PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM ARE TRULY MERIT-BASED, TRANSPARENT, AND AUDITABLE.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Merit and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Act of 2026."

 

SECTION 2.  (A) The legislative intent of this act is to protect:

       (1) equal opportunity in admissions and employment;

       (2) lawful nondiscrimination and due process;

       (3) public trust in institutional fairness; and

       (4) South Carolina's future workforce and competitiveness.

    (B) This act does not create preferences or quotas. It only prevents hidden discrimination under a "merit" banner.

 

SECTION 3.  Article 2, Chapter 101, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 59-101-680.  (A)(1) Each public institution of higher learning must publish before each admission and hiring cycle:

           (a) evaluation criteria and scoring categories;

           (b) weighting systems; and

           (c) eligibility thresholds and required documentation.

       (2) Undisclosed criteria may not be used in the admissions or hiring process.

    (B)(1) Annually, each public institution of higher learning must publish on its website:

           (a) applicant pools versus admitted student demographics;

           (b) hiring pools versus faculty hires; and

           (c) retention, graduation, tenure, and promotion outcomes.

       (2) Institutions with persistent disparities must submit corrective action plans focused on process improvements.

    (C) To maintain constitutional equal protection:

       (1) evaluators must complete bias-prevention training grounded in civil rights compliance;

       (2) all adverse evaluation decisions must include documented reason codes tied to published criteria; and

       (3) records must be retained and available for review.

    (D) Applicants and job candidates may request anonymized comparative scorecards and challenge procedural errors through an established appeals process.

    (E) The Commission on Higher Education shall:

       (1) audit institutions with unexplained disparities or inconsistent evaluation practices;

       (2) review anonymized decisions for adherence to published criteria; and

       (3) require corrective enforcement where necessary.

    (F)(1) Each public institution of higher learning must certify compliance with:

           (a) equal protection standards;

           (b) consistent application of merit criteria; and

           (c) assurance of nondiscriminatory access.

       (2) The commission shall review compliance reports and issue penalties as necessary.

    (G) The commission may promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this section.

 

SECTION 4.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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