A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-46-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SOUTH CAROLINA PURPLE STAR SCHOOL PROGRAM, TO PROVIDE FOR AN APPLICATION PROCESS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISPLAY OF THE PURPLE STAR SCHOOL DESIGNATION.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 46, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 59-46-60.  (A) The compact commissioner shall establish a nonmonetary South Carolina Purple Star School Program pursuant to this section in order to achieve the following three goals:

       (1) Reduce the burden on military-connected students and their families by articulating critical transition supports for military-connected students and their families through statewide partnership support.

       (2) Publicly recognize and designate school districts and school campus-based sites, public charter schools, private schools, homeschools, DoDEA schools, or any educational facility that educates or provides services to military-connected students that meet certain requirements through a Purple Star School designation criteria. Meeting Purple Star School designation criteria requirements shall signal which school districts and school campus-based sites are the most committed and best equipped to meet military-connected students and their families' unique needs.

       (3) Establish statewide universal Military Student Identifier collection protocol for South Carolina public schools to include public charter schools, private schools, homeschools, DoDEA schools, or any educational facility that educates or provides services to military-connected students.

    (B)(1) The compact commissioner shall develop an application process that provides annual opportunities for school districts and school campus-based sites to earn the Purple Star School designation by demonstrating compliance with the application criteria adopted pursuant to item (2) with final approval of the compact commissioner and assistance through the compact commissioner appointed Purple Star School Committee.

       (2) The compact commissioner shall adopt application criteria for school districts and school campus-based sites seeking the Purple Star School designation. The department shall consider, as part of the application criteria, a requirement that a school district or school campus-based site complete the following four South Carolina Purple Star School designation requirements:

           (a) military liaison, which ensures military-connected students are identified and properly coded through a MSI (Military Student Identifier), serves as the point of contact between the military community to assist with transitions in and out of the school, supports student-led transition programs, attends an annual professional development or training including, but not limited to, the enrollment process, records transfer, community resources, and student support, with a recommended three to five hours, annually, coordinates an annual professional development or training to a suggested seventy percent of faculty and staff members on relevant military-connected student issues, and provides case by case transition assistance to incoming and outgoing students and signals inclusion for extracurricular activities and sports;

           (b) professional development, which serves seventy percent of faculty and staff members on relevant military-connected student issues through an annual professional development or training, recommended training, and community partnership opportunities including, but not limited to:

               (i) Military Interstate Children's Compact 101 and 201 Training; or

               (ii) MCEC Purple Star School Professional Development PD for education professionals;

           (c) webpage for military families which provides an easily navigable webpage for military support and inclusion to incoming families and centralizes critical state and local community transition information and resources. The webpage includes, but is not limited to:

               (1) relocation information;

               (2) Military Interstate Children's Compact;

               (3) support services and resources; and

               (4) school district and school campus-based military liaison contact information; and

           (d) campus-based student-led transition program, which assists incoming students to acclimate to a new campus and community with ongoing connections in the school, participates in organizing and hosting new student events, facilitates guided campus tours, accompanies new students to lunch during the first week of school, and is actively sponsored and supported by a campus-based military liaison.

    (C)(1) Once a school district or school campus-based site is awarded a Purple Star School designation upon final approval from the compact commissioner, the designee shall display the designation award status on its website.

       (2) A Purple Star School designation is active for three years, after which a school district or school campus-based site seeking to renew its designation must reapply pursuant to subsection (B).

       (3) The compact commissioner or compact commissioner-appointed Purple Star School Committee may request additional information to verify if a school district or school campus-based site that has previously earned a Purple Star School designation continues to adhere to the Purple Star School designation criteria adopted pursuant to subsection (B).

       (4)(a) Notwithstanding items (1) and (2), if the compact commissioner finds that a school district or school campus-based site that has previously earned a Purple Star School designation ceases to comply with the criteria adopted pursuant to subsection (B) during the three-year designation period, the school district or school campus-based site will lose the active designation pending criteria having been met with final approval of a completed renewal process.

           (b) A school district or school campus-based site that loses the designation pursuant to subitem (a) may reapply pursuant to subsection (B).

    (D) For purposes of the Purple Star School Program designation section, the following definitions apply:

       (1) "Military-connected student" means a school-age child who is:

           (a) a dependent of a current or former uniformed service member of any of the following:

               (i) the United States military serving in the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, or United States Space Force on active duty;

               (ii) the South Carolina National Guard; or

               (iii) a reserve component of the United States military;

           (b) was a dependent of a member of a military or reserve component described in subitem (a) who was killed in the line of duty; or

           (c) a veteran.

       (2) "School campus-based site" means a publicly or privately funded school serving students in pre-K, K-12, or higher education.

 

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

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