Committee Report

May 1, 2025

 

S. 79

 

Introduced by Senators Hembree and Zell

 

S. Printed 5/1/25--H.

Read the first time March 6, 2025

 

________

 

The committee on House Education and Public Works

To whom was referred a Bill (S. 79) to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-18-1115 so as to establish a pilot program to permit public school districts to hire noncertified teachers, etc., respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

 

SHANNON ERICKSON for Committee.

 

 

statement of estimated fiscal impact

Explanation of Fiscal Impact

State Expenditure

This bill requires the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) to establish a pilot program by May 1, 2025, that will permit a school  that has received an overall rating of "Excellent," "Below Average," or "Unsatisfactory" on its annual report card for at least two consecutive years or is located in a critical geographic area to hire noncertified teachers in a ratio of up to ten percent of its entire teaching staff. The State Board of Education, through SCDE, must approve guidelines for the pilot program that, at a minimum, include the following:

a noncertified teacher must possess a suitable baccalaureate or graduate degree in the position he is hired to teach and must have at least five years of relevant workplace experience,

procedures are provided for requiring noncertified teachers to participate in the evaluation process pursuant to Section 59-26-30(B)(4) and (5),

initial and ongoing training and support requirements, and

a noncertified teacher must demonstrate enrollment in a certification program within three years of employment, including any state-approved alternative or traditional route program.

 

While participation in the pilot program is optional, the decision to participate rests solely with SCDE and the school principal, upon approval of the district superintendent. Schools and districts that participate in the program are encouraged to collaborate on recruitment, training, and implementation of the program and to assist SCDE with establishing best practices.

 

SCDE must establish a separate code in the professional coding system to capture noncertified teachers. SCDE must also submit an annual report, beginning November 1, 2026, to the General Assembly that includes recommendations for improving, expanding, or continuing the program. At the end of the five-year program, the annual report must include a recommendation on the continuance of the program.

 

The bill also requires SCDE to establish procedures for the registration and clearance of all noncertified teachers. Teachers must submit the required documentation and fees to SCDE, which must include, but are not limited to, a completed registration form, any associated fees, transcripts, and specified background documents. Further, an individual whose state educator certificate has been suspended or revoked may not be employed as a noncertified teacher.

 

S.C. Department of Education. SCDE indicates that this bill will increase the department's expenses by $329,480 in FY 2025-26. Of this amount, $201,480 is for salary and fringe benefits for 3.0 FTEs to process noncertified teacher registrations, including the evaluation of candidate documentation, review of criminal history record information, the issuance of registrations, and processing of disciplinary reviews and actions. Of the remaining amount, $8,000 is for initial equipment costs and setup, and $120,000 is for the initial reprogramming of the SC Educator system in order to issue a new credential for noncertified teachers. Expenses will decrease to approximately $201,480 each year thereafter for the 3.0 FTEs. SCDE will request a General Fund appropriation increase to fund the expenses.

 

State Agency Schools. This bill is not expected to have an expenditure impact on the state agency schools. The Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe indicates that the school currently has no noncertified teachers, and that if the need arises to hire noncertified teachers, any expenses can be managed within existing appropriations. The Governor's School for Science and Mathematics and the Governor's School for Arts and Humanities indicate that they can manage the provisions of the bill with existing appropriations. The Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School indicates that the school only hires certified teachers, and its teachers are state employees and are not required to sign yearly contracts. The School for the Deaf and Blind indicated on similar legislation that they only hire certified teachers.

 

State Law Enforcement Division. SLED indicates that this bill will have no expenditure impact on the agency, as any increase in name-based searches and checks can be managed with existing appropriations. SLED further indicates that the bill does not authorize fingerprint-based federal background checks.

 

State Revenue

This bill requires noncertified educators to submit fees to SCDE as part of the registration and clearance process to become a noncertified teacher. However, the bill does not specify the amount of the fee. Proviso 1.8 of the FY 2024-25 Appropriations Act authorizes the agency to retain revenue for registration fees for non-SCDE employees and teacher certification fees. Therefore, Other Funds revenue of the agency will increase due to these fees. However, the amount of the increase will depend upon the number of registrations for

noncertified teachers and the amount of the registration fee.

 

Local Expenditure

This bill allows qualifying schools to hire noncertified teachers in a ratio of up to ten percent of its entire teaching staff. Additionally, schools and districts that participate in the pilot program are encouraged to collaborate on recruitment, training, and implementation of the program and to assist SCDE with establishing best practices.

 

Based on data from SCDE, there are 1,402 total local schools. Of this number, 467 schools would qualify for the pilot program based upon an "Excellent", "Below Average", or "Unsatisfactory" rating on report card ratings. Also, 1,031 schools would qualify based on the critical geographic area requirement (some of which also qualify under the report card ratings). However, this number will fluctuate based on consecutive report card ratings and geographic area requirements.

 

The expenditure impact on local school districts will vary by district and will depend upon the number of noncertified teachers that the districts choose to hire. Additionally, while some participating schools and districts may collaborate on training for noncertified teachers, the expenditure impact will depend upon the number of noncertified teachers and the number of qualifying schools that choose to participate in the pilot program. Further, SCDE indicated on similar legislation that while the number of noncertified teachers fluctuates, there were approximately 1,370 noncertified teachers. Of this amount, approximately 880 noncertified educators taught in a qualifying school. This includes the following position codes: special education, prekindergarten, kindergarten, classroom teachers, and retired teachers.

 

 

Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director

Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office

 

_______

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-18-1115 SO AS TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM TO PERMIT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO HIRE NONCERTIFIED TEACHERS IN A RATIO UP TO TEN PERCENT OF ITS ENTIRE TEACHING STAFF, TO PROVIDE ACADEMIC, EVALUATION, AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS, TO FURTHER THE PROGRAM FOR ANNUAL PROGRAM REPORTING, AND TO PROVIDE NONCERTIFIED TEACHER REGISTRATION AND CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 18, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 59-18-1115.  (A) The Department of Education is directed to establish a five-year pilot program by May 1, 2025, that will permit a school to hire noncertified teachers in a ratio of up to ten percent of its entire teaching staff. This pilot does not include individuals seeking employment as work-based, career, and technical education teachers. The State Board of Education, through the Department of Education, shall approve guidelines that at a minimum include the following:

       (1) the requirement that a noncertified teacher must possess a suitable baccalaureate or graduate degree for the position he is hired to teach and must have at least five years of relevant workplace experience;

       (2) procedures for requiring noncertified teachers to participate in the evaluation process pursuant to Section 59-26-30(B)(4) and (5);

       (3) initial and ongoing training and support requirements; and

       (4) the requirement that a noncertified teacher must demonstrate enrollment in an educator certification program within three years of employment, including any state-approved alternative or traditional route program.

    (B) Participation in the pilot program is optional, and the decision to participate rests solely with the Department of Education and the school principal, upon approval of the district superintendent. Participating schools and districts are encouraged to collaborate on recruitment, training, and implementation of the pilot program and to assist the Department of Education with establishing best practices.

    (C) The Department of Education shall establish a separate code in the professional coding system to capture noncertified teachers and shall continue to report this information on school report cards.

    (D) Beginning November 1, 2026, the Department of Education shall submit an annual report that includes recommendations for improving, expanding, or continuing the pilot program to the General Assembly. The annual status report submitted by November 1, 2029, shall include a recommendation regarding continuance of the program beyond June 30, 2030.

    (E)(1) The Department of Education shall establish procedures for the registration, clearance, and approval of all noncertified teachers working in any public school pursuant to this section. Teachers shall submit the required documentation and fees to the Department of Education, which shall include, but are not limited to:

           (a) a completed registration form;

           (b) any associated fee; and

           (c) transcripts, which shall be subject to review.

       (2) An individual applying for registration as a noncertified teacher must undergo a state criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and a national criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The results of these criminal record checks must be reported to the Department of Education. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to retain the fingerprints for identification and certification purposes and for notification of the department regarding criminal charges. Costs of conducting a criminal history background check must be borne by the applicant. The Department of Education shall keep information received pursuant to this section confidential, except that such information may be disclosed to the State Board of Education as may be necessary. The results of these criminal record checks must not be shared outside the department.

       (3) An individual whose South Carolina educator certificate has been suspended or revoked shall not be employed as a noncertified teacher during the term of suspension or revocation. If a noncertified teacher is dismissed, resigns, or is otherwise separated from employment with a district following allegations of misconduct, the district superintendent shall report to the Chair of the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Education the educator's name and registration information. Upon a finding of just cause as defined in Section 59-25-160, the State Board of Education is authorized to revoke the noncertified teacher's registration.

 

SECTION 2.  Chapter 3, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 23-3-90. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section governs the authorizations and procedures that apply when an agency in this State is authorized by statute to request state and federal criminal history record checks to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), supported by fingerprints.

    (B) SLED is authorized to retain these fingerprints and to provide notification to authorized recipients of any criminal history record changes. Retained fingerprints may be searched by future submissions to SLED, including latent fingerprint searches, and appropriate responses may be sent to authorized recipients.

    (C) SLED, upon the request of an authorized recipient, may submit fingerprints collected to the FBI's Next Generation Identification (NGI) system and the FBI is authorized to retain these fingerprints within the NGI system. Retained fingerprints may be searched by future submissions to the NGI system, including latent fingerprint searches, and appropriate responses may be sent to SLED and authorized recipients.

    (D) The results of these criminal history record checks and notifications must only be reported to SLED and authorized recipients and cannot be further disseminated.

    (E) SLED may charge a reasonable fee for the collection and retention of fingerprints. SLED may charge an additional reasonable fee to agencies who elect to receive notifications from the NGI system. 

    (F) The following definitions apply to this section:

       (1) "Agency" means offices, departments, bureaus, and other subdivisions associated with a particular government agency's organizational structure.

       (2) "Authorized recipients" means the agency authorized to receive criminal history record information (CHRI) by a statute that has been approved by the FBI pursuant to Pub. L. 92-544 or any other applicable federal law.

 

SECTION 3.  Nothing contained in this section may be construed to repeal, replace, or preclude application of any other statute.

 

SECTION 4.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Section 1 of this bill shall remain in effect until June 30, 2030, unless extended by the General Assembly.

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