South Carolina General Assembly
114th Session, 2001-2002

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Bill 464


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      464
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 Senate
Introduced Date:                  20010315
Primary Sponsor:                  Hayes
All Sponsors:                     Hayes
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\gjk\20335sd01.doc
Residing Body:                    Senate
Date of Last Amendment:           20020605
Subject:                          School building codes, standards, 
                                  inspections by Superintendent of Education; 
                                  School Districts, Building Codes


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
House   20020606  Read third time, returned with
                  amendment
House   20020605  Amended, read second time
House   20020523  Request for debate by Representative           Loftis
                                                                 Tripp
                                                                 Davenport
                                                                 Kelley
                                                                 J. Brown
                                                                 Perry
                                                                 Kennedy
                                                                 Townsend
                                                                 Allison
                                                                 Bales
                                                                 Walker
                                                                 Stille
House   20020521  Committee report: Favorable with       21 HEPW
                  amendment
House   20010510  Introduced, read first time,           21 HEPW
                  referred to Committee
Senate  20010509  Read third time, sent to House
Senate  20010508  Read second time
Senate  20010508  Committee amendment adopted
------  20010504  Scrivener's error corrected
Senate  20010503  Committee report: Favorable with       04 SED
                  amendment
Senate  20010315  Introduced, read first time,           04 SED
                  referred to Committee


              Versions of This Bill
Revised on May 3, 2001 - Word format
Revised on May 4, 2001 - Word format
Revised on May 8, 2001 - Word format
Revised on May 21, 2002 - Word format
Revised on June 5, 2002 - Word format

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


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

AMENDED

June 5, 2002

    S. 464

Introduced by Senator Hayes

S. Printed 6/5/02--H.

Read the first time May 10, 2001.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 23, TITLE 59 SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR APPLICABLE STANDARDS, SPECIFICATIONS, AND CODES WHICH APPLY TO THE CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, OR RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND PROPERTY, AND TO REQUIRE THE CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, OR RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND PROPERTY TO BE INSPECTED BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION OR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DESIGNEE BEFORE OCCUPANCY; AND TO REPEAL ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 23, TITLE 59 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO SCHOOL BUILDING CODES AND INSPECTIONS.

    Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION    1.    Chapter 23 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Article 5

School Building Codes, Specifications, and Inspections

    Section 59-23-510.    All construction, improvement, and renovation of public school buildings and property on or after the effective date of this section shall comply with the latest applicable standards and specifications set forth in:

    (1)    the building code, plumbing code, mechanical code, standard gas code, fire code, and successor codes promulgated by the Southern Building Codes Congress International, Inc.;

    (2)    the Model Energy Code as published by the Council of American Building Officials;

    (3)    the National Electrical Code as published by the National Fire Protection Association; and

    (4)    the applicable standards as specified and modified in the South Carolina School Facilities Planning and Construction Guide as published by the South Carolina Department of Education.

    Section 59-23-520.    All construction, improvements, and renovation of public school buildings and property shall be inspected by the State Superintendent of Education or the superintendent's designee for compliance with the applicable codes and standards.

    A certificate of occupancy must be obtained from the State Superintendent of Education or the superintendent's designee before any such building may be occupied. The certificate of occupancy must be reviewed and approved by the State Fire Marshal before it may be issued by the Superintendent of Education or the superintendent's designee."

SECTION    2.    Article 1, Chapter 23 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is repealed.

SECTION    3.    The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 59-104-25.    (A)    For the purposes of applying for the Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, beginning with students graduating in 2002 and thereafter, a 'magnet school' is defined as any public school within a school district whose enrollment is open to all students of that district with all of the following characteristics:

        (a)    is attended by students outside their attendance zone who could not attend it if it were not a magnet school;

        (b)    emphasizes an academic theme or specialization; and

        (c)    was established for desegregation purposes.

    (B)    For all students in magnet schools as defined in subsection (A), whenever a student meets all criteria for applying for the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship except for rank in class, the student may use the rank in class from the high school he or she would have attended had there been no magnet school so long as by submitting an application for a Palmetto Fellow Scholarship, the magnet school student does not cause the regular high school to exceed the five percent limitation from its sophomore or junior class for these scholarships.

    (C)    The magnet high schools shall be responsible for obtaining official documentation from the regular high school that the magnet high school student is within the top five percent of either the sophomore or junior class. This documentation must be submitted with the student's Palmetto Fellows Scholarship application supporting documents. The official documentation shall include the name of the regular high school, the number in the class and whether it is the sophomore or junior year, and the student's exact rank in that class. Once the Commission on Higher Education has received all eligible applications, the commission shall ensure that the sending high schools do not exceed five percent of their classes with the inclusion of the magnet school applicants."

SECTION    4.    Article 21, Chapter 53, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

    "Article 21

    Vocational Career and Technology Training

    Section 59-53-1810.    The State of South Carolina hereby accepts the provisions of an act of Congress entitled: 'To Provide for the Promotion of Vocational Education; to Provide for Cooperation with the States in the Promotion of Such Education in Agriculture and the Trades and Industries; to Provide for Cooperation with the States in the Preparation of Teachers of Vocational Subjects; and to Appropriate Money and Regulate Its Expenditure', and hereby designates and constitutes the State Board of Education as the South Carolina State Board of Vocational Career and Technology Training to cooperate with the United States Government in putting such law into operation.

    Section 59-53-1820.    The State Board of Vocational Career and Technology Training may cooperate with any local or state agency for the advancement of agricultural and industrial education.

    Section 59-53-1830.    The State Treasurer is hereby created and appointed custodian of all funds coming to the State from the United States under the provisions of the act referred to in Section 59-53-1810 and shall be is responsible on his bond for the correct and proper handling of such the funds. All moneys monies appropriated by the State or paid into the State Treasury from the United States for the purpose set forth in Sections 59-53-1810 to 59-53-1870 shall must be paid out upon the order of the State Board of Education, duly countersigned and approved by the secretary of the board, and itemized vouchers shall must be filed with the Comptroller General as in the case of other funds.

    Section 59-53-1840.    There shall must be appropriated annually, out of the State Treasury, for the promotion of vocational career and technology education in agriculture, subjects, industrial subjects and home economic engineering or industrial technology, and family and consumer science subjects, a sum not less than the amount which may be apportioned to the State from the funds appropriated by the Congress of the United States in an act entitled 'An Act to Provide for the Promotion of Vocational Education; to Provide for Cooperation with the States in the Promotion of such Education in Agriculture and the Trades and Industries; to Provide for Cooperation with the States in the Preparation of Teachers of Vocational Subjects; and to Appropriate Money and Regulate its Expenditure', approved February 23, 1917.

    Section 59-53-1850.    Moneys Monies appropriated under the terms of Sections 59-53-1810 to 59-53-1870 shall must be paid out upon the order of the State Board of Education, duly countersigned and approved by the secretary of the State Board of Education Clemson University, and itemized vouchers shall must be filed with the Comptroller General as in the case of other funds.

    For high schools and joint vocational career and technology schools having a vocational career and technology agriculture program, monies appropriated for this purpose shall must be disbursed for use by such the schools to conduct vocational career and technology agriculture programs on a full-time twelve-month per year basis. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit monies appropriated for vocational career and technology agriculture to be used in programs of less than twelve months per each year. The local school board shall decide whether all or any part of its vocational career and technology agricultural program shall be 12 twelve months or less than 12 twelve months after consideration of the local board's needs assessment for vocational career and technology agriculture and the findings of the State Department of Education's Clemson University's review of the local vocational career and technology agricultural program.

    Section 59-53-1860.    The State Board of Education may use the funds appropriated by Sections 59-53-1810 to 59-53-1870 for the payment of the salaries of teachers, supervisors, or directors of vocational career and technology subjects, for the purchase of supplies and equipment to be used by vocational career and technology classes, for the maintenance of classes for training teachers of vocational career and technology subjects or for the administration of vocational career and technology education, including necessary supervision and clerical help.

    Due to the special characteristics of agriculture education work experiences which require instruction during the summer and on a year-round basis, monies appropriated for this purpose shall must be available on a full-time twelve-month per year basis to those high schools and joint vocational career and technology schools whose teachers of vocational career and technology agriculture are responsible for the following programs of instruction on a full-time basis during the interim between academic years:

    (a)    supervision and instruction of students in agriculture experience programs;

    (b)    group and individual instruction of farmers and agribusinessmen;

    (c)    supervision of student members of 'Future Farmers of America' who are involved in leadership training or other activities as part of their vocational career and technology education instructional program;

    (d)    any program of vocational career and technology agriculture established by the State Board of Education.

    Section 59-53-1870.    The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations governing the expenditures of moneys monies appropriated by Sections 59-53-1810 to 59-53-1870 and shall make the same known to the various school districts of the State in order that they may know the conditions under which they are entitled to share in the funds available for vocational career and technology education.

    On or before December 30, 1980, the The State Board of Education shall adopt instructional program standards for vocational career and technology programs and a needs assessment format which includes instructional requirements for the special characteristics of the different vocational career and technology programs, using as a guide for vocational career and technology agriculture the standards of quality vocational career and technology programs in agriculture/agribusiness education developed by the vocational career and technology agricultural education profession. The instruction program standards for vocational career and technology agriculture programs shall include the instructional programs for the interim between academic years which are itemized in Section 59-53-1860 of the 1976 Code, as amended.

    These instructional program standards shall be incorporated in the South Carolina State Plan for Vocational- Technical Career and Technology Education as adopted by the State Board of Education. The instructional standards adopted by the State Board of Education shall must be used to evaluate all vocational career and technology programs.

    Local programs of vocational career and technology agriculture education and the school district's needs assessment for agriculture education programs shall must be reviewed by the State Department of Education Clemson University consultants for agriculture education with the participation of an advisory team consisting at minimum of a member of the local advisory committee for vocational career and technology agriculture, a member of the local advisory council for vocational career and technology education, and a teacher-educator for agriculture education from Clemson University. The findings of such these reviews shall include an explicit statement of the vocational career and technology agricultural education needs of the students and the agriculture community served by such the local program. Any member of this review team shall must be allowed to include a minority opinion in the findings of the review. These reviews shall must be scheduled by the State Department of Education Clemson University at intervals adequate to assure local program compliance with the State Plan for Vocational and Technical Career and Technology Education. Whenever a high school or joint vocational career and technology school's annual report, as required by Section 59-20-60, the S. C. Education Finance Act of 1977, on programmatic needs fails to justify or continue offering on a full-time twelve-month per year basis any existing vocational career and technology agriculture education program, the school district board of trustees for such the school shall include and consider the findings of the State Department of Education Clemson University review of the local vocational career and technology agriculture program in the needs assessment of such the district board of trustee's comprehensive annual and long-range plan for meeting program needs.

    Section 59-53-1880.    For the purpose of developing and maintaining vocational career and technology education facilities and programs to serve an area not exclusively within the boundaries of a single school district, the school districts serving such an area are empowered to affiliate with each other under such the terms and conditions, not in conflict with this section and Section 59-53-1890, as they see fit. The affiliation shall must be evidenced by a written instrument to be filed with the secretary and administrative officer of the State Board of Education and with the county boards of education concerned.

    Section 59-53-1890.    The affiliation agreement shall provide:

    (a)    for the affiliating school districts to appoint a liaison committee which shall recommend organizational and administrative procedures and measures to assure adequate accounting procedures;

    (b)    procedures by which vocational career and technology education funds appropriated by the federal, state, or county government may be applied for and received;

    (c)    procedures by which one of the affiliating school districts may hold title for the benefit of all to real and personal property acquired with such funds; and

    (d)    that each of the affiliating school districts shall have an equity in such the joint assets to the extent that the assessed tax value of the property within such the school district bears to the aggregate assessed tax value of the property within the combined area of the school districts. If less than an entire school district is served by such vocational the career and technology education facilities or programs, only the area served shall must be considered in computing equities in joint assets.

    Section 59-53-1900.    Any group of two or more school districts of the State, without regard to county lines, may join to create vocational career and technology school boards (hereinafter referred to as boards) to construct, operate, govern, supervise, manage, and control vocational schools. Provided, however However, that the provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any school district with a vocational career and technology center serving only those students residing within its geographical limits. Each board shall consist of six appointed members, to be apportioned among the districts joining in the creation of the board as the districts may agree. Members shall must be selected by the school boards of trustees from the members of their respective district school boards of trustees. The terms of the members of the board shall must be concurrent with their terms on the district school board of trustees. In the event that If vacancies occur or members of the boards cease to be members of their respective boards of trustees, such the vacancies shall must be filled by members from the same school board of trustees of which the withdrawing member was a member, selected by the trustees of that district or county.

    The superintendent of each participating district shall serve as an ex officio non-voting nonvoting member of the board. The superintendents shall must be administrative members of the board and shall jointly nominate staff and assume such responsibilities and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law or by regulations of the State Board of Education or as may be prescribed by the vocational career and technology school board.

    As soon as convenient after June 4, 1975 the The respective boards of trustees of participating districts shall select their members and the boards shall convene and organize by electing one member as chairman and one as vice chairman. The terms of chairman and vice chairman shall be are for one year. The boards shall have such other officers and prescribe terms thereof as deemed considered necessary.

    The members of the boards shall must be paid such compensation as the boards may provide by resolution; provided, that such the compensation shall not exceed fifty dollars per meeting and mileage at a rate of fourteen cents per mile.

    Section 59-53-1910.    The vocational career and technology school shall not constitute a separate school district but shall be a joint project for the establishment of a vocational career and technology school by the cooperating school districts. The vocational career and technology school shall must be funded by the respective district boards, as the district boards may agree upon. The costs of acquiring real property and the improvements thereon on it are to be borne by the respective district boards according to their agreement thereon.

    Section 59-53-1920.    The boards shall must be fully empowered to operate, govern, supervise, manage, control, direct, acquire, construct, maintain, improve, and extend the facilities of the schools. To that end, the boards shall have the following powers to:

    (1)    To have perpetual succession.;

    (2)    To sue and be sued.;

    (3)    To adopt, use, and alter an institutional seal.;

    (4)    To define a quorum for meetings.;

    (5)    To establish a principal office.;

    (6)    To make bylaws for the management and regulation of their affairs.;

    (7)    To acquire, build, construct, equip, maintain, and operate a vocational career and technology school or schools.;

    (8)    To select a vocational career and technology school director or directors.;

    (9)    To accept gifts or grants of services, properties, or monies from private individuals or entities, from the State of South Carolina, the United States, or its agencies thereof. ;

    (10)    To make contracts and execute and deliver all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of the business of the vocational career and technology school.;

    (11)    To acquire in the name of the cooperating districts, as tenants in common, by purchase or gift, all land and interest therein in it which the boards shall, in their discretion, deem consider necessary to enable them to fully and adequately discharge their responsibilities.;

    (12)    To appoint officers, agents, and employees and prescribe their duties, fix their compensation, and determine if and to what extent they shall must be bonded for the faithful performance of their duties; and to make contracts for construction, architectural, engineering, legal, and other services and materials.;

    (13)    To determine each school year the student capacity of the vocational career and technology school, with the capacity to be apportioned by agreement among the cooperating districts. In the event that in If any school year any of the respective boards fail to fulfill their quota, the other boards shall must be permitted to fill such the unused allocation with students from their county. The boards utilizing the unused allocation shall pay for each student on a pro rata part of the year's current operating expenses based upon the budget. This amount shall must be paid at the beginning of the fiscal year, except that the actual cost shall may not be computed until the end of the current school year or the end of each semester and adjustments shall must be made at that time. Nothing herein shall in this section must be construed to limit the cost of maintenance, support, and operations of the vocational career and technology schools jointly.;

    (14)    To perform all other actions necessary or convenient to carry out any responsibility, function, or power committed or granted to the boards.

    Section 59-53-1930.    The boards shall conduct their affairs on the fiscal year basis employed by the State. As soon after the close of each fiscal year as may be practicable, an audit of school affairs shall must be made by a certified public accountant, to be designated by the boards. Copies of such the audits, incorporated into annual reports of the boards, shall must be filed with the cooperating school districts.

    Section 59-53-1940.    It shall be is unlawful for any a person to wilfully injure or destroy, or in any manner hurt, damage, tamper with, or impair the facilities of a vocational board, or any part thereof of it. Any A person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall must be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days at the discretion of the court, and shall must be further liable to pay the cost of all damages.

    Section 59-53-1950.    The General Assembly shall provide funds in the annual general appropriation appropriations act for the purchase of equipment for vocational career and technology training pursuant to the Department of Education's State Plan for vocational-technical education Career and Technology Education. The highest priority in funding for vocational career and technology education must be given to job preparatory workforce preparation, occupational proficiency courses in areas related to:

    (a)    current high technology trades, businesses, and industries;

    (b)    high labor market and high labor intensive demand;

    (c)    small business management; and

    (d)    new and emerging trades, industries, and businesses which foster and enhance the economic development, stability, and diversification of the State's economy.

    Section 59-53-1960.    Commencing with 1987-88, to To continue existing job preparatory workforce preparation programs, other than vocational career and technology agriculture, fifty percent of the graduates available for placement must be placed during the prior three years in the area for which training was provided. Each graduate of a job preparatory vocational workforce preparation career and technology education program must be surveyed by his school district ten months after graduation to determine job placement status. The school districts shall make an annual report to the State Board of Education of the findings of its survey. The State Board of Education shall report the results of the district surveys to the Governor, General Assembly, and the Advisory Council on Vocation Technical Career and Technology Education. The State Board of Education may waive the fifty percent requirement upon recommendation of the school district, if the district can demonstrate that a program responds to the employment needs of new or expanding businesses or industries. Students must be advised prior to before enrollment in a job preparatory workforce preparation program of possible discontinuation of the program, if placement data indicate possible discontinuation, and of the employment outlook for graduates of the program. Students enrolling in vocational career and technology programs which are not preparatory for employment must be clearly advised of this fact by the school district.

    Section 59-53-1970.    South Carolina's evolving economy, new conditions in the workplace, and changing needs of employers combined with the provisions of basic skills remedial programs, increased course requirements, and modernization of equipment require a reassessment of the state's efforts to prepare young people for employment. To assist the General Assembly and the Governor in reviewing the state's vocational education system for grades 9 through 12, the South Carolina Advisory Council on Vocational and Technical Education is directed to conduct an intensive study of how the vocational education system can best prepare young people with skills employers will require between the years 1990 and 2000.

    This study shall provide the General Assembly with:

    (1)    data on and analysis of students' use of the vocational education system, delineating among participation in courses, between occupational and non-occupational courses of study, and between students who participate in a complete sequence of courses as opposed to those who take only one or two courses;

    (2)    recommendations for the creation of a new management information system which will provide the General Assembly with more timely, accurate, and useful information about student participation in, completion of, and placement from various vocational education programs, and the effects of students' participation in these programs;

    (3)    a demographic and achievement profile of students who enroll in, complete, and are placed from vocational education courses;

    (4)    a report of employers' expectations of and experiences with the vocational education system, based on interviews with a representative sample of employers in South Carolina;

    (5)    a report of students' perceptions of and experiences with the vocational education system, based on interviews with a representative sample of current and former public school students;

    (6)    recommendations for how the vocational education system can best meet the training and employment needs of low achieving students who do not seek post-secondary education;

    (7)    recommendations for how the programs of the vocational education system can be better coordinated with other state agencies concerned with education, training, and employment to best serve young people who do not seek post-secondary education;

    (8)    report on South Carolina's labor needs between 1990 and 2000 which can be met by students who successfully complete programs provided by the vocational education system.

    The House Education and Public Works Committee and the Senate Education Committee shall designate committee staff to serve as liaisons with the staff of the South Carolina Advisory Council on Vocational and Technical Education to provide advice about how the study can be designed, implemented, and reported so as to be most useful to the General Assembly. Components of the study must be issued serially, as completed. The South Carolina Advisory Council on Vocational and Technical Education is authorized to seek funding from private sources to facilitate the study, and to subcontract with appropriate public and private entities to conduct any of the various components of the study. The study must be completed no later than April, 1986. Reserved.

    Section 59-53-1980.    The Governor shall appoint a committee to study all areas of career and technology training in South Carolina. The committee is composed of representatives of the business community, the General Assembly, and the various agencies involved in career and technology training. Based on the findings of the committee, the Governor shall make recommendations to the General Assembly related to a coordinated statewide program of career and technology training which addresses the following concerns:

    a.    duplication of services and people served.;

    b.    need for a comprehensive assessment of future job opportunities in South Carolina and the relationships of those opportunities to the direction of future job training efforts.;

    c.    Need for a unified plan to coordinate job training efforts.;

    d.    Need for a standard management information system.;

    e.    Insufficient emphasis on entrepreneur training and information and service occupations.;

    f.    Narrow missions of Special Schools.;

    g.    Training systems not prepared to handle federal cutbacks in funding.;

    h.    Insufficient coordination with private employers to provide job training.;

    i.    Insufficient coordination of training needs for special target groups.;

    j.    Lack of coordination of illiteracy efforts with job training programs.;

    k.    Other barriers which prevent a coordinated, accessible, and efficient job training effort in South Carolina."

SECTION    5.Section 59-18-1580 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 400 of 1998, is amended to read:

    "Section 59-18-1580.    (A)    If recommendations approved by the State Board of Education are not satisfactorily implemented by the school district according to the time line developed by the State Board of Education, or if student performance has not made the expected progress and the school district is designated as unsatisfactory, the district superintendent and members of the board of trustees must shall appear before the State Board of Education to outline the reasons why a state of emergency should must not be declared in the district.

    (B)    The state superintendent, with the approval of the State Board of Education, is granted authority to do any of the following:

        (1)    furnish continuing advice and technical assistance in implementing the recommendations of the State Board of Education to include establishing and conducting a training program for the district board of trustees and the district superintendent to focus on roles and actions in support of increases in student achievement;

        (2)    arbitrate personnel matters between the district board and district superintendent when the State Board of Education is informed that the district board is considering dismissal of the superintendent, and the parties agree to arbitration;

        (3)    recommend to the Governor that the office of superintendent be declared vacant. If the Governor declares the office vacant, the state superintendent may furnish an interim replacement until the vacancy is filled by the district board of trustees or until an election is held as provided by law to fill the vacancy if the superintendent who is replaced is elected to such office. District boards of trustees negotiating contracts for the superintendency shall include a provision that the contract is void should the Governor declare that office of superintendency vacant pursuant to this section. This contract provision does not apply to any existing contracts but to new contracts or renewal of contracts;

        (3)(4)    declare a state of emergency in the school district and assume management of the school district.

    (C)    The district board of trustees may appoint at least two nonvoting members to the board from a pool nominated by the Education Oversight Committee and the State Department of Education. The appointed members shall have demonstrated high levels of knowledge, commitment, and public service, must be recruited and trained for service as appointed board members by the Education Oversight Committee and the State Department of Education, and shall represent the interests of the State Board of Education on the district board. Compensation for the nonvoting members must be paid by the State Board of Education in an amount equal to the compensation paid to the voting members of the district board."

SECTION    6.    Section 59-18-700 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 400 of 1998, is amended to read:

    "Section 59-18-700.    The criteria governing the adoption of All instructional materials shall be revised by the State Board of Education to require that placed on the approved list of instructional materials and textbooks for use in the public schools of this State pursuant to State Board of Education regulations the content of such materials reflect shall contain the substance and level of performance outlined in the grade and subject specific educational academic standards adopted by the state board State Board of Education."

SECTION    7.    Section 59-31-45 of the 1976 Code is repealed.

SECTION    8.    Section 59-19-90(8) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

    "(8)    Charge matriculation and incidental fees. Charge and collect matriculation and incidental fees from the pupils when allowed by any special act of the General Assembly students; however, regulations or policies adopted by the board regarding charges and collections must take into account the students' ability to pay and must hold the fee to a minimum reasonable amount. Fees may not be charged to students eligible for free lunches and must be reduced pro rata for students eligible for reduced price lunches;"

SECTION    9.    The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 59-18-1515.    Notwithstanding any provisions of law, by April thirtieth of every year, each unsatisfactory and below average school visited by an external review team must publish the strategies to improve student performance as outlined in their revised school renewal plan in a local audited newspaper. For schools not visited by an external review team, this requirement is waived."

SECTION    10.The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 59-139-100.    Notwithstanding any provisions of law, by April thirtieth of every year, an annual district strategic plan or annual update, or both, and school renewal plan or annual update must be completed. The annual district programmatic report must be completed and a summary sent to parents and constituents."

SECTION    11.    Section 59-104-20 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 289 of 2000, is further amended by adding at the end:

    "Any student that, as a senior in high school, received a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship award but declined the scholarship may be eligible to reapply for the annual scholarship if he transfers to a South Carolina public senior institution of higher learning as defined in Section 59-103-5 after attending an out-of-state senior higher education institution if the following criteria are met:

    (1)    a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale; and

    (2)    a minimum of thirty credit hours earned each academic year after graduation from high school.

    The annual award of these scholarship funds shall be based on the availability of funds after all eligible high school seniors and continuing Palmetto Fellows have been awarded a scholarship. The number of semesters or academic years a student attended an out-of-state institution are to be deducted from the number of semesters or academic years a student is eligible for the scholarship."

SECTION    12.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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