South Carolina General Assembly
114th Session, 2001-2002

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Bill 3623

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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


Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ADOPTED

April 2, 2002

    H. 3623

Introduced by Reps. Allison, Townsend and Robinson

S. Printed 4/2/02--S.

Read the first time May 2, 2001.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 59-63-280, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE PROHIBITION AGAINST PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS POSSESSING PAGING DEVICES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY OR WHILE ATTENDING SCHOOL EVENTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT PAGING DEVICES WHICH ARE CONFISCATED PURSUANT TO THIS PROVISION AND FORFEITED TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE RETURNED TO THE OWNER IN THE MANNER AND UNDER THE TIME LINES GOVERNED BY SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICY.

    Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION    1.    Section 59-63-280 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 24 of 1991, is amended to read:

    "Section 59-63-280.    (A)    For purposes of this section, `paging device' means a telecommunications, to include mobile telephones, device that emits an audible signal, vibrates, displays a message, or otherwise summons or delivers a communication to the possessor.

    (B)    A student under the age of eighteen in the public schools may not possess a paging device while on school property or while attending a school sponsored or school related activity on or off school property, unless the student needs the paging device for a legitimate medical reason. A student eighteen years of age and over in the public schools may not possess a paging device while on school property or while attending a school sponsored or school related activity on or off school property, unless the student is an active member of a volunteer firefighting organization or a volunteer emergency medical service organization or unless the student needs the paging device for a legitimate medical reason. The principal of each school may decide what constitutes a legitimate medical reason consistent with any guidelines as may be established by the school board of that district or by the State Department of Education. The principal of each school must secure and retain documented evidence of a student's legitimate medical need or his membership in a volunteer firefighting or emergency medical service organization before that student may have a paging device at school if authorized by this section.

    (C)    The board of trustees of each school district shall include adopt a policy that addresses student possession of paging devices as defined in subsection (A). This policy must be included in the district's written student conduct standards. If the policy includes confiscation of a paging device, as defined in subsection (A), it should also provide for the return of the device to the owner. the prohibition in subsection (A) of this section in the district's written standards of student conduct. A student who violates the prohibition is subject to discipline as provided by board policy, consistent with this subsection.

    (D)    A person who discovers a student in possession of a paging device in violation of this section shall report the violation to the appropriate school administrator, as determined by school policy, who shall order a peace officer or appropriate school employee to confiscate the device, which is forfeited to the school district."

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

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