South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 4445

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Rice, Vaughn, Altman, Owens, Tripp, Cato and Hamilton
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9966sj04.doc

Introduced in the House on January 13, 2004
Currently residing in the House Committee on Education and Public Works

Summary: SC public school district, academic passport

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/3/2003  House   Prefiled
   12/3/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works
   1/13/2004  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-75
   1/13/2004  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-76
   1/14/2004  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Owens, Tripp, 
                        Cato, Hamilton

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/3/2003

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

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ENACTING THE SCHOOL CHOICE ACT OF 2004; BY ADDING ARTICLE 3, CAROLINA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO CHAPTER 17, TITLE 59; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A CAROLINA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, ITS GOVERNANCE, AND ITS POWERS AND DUTIES; TO PROVIDE FOR AN ACADEMIC PASSPORT, THE AMOUNT OF AN ACADEMIC PASSPORT, AND THE ELIGIBILITY OF A STUDENT TO RECEIVE AN ACADEMIC PASSPORT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS TO RECEIVE AN ACADEMIC PASSPORT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROHIBITION OF AWARDING MORE THAN ONE ACADEMIC PASSPORT TO A CHILD IN A YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT REQUIRED TO ADMIT A CHILD FOR WHOSE BENEFIT AN ACADEMIC PASSPORT HAS BEEN AWARDED; TO PROVIDE FOR THE AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP TO INCLUDE ACADEMIC PASSPORTS AWARDED AND CHILDREN ATTENDING CHARTER SCHOOLS IN EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT AWARDS ACADEMIC PASSPORTS OR CONTAINS CHARTER SCHOOLS; TO PROVIDE A TAX CREDIT FOR A DONATION TO THE CAROLINA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT AND FOR A PARENT OF A CHILD NOT RECEIVING AN ACADEMIC PASSPORT; TO DESIGNATE SECTIONS 59-17-10 THROUGH 59-17-140 AS ARTICLE 1, GENERAL PROVISIONS, CHAPTER 17, TITLE 59; AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-20-40, RELATING TO THE DETERMINATION OF ANNUAL ALLOCATIONS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE NUMBER OF ACADEMIC PASSPORTS AWARDED BY EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT AND STUDENTS ATTENDING CHARTER SCHOOLS IN EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT.

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

SECTION    1.    Chapter 17, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Article 3

Carolina Public School District

Section 59-17-310.    (A)    The Carolina Public School District is created as a body politic and corporate. The Carolina Public School District must be considered a local education agency and is eligible to receive federal and other grants available for charter and other schools.

(B)    The geographical boundaries of the Carolina Public School District are the same as the boundaries of the State of South Carolina.

Section 59-17-320.    (A)    The Carolina Public School District must be governed by Board of Trustees consisting of not more than seven members:

(1)    three appointed by the Governor;

(2)    two appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

(3)    two appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

(B)    Each member of the board of trustees shall serve a term of three years, except that, for the initial members, one appointed by the Governor, one appointed by the Speaker of the House, and one appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall serve a term of one year, and one appointed by the Governor shall serve a term of two years. The members shall elect a chairman. A member of the board may be removed after appointment pursuant to Section 1-3-240. An employee of the State Board of Education, State Department of Education, a school district, or a state educational institution may not be appointed a member of the board of trustees.

Section 59-17-330.    The Carolina Public School District has the same powers as other school districts of this State, including, but not limited to sponsoring charter schools and applying for federal charter school grants, except that the Carolina Public School District may not operate a school, issue bonds, or levy taxes.

Section 59-17-340.    The Carolina Public School District shall award an academic passport upon application and subject to sufficient funding. A school district may award an academic passport to an otherwise ineligible person.

Section 59-17-350.    An academic passport must be in the form of a cash payment or an education tax credit to the applicant in an amount in the discretion of the school district awarding the academic passport. The amounts of the grants need not be uniform.

Section 59-17-355.    (A)    Education tax credit grant certificates are legal tender in payment of a tax imposed by the State or a county. The State Treasurer shall have numbered blank certificates prepared and distributed to school districts. School districts may enter amounts, sign them, and issue them. The State Treasurer shall redeem certificates presented by the Director of the Department of Revenue or a county tax collector in exchange for a credit or cash. When redeemed, the State Treasurer shall cancel the certificate and retain it for at least three years. Audit reports required by Section 59-17-100 shall include an appendix determining compliance or noncompliance with the limitation on average amount of academic passport for each beneficiary.

(B)    Education tax credit certificates must be revenue neutral to the state or county where the credit is redeemed. The district issuing the education tax credit shall have credit with the State Treasurer or state agency from which the district receives funds.

Section 59-17-360.    A person eligible to be enrolled in a public school of this State may receive an academic passport provided that the student:

(1)    is enrolled in a public school of this State that has received a rating of 'unsatisfactory' in its absolute grade on its most recent report card pursuant to the Education Accountability Act;

(2)    has repeated at least one grade level in one of the three most recent school years and currently is not performing at grade level as determined by the student's Individual Education Plan;

(3)    has a family income below three hundred percent of the federal poverty level as determined by applicable federal law; or

(4)    is eligible to receive free or reduced price meals.

Section 59-17-370.    A parent, guardian, custodian, or another person having control of a child may apply to a school district in which the child resides, either a local or statewide district, for award of an academic passport for the benefit of the child. If a local school district does not award an academic passport within sixty days of the receipt of an application, the district shall state in a notification letter to the applicant the reasons the district did not award the academic passport.

Section 59-17-380.    A school district may not award more than one academic passport to a student for a school year or to a student attending a charter school.

Section 59-17-390.    A school district is not required to admit a student who has been awarded an academic passport for that year.

Section 59-17-400.    (A)    A person or corporation making a donation to the Carolina Public School District is entitled to a refundable tax credit against a South Carolina income tax due for the calendar year in which the donation is given, up to two thousand dollars for each person or corporation.

(B)    A parent or guardian of a student who does not receive an academic passport is entitled to a refundable tax credit against a South Carolina income tax due in that calendar year in the amount of the greater of:

(1)    up to two thousand dollars for each child for tuition paid to a private school; or

(2)    up to five hundred dollars for books and other educational supplies for each child who is schooled other than at a public or private school."

SECTION    2.    Sections 59-17-10 through 59-17-140 are designated as Article 1, General Provisions, Chapter 17, Title 59 of the 1976 Code.

SECTION    3.    Section 59-20-40(1)(a) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(a)    (i)    Each school district shall maintain a program membership of each school by compiling the student membership of each classification. The cumulative one hundred thirty-five-day average daily membership of each school district by program classification will determine its monetary entitlement. The district's average daily membership (ADM) will be computed, currently maintained, and reported in accordance with pursuant to the regulations of the State Board of Education. Funds for the state's portion of the per-pupil cost of the foundation program shall must be disbursed monthly to the various school districts. End-of-year adjustments in state funds shall must be made based on the one hundred thirty-five-day student average daily membership in each classification.

(ii)    Notwithstanding another provision of law, the State Board of Education, in computing the average daily membership, shall include the number of academic passports awarded by each school district and students attending charter schools in each district and weight them appropriately."

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

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