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Kershaw trustees approve livestreaming, expand excused absences for CTE events and update transfer policy; board votes to file state complaint
Summary
The Kershaw County School Board of Trustees unanimously approved revisions to meeting-livestreaming rules, expanded excused absences for certain career and technical student organization events, updated the district athletic-transfer policy and voted to file a formal complaint with the South Carolina Department of Education.
The Kershaw County School Board of Trustees unanimously approved a set of policy changes on livestreaming, student absences for career and technical education activities and athletic transfer rules, and voted to send a formal complaint to the South Carolina Department of Education alleging a breach of contract by a district employee.
The approved policy changes implement a new state requirement that all school board meetings — regular, special-called and workshops — be accessible via livestream, and add rules that allow districts to excuse student absences for certain state- and national-level career and technical student organization events for up to 10 days. The board also amended the district transfer policy to update its athletic-transfer section in response to changes prompted by the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, while deferring additional transfer changes until the State Department of Education issues regulations and guidance.
The livestreaming policy revisions were presented to the board as revisions to policy BE and a new policy BEA; the district said it already livestreams meetings and that the new requirement will extend livestreaming to finance and facilities meetings beginning Jan. 1. The attendance changes were drafted as revisions to policy JH and JHR and a new policy JHE to implement the state authorization allowing excused absences for certain Career and Technical Student Organization activities (examples given included Future Farmers of America and 4-H).
The board also moved to send a formal complaint to the State Department of Education. During open session a board member read the motion aloud: “I hereby move that we vote to send a formal complaint to the State Department of Education requesting action be taken against employee A, a professional employee of the Kershaw County School District, who, pursuant to South Carolina Code Annotated section 59-25-530, breached their employment contract with the district and failed to report to work.” The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Votes at a glance
- Policies BE (board meetings) and BEA (live streaming): Motion made by Dr. King; second by Coach Blackman. Outcome: approved (unanimous). Individual roll-call votes were not specified in the meeting record. - Policies JH and JHR (student absences) and JHE (excused absences for CTE student organizations): Motion made by (as recorded) Colchitt Blackmon; second by Miss Ronald. Outcome: approved (unanimous). Individual roll-call votes were not specified. - Policies JFABC (transfer students) and JFABCE (inter-district transfer request form) — athletic-transfer portion only: Motion made by Mr. Cameron; second by Miss Furness. Outcome: approved (unanimous). Individual roll-call votes were not specified. - Acceptance of administration recommendations concerning employment matters (executive-session item): Motion made and seconded; outcome approved (unanimous). Individual roll-call votes were not specified. - Formal complaint to South Carolina Department of Education under S.C. Code Ann. §59-25-530 alleging breach of contract by a professional employee: Moved in open session, seconded by Miss Cameron; outcome approved (unanimous). Individual roll-call votes were not specified.
Board members and staff framed the livestreaming policy changes as implementing a newly passed state law and emphasized that executive sessions remain exempt. District staff told trustees that the attendance policy changes reflect legislative authorization to excuse up to 10 days for students participating in state- or national-level Career and Technical Student Organization events; the district also clarified that parents and students remain responsible for obtaining missed academic work. On transfers, the board approved only the athletic-transfer edits pending further state regulations tied to the Education Scholarship Trust Fund.
No dissent or roll-call vote totals were recorded in the public minutes for these items; the meeting record records the votes as unanimous.
