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District seeks approval for Pathways diploma pilot for students with disabilities
Summary
Sumter presented its South Carolina Pathways Project application, an alternate diploma pathway for eligible students with disabilities with embedded CTE content and an apprenticeship component; the course will be locally approved and must be submitted to the State Department of Education.
Sumter School District staff told the Board of Trustees on May 5 that the district has been selected as one of five in the state to pilot the South Carolina Pathways Project, an alternate diploma option for students with disabilities that embeds career and technical education standards and an apprenticeship.
Office of Student Support Services representatives said the pilot focuses on students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) who are in 11th or 12th grade, take health-science courses at the career center and plan to enter the workforce after graduation. The team has completed an English course aligned to state standards and embedded with CTE competencies; they plan a consumer-math course next. "The first course is an ELA course... the first course, which is the English course. And this will be a local approved course that will need the approval of Doctor Reagan and Doctor Wright," staff said.
The program includes online coursework with standards embedded, soft-skills instruction developed with partners (including AbleNet and Vocational Rehabilitation), and a paid apprenticeship at the end of the pathway. Staff emphasized the diploma is an additional diploma option and not a modification of the state diploma requirements: "We are not modifying any diploma needs or requirements. Nothing is being modified," a district presenter said.
The application must be approved locally and then resubmitted to the South Carolina Department of Education for final approval. Staff said the district anticipates beginning the two-course sequence in the 2026-27 school year and housing the courses at the Career and Technology Center so students from all three high schools can participate.
Board members asked about program caps and enrollment decisions; staff said parent and student consent would be part of the process and that class sizes would determine caps. A trustee said she hoped the district would expand beyond the first two courses; staff said the state could open the pathway for all students in two years if the pilot proceeds successfully.
Ending: Staff asked the board to approve the local course application so the district can submit required materials to the State Department of Education for the Pathways Project pilot.
