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Panel advances bill to equalize excused absences for school‑sanctioned clay‑target teams; education groups urge absence limits
Summary
The subcommittee advanced a bill requiring equal treatment of excused absences for interscholastic activities authorized by a school, citing examples of clay target sport teams not covered by the South Carolina High School League; Palmetto State Teachers Association recommended a cap on allowable absences to protect seat time.
The K‑12 subcommittee voted to send a bill favorably to full committee that would require school districts to treat absences for school‑authorized interscholastic activities — such as a competitive clay‑target shooting team — the same way they treat absences for other sanctioned extracurricular competitions.
Representative Johnson introduced the legislation after parents and district leaders raised instances where students who competed in a statewide clay‑target league were treated differently from students who missed class for sanctioned high school league events, such as football or golf. Staff explained the bill applies only to teams or activities authorized by a school or district; it does not automatically apply to privately organized travel teams.
Patrick Kelly of the Palmetto State Teachers Association told the panel the bill’s intent is sound but urged the committee to adopt limits on the number of allowable school‑sanctioned absences. PSTA recommended an approach similar to another recent bill that caps certain excused absences at 10 days to curb chronic absenteeism and protect instructional seat time. Kelly warned that chronic absenteeism in South Carolina has increased post‑pandemic and that districts must balance extracurricular opportunities with student achievement.
Members discussed possible downstream issues — whether the bill would open the door to many kinds of travel teams or create cumulative absenteeism for students who participate in multiple activities — and asked staff and the State Department of Education to help craft implementable language. The subcommittee recorded a favorable report to full committee by voice and roll‑call; the transcript shows the committee approved the bill with one abstention.
What the bill does: requires fairness in excused‑absence decisions for interscholastic activities authorized by a school or school district and clarifies the absence should be treated comparably to other sanctioned competitions when determining attendance or truancy consequences.
Next steps: members suggested working with the State Department of Education and stakeholders to consider a numerical cap on allowable excused absences and to ensure the bill applies only to school‑sanctioned activities.
Vote: reported favorably to full committee on a recorded vote with one abstention.
