Superintendent briefs board on pending state bills: lottery‑funded vouchers, educator recertification, PE rules

Dr. McDonald provided the board a legislative update on Feb. 10, describing several bills under consideration in Columbia that could affect the district.

He said legislators are discussing using South Carolina Education Lottery funds to support private‑school vouchers and interdistrict transfers, providing an amount equal to 90% of the previous year’s average per‑pupil state allocation; transfers would not be subject to South Carolina High School League transfer prohibitions, allowing immediate participation in extracurriculars. Dr. McDonald reported that change is generating debate among districts and athletic directors.

He described House Bill 3196, called the Educators Assistance Act, which would create a lifetime certificate for retired educators (removing the current requirement that retirees complete 120 PD hours to maintain certification) and would move to an automatic five‑year recertification process if teachers participate in district PD. The bill would also expand in‑district PD days from three to four within the 190‑day calendar to help districts meet recertification needs, Dr. McDonald said.

House Bill 3195 would formalize physical education minimums: a minimum of 90 minutes of PE weekly for K–5, 60 minutes for grades 6–8, and at least 20 minutes of unstructured recess for grades K–8, and would prohibit using recess as punishment. The bill would allow school boards to waive PE requirements for middle‑school students taking high‑school courses elsewhere.

Dr. McDonald also noted upcoming topics including social media restrictions for students and proposals to reinstate elementary/middle social‑studies testing and principal certification pathway changes. He reported the district has already contacted its legislative delegation regarding a late‑filed bill to halve assessed boat values, which would materially affect Oconee County revenues if enacted.