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Beaufort committee: Title 59 glossary appended to state standards; district distributes hard copies and completes teacher training
Summary
Beaufort County school staff told the Health Advisory Committee that a glossary and Title 59 guidance have been appended to the South Carolina State Standards, teachers received professional development on Feb. 14, and physical copies of the materials were delivered to schools so instruction can begin before the school year ends.
The Beaufort County Health Advisory Committee heard on Feb. 24 that the state has appended a glossary and Title 59 guidance to the South Carolina State Standards and that district staff have completed teacher training and distributed printed materials to schools.
Ms. Gray, a district staff presenter, said the glossary "is now a state document. So it's an appendix to the South Carolina State Standards" and that Title 59 remains the guiding statute. She told the committee the glossary and Title 59 material were added to the back of the state standards and that the district is relying on Title 59 as the basis for its expectations for health instruction.
The committee was told that the district held a professional development day on Feb. 14 for any teacher who teaches health or physical education, from elementary through grade 12; staff said teachers who could not attend used recorded Zoom makeup sessions. A district speaker said the district sent physical copies of the materials to each school by courier so staff would not have to rely on a link. The district indicated a goal of beginning instruction in some form before the school year ends so that the current year could count toward implementation.
Committee members and staff also discussed textbook ancillary materials and their relationship to the proviso. A district presenter said ancillary materials had been produced before a proviso was released, and that those ancillary materials were the source of the majority of items flagged as noncompliant with the proviso. Committee members said they plan to raise textbook adoption timing and content with the superintendent and with local and state contacts to see if an earlier adoption or review is possible.
Several committee members raised teacher concerns about new content and asked about supports. Committee presenters said early teacher feedback showed some trepidation but that follow-up meetings and classroom support were planned, including middle school face-to-face sessions and a principals' meeting before broader rollout.
Speakers noted planned next steps: continued school-level meetings with teachers and principals, follow-up with the state Department of Education (a staffer said an "office hours" meeting with the state was scheduled the next day), and attempts to coordinate conversations through the superintendent's office and local representatives. The presenter mentioned a state memo dated Nov. 14, 2024 as part of the materials packet but did not provide a physical citation in the meeting record.
The committee did not take any formal votes on Title 59 materials during the Feb. 24 meeting.
The district will return to the committee with updates on textbook-adoption conversations and state responses to outstanding questions, and committee members discussed future agenda scheduling for March.
