Educators, parents urge Berkeley County School Board to restore student access to DISCUS

Several Berkeley County educators and parents urged the Berkeley County Board of Education on Feb. 18 to restore student access to DISCUS, the state-provided research database, saying the district’s unexplained removal has harmed instruction and student research skills.

Lauren Bolchez, a Berkeley County School District librarian and parent, told trustees she would not speculate about the reason for the district’s decision but described the consequences. “Students here are now relegated to just Googling it,” Bolchez said, adding that DISCUS provides full-text access to scholarly journals students otherwise cannot reach. “Please restore student access to SC DISCUS.”

Mev Macintosh, a former ELA teacher and parent, said the loss of DISCUS undermines preparations for state writing assessments that require text-dependent writing and cited accessibility features used by students with special needs. “Where did it go? Why did it disappear?” Macintosh asked the board. She said DISCUS “provides accessibility options and features that help my son, who has special needs and who is nonverbal, to understand stories.”

Speakers asked the board for transparency about the removal and for an opt-out process for parents who object to specific content, rather than a blanket removal. No board motion to restore access or an administrative explanation was offered during the public-comment period, and board chair remarks indicated that the board does not take immediate action on public comments at the meeting.

The comments came during the public-comment portion of the meeting. The board’s agenda later moved on to committee reports and items carried over from an earlier executive session. The district did not provide additional information about the decision to remove DISCUS during the meeting.