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Committee reviews a slate of state bills affecting local schools, from a 'bathroom bill' to grading-floor proposals
Summary
Julie updated the committee on multiple state bills: the Student Physical Privacy Act (the 'bathroom bill') moving toward the Senate floor, scholarship eligibility disputes for 'unbundler' homeschoolers, greater charter oversight, a Parental Rights Act with opt-in health care provisions, proposals on mental-health providers in schools, and a contentious bill (H.5073) that would remove grading floors.
Julie (S7) provided a broad legislative update on bills that could affect district operations.
She described the South Carolina Student Physical Privacy Act (referred to as the "bathroom bill") as likely to pass the Senate; the bill would codify protections that have been enforced previously via a one-year budget proviso and would create a private right of action for certain encounters in bathrooms, changing facilities or overnight quarters. She also summarized debate over the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, noting this year’s program includes 10,000 scholarships at $7,500 each and that disagreement has arisen about whether some homeschoolers designated as "unbundlers" are eligible for the funds.
Julie and other members described a charter-school oversight bill passed by the Senate and now in the House that would increase transparency and accountability for management companies. She also flagged a Parental Rights Act that would shift some routine health-care authorizations from opt-out to opt-in for parents, which staff said could be a major operational burden for district nurses if implemented as written.
Other items reviewed included a bill to allow private mental-health or therapeutic providers to evaluate or treat students during school hours (passed the House and pending on the Senate floor), a proposal to mandate local advisory councils for students with disabilities, and a bill (H.5073) that would remove grading floors and set parameters on credit recovery and uniform grading policy. Dr. Royster (S4) warned removing grading floors could leave students who start the year with very low grades with little chance of recovery and could raise dropout and behavior concerns.
Julie also noted Representative Mike Burns had introduced a measure to record special education classes (previously discussed and not yet moved) and that Shondra Dillard filed legislation to distribute property-tax revenue from joint industrial parks more evenly among affected districts; that bill had not yet moved. She encouraged members to consult the board's "Eye on Legislation" resources for links and status updates.
