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Committee reports Safe Schools Act favorably after debate and public testimony
Summary
H 5201, the Safe Schools Act, was reported favorably (15–0, 3 absent) after lawmakers heard chiefs, educators and safety experts testify that standardized emergency plans, certified safety assessments and full‑scale exercises are needed; opponents urged caution about live-action drills and protections for students with disabilities.
The committee voted to report H 5201, known as the Safe Schools Act, favorably after testimony from school safety and education stakeholders who generally endorsed stronger planning but differed on some definitions and funding details.
Representative Pedalino opened the item, describing H 5201 as a package that would create a school safety task force, require standardized emergency operations plans for every district, mandate certified safety assessments and full-scale exercises, and create state-level oversight and annual certification to ensure plans are followed rather than merely written.
Supporters included JP Riley (practitioner with extensive planning experience), Lieutenant Hall of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and Daniel Palumbo, a retired Air Force master sergeant who argued that full-scale coordinated exercises save lives. They told the committee many districts currently rely on checklists and lack multiagency planning or certified assessments.
Concerns came from the South Carolina Education Association, which sought clarification about the scope of "live action" drills and urged safeguards to prevent harm to students and staff, and from other witnesses who warned that the fiscal impact on schools and specific operational details still needed review. Committee members noted that some funding and fiscal-impact questions remained and that the bill references existing statutory drill requirements under article 9 (section 59-63-650), which staff and members said would not change federal obligations.
On amendments: the committee considered but tabled a proposed amendment (motion to table passed, recorded as 8 aye, 7 nay, 3 absent). The final roll call on the bill produced a recorded favorable report: "By a vote of 15 aye, 0 nay, and 3 absent the bill is reported favorably."
Next steps: the committee’s favorable report sends H 5201 to the next stage of the legislative process; members asked staff for a fiscal impact statement and said they would continue discussions about implementation details and supports for districts.
