Title 59, Education

A full record of all teachers' certificates shall be kept in the State Department of Education showing the name, age, sex, color and date of certificate of each person and such other information as may be desired.

The board of examiners for teachers may charge a fee of fifty cents for every duplicate certificate. The proceeds from such fees shall be deposited with the State Treasurer to be used by the board of examiners to cover the expense and labor of issuing duplicate certificates promp…

The State Board of Education may, for just cause, either revoke or suspend the certificate of any person.

(1) incompetence; (2) wilful neglect of duty; (3) wilful violation of the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education; (4) unprofessional conduct; (5) drunkenness; (6) cruelty; (7) crime against the law of this State or the United States; (8) immorality; (9) any conduct…

No person's certificate may be either revoked or suspended unless written notice specifying the cause for either the revocation or suspension has been given to the person by the State Board of Education and a hearing has been afforded such person.

Whenever the State Board of Education either revokes or suspends a certificate of any person it shall immediately notify the chairman of the district board of trustees that employs such person of the revocation or suspension.

The revocation or suspension of the certificate of any person shall terminate the employment of such person until such time as a decision is reached concerning the charge against such person; however, such person shall be paid until the final disposition of the case by the State …

No board of school trustees shall hereafter employ any teacher who has not a certificate to teach in the free public schools of the State. This provision, however, shall not affect the employment of any teacher now teaching in any of the schools of the special school districts. T…

Within fifteen days after receipt of notice of revocation or suspension, such person may serve upon the chairman of the State Board of Education or the State Superintendent of Education a written request for either a public or private hearing before the board. The hearing shall b…

The State Board of Education, for the purposes of this article, shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, to administer oaths, and to examine witnesses and such parts of any books and records as relate to the issue or issues involved.

Any party to such proceedings may cause to be taken the deposition of witnesses within or without the State and either by commission or de bene esse. Such depositions shall be taken in accordance with and subject to the same provisions, conditions, and restrictions as apply to th…

Notices to be given by a party shall be served upon the opposite party prior to the filing thereof. All notices shall be served in person or by registered mail.

The county sheriffs and their respective deputies shall serve all subpoenas of the State Board of Education and shall receive the same fees as are now provided by law for like service. Each witness who appears in obedience to such subpoena shall receive for attendance the fees an…

(A) Upon application by the State Board of Education, the court of common pleas shall enforce by proper proceedings the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and records. The unexcused failure or refusal to attend and give testimony or produce…

The findings of fact by the State Board of Education are final and conclusive. A person aggrieved by the order of the State Board of Education, within thirty days, may appeal to the Administrative Law Court as provided in Sections 1-23-380(B) and 1-23-600(D), to review errors of …

If either the State Board of Education, the court of common pleas, the court of appeals, or the Supreme Court of South Carolina reverses the order of revocation or suspension, the person whose certificate had been either revoked or suspended by the state board shall be fully rein…

(A) The State Board of Education permanently shall revoke, refuse to issue, or renew a certificate without a hearing, if the holder of or applicant for the certificate pleads guilty, pleads nolo contendere, or is found guilty of the following crimes, whether or not a sentence is …

It shall be unlawful for any trustee of any public school or any superintendent or other official thereof to require any teacher to board or live at any teacherage or specified place. Each individual teacher shall have the right to choose his or her boarding place, and for so doi…

In addition to individuals certified for employment as school teachers pursuant to Article 3 of this chapter, a school district may hire individuals who have received a passport certificate issued by the American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) and who m…

A person who has received a passport certificate issued by the ABCTE must not be hired by a school district in South Carolina without submitting to the State Department of Education, Office of Educator Certification at the time of application a Federal Bureau of Investigation fin…

A person who has received a passport certificate issued by the ABCTE, who has a minimum of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university or an institution with a teacher education program that has been approved by the State Board of Education for certific…

A person who has received a passport certificate issued by the ABCTE, possesses an alternative route certificate, and has been initially hired by a school district must be required, as a condition for professional certification, to successfully pass the South Carolina adopted ped…

The State Department of Education shall submit annually by March thirty-first to the State Board of Education and the General Assembly the total number of individuals employed in South Carolina with a passport certificate issued by ABCTE by district and nonprivileged information …

A person who has completed all requirements of this article and has been hired by a school district has the same responsibilities and rights as other teachers hired by the district.

In the event that a teacher takes the teacher's examination and becomes entitled to a pay increase as a result thereof such increase shall become effective and payable commencing with the semester following the date of examination.

Text of (A) effective until July 1, 2026. See Editor's Notes. (A) The boards of trustees of the several school districts annually before May first shall decide and notify, in writing, a teacher, as defined in Section 59-1-130, whom the district employs concerning his reemployment…

Certified personnel who have taught in a school district for at least one year and who are dismissed for economic reasons have priority for being rehired to fill any vacancy for which they are qualified which occurs within two years from the date of their dismissal. A school dist…

(A) A teacher who is reemployed by written notification pursuant to Section 59-25-410 shall before May eleventh notify the board of trustees in writing of his acceptance of the contract. Failure on the part of the teacher to notify the board of acceptance within the specified tim…

Any teacher may be dismissed at any time who shall fail, or who may be incompetent, to give instruction in accordance with the directions of the superintendent, or who shall otherwise manifest an evident unfitness for teaching; provided, however, that notice and an opportunity sh…

Whenever a superior, principal, where applicable, or supervisor charged with the supervision of a teacher finds it necessary to admonish a teacher for a reason that he believes may lead to, or be cited as a reason for, dismissal or cause the teacher not to be reemployed he shall:…

Teachers working less than thirty hours a week, but no less than fifteen hours a week, shall qualify for state health and dental insurance. The Public Employee Benefit Authority is directed to amend its "Plan of Benefits" regarding fringe benefits to conform to the provisions of …

Whenever a superintendent has reason to believe that cause exists for the dismissal of a teacher and when he is of the opinion that the immediate suspension of the teacher is necessary to protect the well-being of the children of the district or is necessary to remove substantial…

(A) A teacher may not be dismissed unless written notice specifying the cause of dismissal first is given to the teacher by the superintendent and the teacher is given an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing. The superintendent or his designee may meet with the teacher before i…

(A) A local school district board of trustees or, in the case of a charter school, the governing body of a charter school, is authorized to adopt a policy consistent with the school district or, in the case of a charter school, the school budget, providing that all certified and …

(A) Within fifteen days after receipt of notice of suspension or dismissal, a teacher may serve upon the chairman of the board or the superintendent a written request for a hearing before the board, or its designee. (B) If the teacher fails to make such a request, or after a hear…

(A) The decision of the district board of trustees is final, unless within thirty days afterward an appeal is made to the court of common pleas of any county in which the major portion of such district lies. (B) Notice of the appeal and the grounds thereof shall be filed with the…

A party to a proceeding conducted pursuant to this chapter may depose a witness within or without the State and either by commission or de bene esse. The deposition must be taken pursuant and subject to the same provisions, conditions, and restrictions that apply to taking of sim…

Each state agency having certified instructional personnel shall receive an allocation based on the following formula: Each state agency shall receive such funds as are required to adjust the pay of all certified instructional personnel to the appropriate salary provided by the s…

The county sheriffs and their respective deputies shall serve all subpoenas of the district board and shall receive the same fees as are now provided by law for like service. Each witness who appears in obedience to such subpoenas shall receive for attendance the fees and mileage…

All notices to be given under this article by the district board shall be given to both parties and the notices herein required to be given by a party shall be served upon the opposite party prior to the filing thereof. All such notices may be served by registered mail.

The court of common pleas shall, on application of the district board, enforce by proper proceedings the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production and examination of books, papers and records and shall have the power to punish as for contempt of court, by a fine or…

(A) Any educator who fails to comply with the provisions of his contract without the written consent of the school board is considered to be in breach of contract. Notwithstanding Section 59-25-150, a breach of contract resulting from the execution of an employment contract with …

The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of South Carolina (CERRA-South Carolina) in cooperation with the Commission on Higher Education shall establish a program with the purpose of expanding the number of high achieving minority students entering teacher …

Notwithstanding another provision of law, school districts uniformly may negotiate salaries below the school district salary schedule for the 2014-2015 school year for retired teachers who are not participants in the Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive program. Thereafter, s…

(A) When reviewing an application by an individual for an educator certificate, the State Department of Education shall award years of experience on the educator certificate for non-teaching occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which…

Any school teacher who may feel that he has been discriminated against on any ground or for any cause whatsoever by a board of trustees in fixing the salary of such teacher, in the exercise of the wide discretion conferred upon trustees by law in the fixing of teachers' salaries,…