South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006
H. 4011
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Walker, Cotty, Anthony, Bailey, Ceips, Dantzler, Davenport, Delleney, Harrison,
Herbkersman, Hinson, Littlejohn, Mahaffey, Townsend, Coates, McGee, G. Brown, Pinson and Chellis
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20469sd05.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3583, 3664
Introduced in the House on April 28, 2005
Currently residing in the House Committee on Ways and Means
Summary: School Trust Fund created
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
4/28/2005 House Introduced and read first time HJ-2
4/28/2005 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-3
5/3/2005 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Chellis
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
4/28/2005
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9 A BILL
10
11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
12 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 11 TO CHAPTER 36, TITLE 12,
13 SO AS TO IMPOSE AN ADDITIONAL STATE SALES, USE,
14 AND CASUAL EXCISE TAX EQUAL TO TWO AND
15 ONE-HALF PERCENT OF GROSS PROCEEDS OF SALES OR
16 SALES PRICE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS ADDITIONAL
17 TWO AND ONE-HALF PERCENT TAX DOES NOT APPLY
18 TO THE TAX ON ACCOMMODATIONS; BY AMENDING
19 SECTION 11-11-150, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
20 TRUST FUND FOR TAX RELIEF, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT
21 REVENUES FROM THE TRUST FUND FOR TAX RELIEF TO
22 BE DISTRIBUTED TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE
23 PAID MONTHLY IN AN AMOUNT THAT IS THE
24 DISTRICT‟S PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF TRUST FUND
25 REVENUES BASED ON WEIGHTED PUPIL UNITS AS
26 DETERMINED UNDER THE EDUCATION FINANCE ACT;
27 BY ADDING SECTION 11-11-155 SO AS TO CREATE THE
28 SCHOOL TRUST FUND AND REQUIRE REVENUES OF THE
29 ADDITIONAL SALES AND USE TAX AND ADDITIONAL
30 REVENUE GENERATED BY REVISING SALES TAX CAPS
31 TO BE CREDITED TO THIS FUND; BY AMENDING
32 SECTION 12-36-2110, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
33 MAXIMUM SALES, USE, AND CASUAL EXCISE TAX ON
34 VARIOUS ITEMS OF TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY,
35 INCLUDING MOTOR VEHICLES, SO AS TO RAISE THE
36 MAXIMUM TAX; BY ADDING SECTION 12-37-253 SO AS
37 TO PROVIDE FOR A PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION FOR
38 ALL PROPERTY FROM SCHOOL OPERATING MILLAGE
39 NOT OTHERWISE EXEMPT, TO PROVIDE THE METHOD
40 OF DETERMINING AND PHASING IN THE EXEMPTION, TO
41 PROVIDE REIMBURSEMENTS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS
42 FOR THIS NEW EXEMPTION WITH A PAYMENT BASED
[4011] 1
1 ON WEIGHTED PUPIL UNITS AS DETERMINED UNDER
2 THE EDUCATION FINANCE ACT, TO PROVIDE FOR
3 CERTAIN LIMITS ON THE AMOUNT OF MILLAGE FOR
4 SCHOOL OPERATIONS A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY IMPOSE
5 AFTER THE ABOVE PROVISIONS TAKE EFFECT; BY
6 AMENDING CHAPTER 20, TITLE 59, RELATING TO THE
7 EDUCATION FINANCE ACT, SO AS TO REVISE THE
8 MANNER IN WHICH WEIGHTINGS USED TO PROVIDE
9 FOR RELATIVE COST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
10 STUDENTS ARE DETERMINED, REVISE THE MANNER IN
11 WHICH SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDING UNDER THIS ACT IS
12 DISTRIBUTED INCLUDING ELIMINATING THE INDEX OF
13 TAXPAYING ABILITY AND A MODIFICATION OF THE
14 FORMULA FOR COMPUTING BASE STUDENT COST, AND
15 REQUIRE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGINNING WITH
16 FISCAL YEAR 2007 TO PROVIDE ALLOCATIONS TO
17 SCHOOL DISTRICTS BASED ON THE FULL AMOUNT OF
18 BASE STUDENT COST DETERMINED UNDER THIS
19 CHAPTER; BY REPEALING SECTION 59-21-160 RELATING
20 TO STATE APPROPRIATIONS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS;
21 AND BY REPEALING SECTION 59-21-1030 RELATING TO
22 THE LEVEL OF FINANCIAL EFFORT PER PUPIL REQUIRED
23 OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS; BY REPEALING ARTICLE 3,
24 CHAPTER 10 OF TITLE 4, RELATING TO THE CAPITAL
25 PROJECT SALES TAX ACT, AND CHAPTER 37 OF TITLE 4
26 RELATING TO OPTIONAL METHODS FOR FINANCING
27 TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES INCLUDING LEVY OF
28 ADDITIONAL SALES TAXES, AND TO PROVIDE THAT
29 SALES TAXES FOR PROJECTS PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED
30 UNDER THESE PROVISIONS SHALL CONTINUE UNTIL
31 THEIR SCHEDULED TERMINATION DATE; TO REQUIRE A
32 REFERENDUM IN COUNTIES IN WHICH THE LOCAL
33 OPTION SALES TAX IS CURRENTLY IMPOSED FOR THE
34 PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER TO RESCIND THE
35 TAX AND BY PROVIDING THAT THIS ACT TAKES EFFECT
36 JULY 1, 2006, AND APPLIES FOR PROPERTY TAX YEARS
37 BEGINNING AFTER 2006 AND MOTOR VEHICLE TAX
38 YEARS BEGINNING AFTER JUNE 30, 2006.
39
40 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
41 Carolina:
42
43 Part I
[4011] 2
1
2 Sales Tax Increases and School Trust Fund
3
4 SECTION 1. Chapter 36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended
5 by adding:
6
7 “Article 11
8
9 Additional Sales, Use, and Casual Excise Tax
10
11 Section 12-36-1110. An additional sales, use, and casual excise
12 tax equal to two and one-half percent is imposed on amounts
13 taxable pursuant to this chapter, except that this additional two and
14 one-half percent tax does not apply to amounts taxed pursuant to
15 Section 12-36-920, the tax on accommodations for transients.”
16
17 SECTION 2. Section 11-11-150 of the 1976 Code, as last
18 amended by Act 387 of 2000, is further amended by adding:
19
20 “(H) Beginning July 1, 2006, revenues from the Trust Fund for
21 Tax Relief to be distributed to a school district as a reimbursement
22 for the property tax exemptions or exclusions enumerated in items
23 (1) through (5) of subsection (A) shall be paid monthly in an
24 amount that is the district‟s proportionate share of trust fund for tax
25 relief revenues based on the district‟s weighted pupil units as a
26 percentage of statewide weighted pupil units as determined
27 annually pursuant to the Education Finance Act.”
28
29 SECTION 3. Chapter 11, Title 11 of the 1976 Code is amended
30 by adding:
31
32 “Section 11-11-155. (A) For each fiscal year, the revenue
33 from the tax imposed pursuant to Section 12-36-1110, and all
34 estimated additional sales and use tax revenue collected as a result
35 of the raising of the maximum sales tax cap, as determined by the
36 Board of Economic Advisors, are automatically credited to a fund
37 separate and distinct from the state general fund known as the
38 „School Trust Fund‟. The Board of Economic Advisors shall
39 account for the School Trust Fund revenue separately from general
40 fund revenues in reports to the Governor and the General
41 Assembly. No portion of these revenues shall be credited to the
42 Education Improvement Act (EIA) Fund.
[4011] 3
1 (B) An unexpended balance in the School Trust Fund at the end
2 of a fiscal year must remain in the School Trust Fund.
3 (C) Earnings on the School Trust Fund must be credited to the
4 School Trust Fund.
5 (D) Nothing in this section prohibits appropriations by the
6 General Assembly of additional revenues to the School Trust
7 Fund.”
8
9 SECTION 4. Section 12-36-2110 of the 1976 Code, as last
10 amended by Act 283 of 2000, is further amended to read:
11
12 “Section 12-36-2110. (A) The maximum tax imposed by this
13 chapter is three hundred one thousand dollars for each sale made or
14 lease executed after June 30, 1984, or lease executed after August
15 31, 1985 2006, of each:
16 (1) aircraft, including unassembled aircraft which is to be
17 assembled by the purchaser, but not items to be added to the
18 unassembled aircraft;
19 (2) motor vehicle;
20 (3) motorcycle;
21 (4) boat;
22 (5) trailer or semitrailer, pulled by a truck tractor, as defined
23 in Section 56-3-20, and horse trailers but not including house
24 trailers or campers as defined in Section 56-3-710;
25 (6) recreational vehicle, including tent campers, travel
26 trailer, park model, park trailer, motor home, and fifth wheel; or
27 (7) self-propelled light construction equipment with
28 compatible attachments limited to a maximum of one hundred
29 sixty net engine horsepower.
30 In the case of a lease, the total tax rate required by law applies
31 on each payment until the total tax paid equals three hundred one
32 thousand dollars. Nothing in this section prohibits a taxpayer from
33 paying the total tax due at the time of execution of the lease, or
34 with any payment under the lease. To qualify for the tax limitation
35 provided by this section, a lease must be in writing and specifically
36 state the term of, and remain in force for, a period in excess of
37 ninety continuous days.
38 (B) For the sale of a manufactured home, as defined in Section
39 40-29-20, the tax is calculated as follows:
40 (1) subtract trade-in allowance from the sales price;
41 (2) multiply the result from (1) by sixty-five percent;
[4011] 4
1 (3) if the result from (2) is no greater than six twenty
2 thousand dollars, multiply by five percent for the amount of tax
3 due;
4 (4) if the result from (2) is greater than six twenty thousand
5 dollars, the tax due is three hundred one thousand dollars plus two
6 percent of the amount greater than six twenty thousand dollars.
7 However, a manufactured home is exempt from any tax that
8 may be due above three hundred one thousand dollars as a result of
9 the calculation in item (4) if it meets these energy efficiency levels:
10 storm or double pane glass windows, insulated or storm doors, a
11 minimum thermal resistance rating of the insulation only of R-11
12 for walls, R-19 for floors, and R-30 for ceilings. However,
13 variations in the energy efficiency levels for walls, floors, and
14 ceilings are allowed and the exemption on tax due above three
15 hundred one thousand dollars applies if the total heat loss does not
16 exceed that calculated using the levels of R-11 for walls, R-19 for
17 floors, and R-30 for ceilings. The edition of the American Society
18 of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers Guide
19 in effect at the time is the source for heat loss calculation. The
20 dealer selling the manufactured home must maintain records, on
21 forms provided by the State Energy Office, on each manufactured
22 home sold which contains the above calculations and verifying
23 whether or not the manufactured home met the energy efficiency
24 levels provided for in this subsection. These records must be
25 maintained for three years and must be made available for
26 inspection upon request of the Department of Consumer Affairs or
27 the State Energy Office. Modular homes are also subject to the
28 sales tax in the same manner manufactured homes are subject to
29 the sales tax under this subsection, mutatis mutandi.
30 (C) For the sale of each musical instrument, or each piece of
31 office equipment, purchased by a religious organization exempt
32 under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), the maximum tax
33 imposed by this chapter is three hundred one thousand dollars.
34 The musical instrument or office equipment must be located on
35 church property and used exclusively for the organization‟s
36 exempt purpose. The religious organization must furnish to the
37 seller an affidavit on forms prescribed by the department. The
38 affidavit must be retained by the seller.
39 (D) Repealed Reserved.
40 (E) Equipment provided, supplied, or installed on a firefighting
41 vehicle is included with the vehicle for purposes of calculating the
42 maximum tax due under this section.”
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1 SECTION 5. Chapter 37 of Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended
2 by adding:
3
4 “Section 12-37-253. (A) After the exemption allowed pursuant
5 to Section 12-37-250 and Section 12-37-251, any remaining fair
6 market value of all real property and all personal property however
7 classified except for property which is the subject of a fee-in-lieu
8 agreement otherwise subject to tax is exempt from all school taxes
9 except taxes levied:
10 (1) for bonded indebtedness for capital construction for
11 schools;
12 (2) to make payments pursuant to a lease purchase
13 agreement or other financing instrument for capital construction
14 for schools;
15 (3) for school operations for calendar year 2007 sufficient to
16 increase by not more than ten percent the revenue received by the
17 district for school operations from ad valorem taxes levied for the
18 previous year;
19 (4) other than the millage authorized in item (3), no other
20 millage for school operations may be levied by any school district
21 beginning with calendar year 2007. Districts which violate this
22 provision shall have its allocation from the Education Finance Act
23 in the ensuing year reduced accordingly.
24 (B) School districts must be paid monthly from revenues
25 credited to the School Trust Fund for a fiscal year for the
26 exemption allowed by this section in an amount that is the
27 district‟s proportionate share of School Trust Fund revenues based
28 on the district‟s weighted pupil units as a percentage of statewide
29 weighted pupil units as determined annually pursuant to the
30 Education Finance Act. The School Trust Fund revenues that must
31 be paid to school districts comprise the total of the following
32 amounts:
33 (1) the revenue of the taxes imposed pursuant to Section
34 12-36-1110;
35 (2) annual sales and use tax revenue attributable to the
36 increase in the sales tax cap as of July 1, 2005.
37 (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, property
38 exempted from property taxation in the manner provided in this
39 section is considered taxable property for purposes of bonded
40 indebtedness pursuant to Sections 14 and 15 of Article X of the
41 Constitution of this State.
42 (D) The exemption provided by this section applies for property
43 taxes imposed by any property taxing entity if the revenues of
[4011] 6
1 taxes imposed by the entity are used directly or indirectly for
2 school operations.”
3
4 Part II
5
6 Education Finance Act
7
8 SECTION 6. Chapter 20, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended to
9 read:
10
11 “CHAPTER 20
12
13 Education Finance Act of 1977
14
15 Section 59-20-10. This chapter shall be is known and may be
16 cited as the „South Carolina Education Finance Act of 1977‟.
17
18 Section 59-20-20. As used in this chapter:
19 (1) „Foundation program‟ means the program proposed to
20 establish substantially equitable current operation funding levels
21 for programs for South Carolina‟s public school students,
22 regardless of their geographic location, after the students are
23 transported to school and housed in school plants provision of
24 adequate revenues per pupil for the districts and schools to deploy
25 research-based educational strategies that are successful in
26 educating students to high academic standards as specified in
27 Section 59-18-300 and Section 59-18-310.
28 (2) „Educational programs or elements of programs not
29 included in the foundation program‟ means:
30 (a) „Transportation‟, which shall mean transportation to and
31 from public schools for the students of South Carolina‟s public
32 schools provided by state, local or federal funds, or a combination
33 thereof means the purchase and maintenance of school buses.
34 (b) „Capital outlay‟, which shall mean means those funds
35 used for the construction, improving, equipping, renovating, or
36 major repairing of school buildings or other school facilities, or the
37 cost of acquisition of land whereon on which to construct or
38 establish such these school facilities in accordance with the
39 definition provided in Section 59-21-310.
40 (c) „Pilot programs‟, which shall mean programs of a pilot
41 or experimental nature usually designed for special purposes and
42 for a specified period of time other than those included in the
43 foundation program.
[4011] 7
1 (d) „Adult education‟, which shall mean means public
2 education dealing primarily with students above eighteen
3 seventeen through twenty-one years of age not enrolled as
4 full-time public school students and not classified as students of
5 technical schools, colleges, or universities of the State.
6 (e)(d) „Text books textbooks‟, which shall mean means books
7 or instructional materials aligned with South Carolina content
8 standards and distributed under that system of rental and free text
9 books textbooks now operated by the Department of Education.
10 (f)(e) „Food service programs‟, which shall mean means those
11 programs dealing directly with the nutritional welfare of the
12 student, such as the school lunch and school breakfast programs.
13 (g) „Employee benefits‟, which shall mean those benefits
14 received by employees of the state public school systems and paid
15 at least in part by the State, such as retirement, social security and
16 health insurance.
17 (3) “Index of taxpaying ability” means an index of a local
18 district‟s relative fiscal capacity in relation to that of all other
19 districts of the State based on the full market value of all taxable
20 property of the district assessed on the basis of property
21 classification assessment ratios set forth in Article 3, Chapter 43 of
22 Title 12 for the second completed taxable year preceding the fiscal
23 year in which the index is used and these assessments must be the
24 audited assessments by school district contained in the annual
25 report submitted yearly to the Comptroller General‟s office. The
26 county auditor shall provide fiscal year-end audited assessments of
27 real and personal property to the Property Division of the
28 Department of Revenue for each of the school districts of the
29 county for the second completed taxable year preceding the fiscal
30 year in which the index is used not later than October first of each
31 year. The index must be used to calculate each district‟s share of
32 the revenue to be raised locally for the foundation program. The
33 index must include an imputed value for the property tax base
34 implicitly generating impact aid revenue. The property tax base
35 must be imputed at two-thirds the average ratio of all true value
36 assessed property value statewide to prior year local revenue
37 statewide in the foundation program, the resulting product
38 multiplied times the average impact aid receipts during the prior
39 three years. If impact aid receipts during the federal fiscal year are
40 less than the average receipts for the prior three years, then state
41 aid to the impact aid districts must be adjusted in the final payment
42 for the state fiscal year. If the State Department of Education
43 determines from fiscal simulations that the school finance system
[4011] 8
1 does not meet requirements of Section 5(D) of P. L. 81-874, the
2 Department of Revenue shall exclude an imputed value of impact
3 aid receipts from the index of taxpaying ability.
4 The index must be determined annually by the Department of
5 Revenue from sales ratio data based on the most recent studies
6 made which correspond with the base year assessments used to
7 compute the current index pursuant to Section 12-43-250 for
8 assessed property within a school district. The base year is the
9 second completed taxable year preceding the fiscal year in which
10 the index is used. The Department of Revenue shall provide a
11 preliminary index by December first of each year end and a final
12 index by February first of each year to the State Department of
13 Education and to the auditor of each county who shall provide the
14 index to any governmental entity responsible for approving or
15 levying of millages for school purposes. Changes and corrections
16 may be made to the index before February first but no change is
17 allowed after that date. When the assessment of property is under
18 appeal and the appeal extends beyond the year in which the
19 assessment made pursuant to Section 12-43-305 is applied, the
20 Department of Revenue shall adjust the index of taxpaying ability
21 in the year in which the appeal is resolved by the amount of any
22 difference between the assessments. Any school district is entitled
23 to a hearing before the Department of Revenue to review its
24 designated index of taxpaying ability within thirty days of filing a
25 request for the hearing. The data gathered by the Department of
26 Revenue for the purpose of determining an annual index must be
27 preserved as public records in the offices of the Department of
28 Revenue for four years. The raw information gathered from the
29 various county officers reflecting the representative sales within
30 the school districts, the consideration, and the reported market
31 value or assessed value for each sale are a part of the public
32 records so preserved. The Department of Revenue shall file a
33 statement stating the methodology employed in making the annual
34 determination of the index and refer to all sources of factual
35 information used in making the determination. All work sheets,
36 computer printouts, and the actual calculation must be included as
37 the public records to be preserved by the Department of Revenue.
38 In determining sales to assessment ratio, the Department of
39 Revenue shall use only reported consideration on sales for which
40 deeds have been placed on public record. Where sufficient sales
41 data is not available, the Department of Revenue shall make
42 appraisals in lieu of sales in order to determine the index. The
43 appraisals, including all working papers, must be included as the
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1 public records to be preserved by the Department of Revenue.
2 With respect to school districts within counties where abstracts of
3 duplicates reflecting the assessed value have been filed pursuant to
4 Section 12-39-290, the same having been adopted by the auditors
5 under Article 3, Chapter 43 of Title 12, the index must be on the
6 basis of the value of the property as stated in the abstracts as
7 adjusted by sales ratio studies up to full assessments based on full
8 fair market value.
9 The index of taxpaying ability for a particular current year shall
10 not include the assessed value of property in a school district
11 which is classified under Section 12-43-220(a) and Section
12 12-43-220(e), which is at least fifteen percent of the total assessed
13 value of real property in the school district, which on February first
14 of the year has been in bankruptcy status for a minimum of thirty
15 consecutive months, and on which no local school property taxes
16 have been collected for at least two consecutive fiscal years. It is
17 the responsibility of the county auditor to report such exclusions
18 from the index to the Department of Revenue and to immediately
19 notify the Department of Revenue of any change in the bankruptcy
20 status of such real property or any collection of school property
21 taxes from such real property.
22 For purposes of disbursing EFA funding and for purposes of the
23 index of taxpaying ability, the value of a fee in lieu of taxes shall
24 be computed by the Department of Revenue by basing the
25 computation on the net fee received and retained by the school
26 district. The value thus computed shall not be inflated by any
27 portion of the fee shared with or used by any other local taxing
28 authority. Provided, however, any revenue received by a taxing
29 entity as a result of this section must be considered taxable
30 property for purposes of bonded indebtedness pursuant to Sections
31 14 and 15 of Article X of the Constitution of this State, and for
32 purposes of computing the “index of taxpaying ability” pursuant to
33 item (3) of this section.
34 (4) “Defined minimum program (DMP)” means the program
35 established annually by the State Board of Education that is
36 necessary to provide public school students in the State with
37 minimum educational programs designed to meet their needs. The
38 State Board of Education shall transmit a per-weighted pupil
39 estimate of the full implementation of the defined minimum
40 program to the State Budget and Control Board and the General
41 Assembly for each proposed budgetary year. The State Board of
42 Education shall transmit any suggested changes in the basic
[4011] 10
1 programs and their weightings as evidenced by changing
2 requirements and practices.
3 (5)(3) „Weightings‟ means those cost figures assigned to
4 student classifications in Section 59-20-40(A)(1)(c) which are
5 based on different relative cost of their educational programs in
6 relation to that of the base student which is given the weighting of
7 1.00. The weightings shall provide additional revenues for
8 students with special needs in order to provide additional
9 educational services to ensure that the students achieve at high
10 academic levels.
11 (6)(4) „Base student cost‟ means that student classification that
12 represents the most economically educated pupil in the school
13 system, those in grades four through eight in regular classroom
14 settings. “Base student cost” is the funding level necessary for
15 providing a minimum foundation program which includes the
16 funding level necessary for supporting the defined minimum
17 program and to meet, as funds are available, needs identified by
18 each district board of trustees‟ annual report, which reflects the
19 needs identified in the annual school reports of the district and
20 other assessments, and which is calculated in 1976 dollars to be six
21 hundred sixty-five.
22 Provided, however, by July 1, 1983, that of the state and local
23 monies generated by the base student cost above the cost of the
24 defined minimum program, not more than fifty percent shall be
25 used by the local school districts to meet the needs identified by
26 the board of trustees‟ annual report. Monies generated by
27 weightings above 1.00 shall not be used for revisions of the
28 defined minimum program. an adequate level of funding to
29 districts and schools to provide educational programs and services
30 to an average student to ensure that the student achieves at the
31 academic performance levels required by state constitution and by
32 state law, by the Education Accountability Act of 1998, and by
33 federal law. The base student cost shall provide funding to ensure
34 that students are provided quality instruction necessary to meet or
35 exceed grade-specific performance standards in the core academic
36 areas of mathematics, English/language arts, social studies, and
37 science for kindergarten through twelfth grade students while
38 recognizing the importance of the arts, health, physical education,
39 and foreign language in the overall academic, social, and physical
40 development of students.
41
[4011] 11
1 Section 59-20-23. When an appeal of the assessed value of
2 property assessed pursuant to Section 12-43-220(a) extends for
3 more than two years and the amount in dispute is more than thirty
4 percent of the total of assessed value of property in the school
5 district in which the property under appeal is located, the index of
6 taxpaying ability for the school district must be calculated using
7 the value asserted by the taxpayer in the appeal.
8 If the final settlement of the appeal provides for an assessed
9 value greater than the value asserted in the taxpayer‟s appeal, the
10 local school district, within twelve months, must remit to the
11 general fund of the State any additional funds received from the
12 State Department of Education due to the utilization of the value of
13 the facility asserted in the taxpayer‟s appeal.
14 Any funds remitted to the general fund of the State pursuant to
15 this section are considered current fiscal year funds appropriated
16 under the Education Finance Act and must be included in the next
17 distribution of such funds to school districts.
18
19 Section 59-20-25. For the purposes of computing the „index of
20 taxpaying ability‟ pursuant to item (3) of Section 3 of Act 163 of
21 1977 (South Carolina Education Finance Act) for any area in
22 which tax increment financing plan is in effect the value to be used
23 shall be the original assessed value plus any portion of the captured
24 assessed value which is distributed among taxing authorities
25 pursuant to Section 31-8-120.
26
27 Section 59-20-30. It is the purpose of the General Assembly in
28 this chapter:
29 (1) to guarantee to each student in the public schools of South
30 Carolina the availability of at least minimum adequate educational
31 programs and services appropriate to his needs, using
32 research-based educational strategies that are successful in
33 educating students to high academic standards, with the goal of
34 ensuring that students can achieve at high academic standards as
35 specified in the state constitution and by state law, by the
36 Education Accountability Act of 1998, and by federal law and
37 which are substantially equal to those available to other students
38 with similar needs and reasonably comparable from a program
39 standpoint to those students of all other classifications,
40 notwithstanding geographic differences and varying local
41 economic factors.;
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1 (2) to encourage school district initiative in seeking more
2 effective and efficient means of achieving the education goals of
3 the various programs State.;
4 (3) to establish a procedure for the distribution of a specified
5 portion of the state education funds so as to ensure that the funds
6 are provided on the basis of student need to the extent set forth by
7 this chapter in order to guarantee a minimum an adequate level of
8 funding for each weighted pupil unit in the State.;
9 (4) to make it possible for each school district to provide the
10 defined minimum program within approximately five years from
11 July 2, 1978, and to do so with an equal local tax effort give
12 schools and districts flexibility in establishing research-based
13 programs and strategies that are effective in educating students.;
14 (5) to establish a reasonable balance between the portion of the
15 funds to be paid by the State and the portion of the funds to be paid
16 by the districts collectively in support of the foundation program.
17 For the initial stage of this program the proportionate state share of
18 the funds for this program shall be approximately seventy percent
19 statewide and the remainder of the program shall be financed from
20 local revenue sources.;
21 (6) To require each local school district to contribute its fair
22 share to the required local effort, which is to be in direct proportion
23 to its relative taxpaying ability.
24 (7)(5) to ensure that tax dollars spent in public schools are
25 utilized effectively and to ensure that adequate programs serve all
26 the children of the State.;
27 (6) to provide a foundation program that recognizes the
28 importance of lower classroom sizes by funding a teacher student
29 ratio of one teacher for every twenty-one pupils;
30 (7) to recognize and reward the professional commitment of
31 teachers and to support ongoing professional development of
32 teachers as integral to improving the quality of instruction by
33 compensating teachers for five days of professional development
34 training and implementing a one hundred ninety-five-day contract
35 year as specified in Section 59-1-420(C).
36
37 Section 59-20-40. (A) The annual allocation to each school
38 district for the operation of the foundation program as it relates to
39 the school district shall must be determined as follows:
40 (1) Computation of the basic amount to be included for current
41 operation in the foundation program:
42 (a) Each school district shall maintain a program
43 membership of each school by compiling the student membership
[4011] 13
1 of each classification. The cumulative one hundred thirty-five day
2 average daily membership of each school district by program
3 classification will determine its monetary entitlement. The
4 district‟s average daily membership (ADM) will be computed,
5 currently maintained, and reported in accordance with the
6 regulations of the State Board of Education. Funds for the state‟s
7 portion of the per-pupil cost of the foundation program shall must
8 be disbursed monthly to the various school districts. End-of-year
9 adjustments in state funds shall must be made based on the one
10 hundred thirty-five day student average daily membership in each
11 classification.
12 (b) The base student cost shall must be established annually
13 by the General Assembly. Beginning with fiscal year 2006-2007,
14 the base student cost is $5,347.00 and thereafter shall be
15 established as provided in this chapter. The base student cost shall
16 be established in such a manner that five years after July 2, 1978,
17 the funding level shall approximate the cost of the defined
18 minimum program as set forth by the State Board of Education.
19 Each year the Division of Research and Statistics of the Budget
20 and Control Board shall submit to the Legislature General
21 Assembly an estimate of the projected rate of inflation for the
22 fiscal year to be budgeted, and the base student cost shall must be
23 adjusted to incorporate the inflated cost of providing the Defined
24 Minimum Program educational services including increases to the
25 minimum teacher salary schedule to maintain teacher salaries at
26 the southeastern average for a one hundred ninety-five-day
27 contract year.
28 (c) Weightings, used to provide for relative cost differences,
29 between programs for different students are established in order
30 that funds may be equitably distributed on the basis of pupil needs.
31 The criteria for qualifications for each special classification must
32 be established by the State Board of Education according to
33 definitions established in this article and in accordance with
34 Sections 59-21-510, 59-35-10, 59-53-1860, and 59-53-1900. Cost
35 factors enumerated in this section must be used to fund programs
36 approved by the State Board of Education. Pupil data received by
37 the Department of Education is subject to audit by the department.
38 Cost factors or weightings are as follows:
39 Pupil Classification Weightings
40 (1) Kindergarten pupils 1.30 1.00
41 (2) Primary pupils (grades 1 through 3) 1.24
42 Elementary pupils (grades 1 through 5) 1.00
43 (3) Elementary pupils (grades 4 through 8)
[4011] 14
1 base students Middle school pupils (grades 6 through 8) 1.00
2 (4) High school pupils (grades 9 through 12) 1.25 1.00
3 Special Programs for Exceptional Students Weightings
4 (5) Handicapped 1.74
5 a. Educable mentally handicapped pupils
6 b. Learning disabilities pupils
7 (6) Handicapped 2.04
8 a. Trainable mentally handicapped pupils
9 b. Emotionally handicapped pupils
10 c. Orthopedically handicapped pupils
11 (7) Handicapped 2.57
12 a. Visually handicapped pupils
13 b. Hearing handicapped pupils
14 c. Pupils with autism.
15 (8) Speech handicapped pupils 1.90
16 (9) Homebound pupils 2.10 1.00
17 a. Pupils who are homebound
18 b. Pupils who reside in emergency shelters
19 Vocational Technical Programs
20 (10) Pre-vocational Vocational 1.20
21 (11) Vocational Adult education 1.29
22 a. Persons aged 17 to 21 0.20
23 b. Persons over the age of 21 0.10
24 Add-on Weights for Early Childhood
25 Development and Academic Assistance Weightings
26 (12) Early Childhood Assistance 0.26
27 (13) Grades 4-12 Academic Assistance 0.114
28 Adult Education
29 (14) Adult Education 0.15
30 Add on weightings for:
31 Gifted and talented education 0.150
32 Career exploration in grades 6 through 9 0.039
33 Poverty 0.200
34 Limited English proficiency 0.200
35 No local match is required for adult education and the number of
36 weighted pupil units funded depends on funding available from the
37 general fund of the State and the Education Improvement Act of
38 1984 Fund. The weighting for gifted and talented students shall
39 include academically and artistically talented students eligible for
40 and receiving services in grades three through twelve.
41 The weighting for career exploration shall provide revenues for
42 schools to provide one counselor or career specialist for every
43 three hundred students in grades six through nine to assist the
[4011] 15
1 students in determining career options and academic course
2 selections and to support career exploration experiences and
3 materials.
4 The weighting for poverty shall provide additional revenues for
5 students in kindergarten through grade twelve who qualify for
6 Medicaid or who qualify for reduced or free lunches, or both.
7 Revenues generated by this weighting must be used by districts
8 and schools to provide services and research-based strategies for
9 addressing academic or health needs of these students to ensure
10 their future academic success, to provide summer school, reduced
11 class size, after school programs, extended day, instructional
12 materials, or any other research-based educational strategy to
13 improve student academic performance.
14 The weighting for limited English proficiency shall provide
15 additional revenues for students whose native language is not
16 English and comes from an environment where a language other
17 than English is dominant; who has difficulty speaking, reading,
18 writing, or understanding the English language; or whose language
19 assessment scores indicated that the student is not proficient in the
20 English language. Schools and districts shall use the revenues to
21 provide services for assisting the students in improving their
22 English proficiency.
23 Each student in the State must be counted in only one of the first
24 eleven pupil classifications. Students shall generate funds for early
25 childhood assistance and grades 4-12 academic assistance in
26 accordance with Section 59-139-20. The State Board of Education
27 must determine the qualifications for each classification in
28 accordance with Sections 59-21-510, 59-35-10, 59-53-1860,
29 59-53-1900, and Chapter 30 of this title. The program for each
30 classification must meet specifications approved by the State
31 Board of Education. Each student is eligible for multiple add-on
32 weightings.
33 School districts may count each student who is instructed at
34 home under the provisions of pursuant to Section 59-65-40 in the
35 district‟s weighted pupil units at a weighting of .25 for supervising,
36 overseeing, or reviewing the student‟s program of home
37 instruction. No A local match is not required for students
38 instructed at home under the provisions of pursuant to Section
39 59-65-40.
40 (d) The basic amount for the foundation program for each
41 district shall must be computed as follows:
[4011] 16
1 (1) The calculated average daily membership in each
2 student classification shall must be multiplied by the weighting
3 factor for that respective classification.
4 (2) The subtotals (totals in each student classification) in
5 all the classifications shall must be added to get the district‟s total
6 weighted pupil units.
7 (3) The district‟s weighted pupil units shall must be
8 multiplied by the base student cost figure as established annually
9 by the General Assembly to determine the total allocation to each
10 district.
11 (e) Computation of the required local revenue in support of
12 the foundation program.
13 The amount that each school district shall provide toward the
14 cost of the South Carolina foundation program shall be computed
15 by determining the total statewide collective local share
16 (approximately thirty percent) of the total cost of the foundation
17 program, and multiplying this by the index of taxpaying ability of
18 each district as defined in Section 59-20-20.
19 (f) Computation of the required state effort.
20 The amount that the State shall provide to each school district
21 toward the cost of the foundation program shall be the difference
22 between the district‟s basic amount as computed in subsection (d)
23 minus the required amount raised locally as computed in
24 subsection (e).
25 Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, state aid to any
26 school district shall be reduced in proportion to the ratio that its
27 local school tax effort falls below that required by subsection (2) of
28 Section 59-20-50.
29 (2) Reserved.
30 (3) Provisions for a phase-in plan of implementation
31 (a) As a result of the cost of implementing the foundation
32 program at both state and local level as calculated in this section,
33 there will be a phase-in implementation period of five years to
34 assist in implementing the education finance program.
35 (b) Each year of the phase-in period the General Assembly
36 shall specify the base student cost and the percentage of the
37 difference between current funding and full funding of the defined
38 minimum program which shall be achieved each year. It is the
39 intent of this chapter that the full implementation of the foundation
40 program from present funding level in present financing plans, in
41 terms of real dollars, be achieved in substantially equal annual
42 intervals over a period of five years; provided, that if a district
43 increases its local effort annually by at least five percent in real
[4011] 17
1 dollars, the period of time for full implementation may be extended
2 five years. However, it is recognized that, during periods of
3 abnormally low growth in state revenue, appropriations may
4 necessarily have to be reduced below the anticipated trend and that
5 during periods of abnormally high revenue growth an effort would
6 be made to restore progress in funding to achieve full
7 implementation during the five year phase period. It is recognized
8 further that, should the trend of growth in state revenue diverge
9 substantially from historical experience, then the length of the
10 phase period might be increased or decreased accordingly. Each
11 local school district shall progress annually in eliminating the
12 difference between its current funding and full funding of the
13 defined minimum program at the same percentage as mandated by
14 the General Assembly for statewide progress toward full funding;
15 provided, that each district shall increase its local effort annually
16 by at least the amount required in this section or by five percent in
17 real dollar terms, or shall increase its millage for the local share of
18 expenditures under the foundation program by at least two and
19 one-half mills. Any district failing to make either the required
20 local effort or the five percent increase in real dollars terms or the
21 two and one-half mill increase will have its entitled increase in
22 state aid reduced by the proportion that its actual increase in local
23 effort falls below its required increase of five percent in real
24 dollars, or two and one-half mills, whichever is less.
25 (4) Impact aid revenue shall be counted as local effort for
26 purposes of computing actual local effort, in order to meet
27 requirements of Section 59-20-40(3) (b). Provided, however, that
28 should the degree of equality achieved under this chapter prove
29 insufficient to qualify South Carolina for utilizing impact aid in the
30 school finance equalization plan, then impact aid would not be
31 counted as local revenue.
32 (5) To qualify for funds provided in this chapter, each district
33 must attain an average pupil-teacher ratio based on average daily
34 membership in the basic skills of reading and mathematics in
35 grades one through three of 21:1.
36 Provided, That any local district may apply to the State Board of
37 Education for approval of a waiver to this subsection by submitting
38 and justifying an alternative educational program to serve the basic
39 skill needs of average daily membership in grades one through
40 three.
41 The State Board of Education shall approve or disapprove of
42 such waiver forty-five days after receipt of such application.
43 Provided, Further, That beginning with Fiscal Year 1978-79, if a
[4011] 18
1 school district violates the provisions of this subsection, the state
2 aid for the ensuing fiscal year to such school district shall be
3 reduced by the percentage variance that the actual pupil-teacher
4 ratios in such school district has to the required pupil-teacher ratios
5 mandated in this Subsection.
6 Provided, That notwithstanding the provisions of this Section,
7 the State Board of Education is authorized to waive the
8 pupil-teacher requirements specified herein upon a finding that a
9 good faith effort is being made by the school district concerned to
10 comply with the ratio provisions but that for lack of classroom
11 space which was beyond its control it is physically impossible for
12 the district to comply for the Fiscal Years 1978-1979 and
13 1979-1980 and the cost of temporary classroom space cannot be
14 justified.
15 (B) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the average
16 daily membership pupil-teacher ratio for all grades 1 through 3
17 stipulated in the chapter be implemented to the extent possible on
18 an individual class basis and that the pupil enrollment in these
19 grades should not exceed twenty-eight twenty-one pupils in each
20 class for each teacher.
21 (6) No district shall be required to increase local revenue if
22 combined state and local revenue exceeds the amount necessary to
23 meet the base student cost of the minimum foundation program at
24 full implementation.
25 (7) [Deleted]
26 (8) The General Assembly shall annually provide the portion
27 of the local required support of the foundation program required by
28 the South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984 on the
29 basis of the district‟s taxpaying ability in the annual general
30 appropriation act.
31
32 Section 59-20-41. Notwithstanding any other another provision
33 of law:
34 All school School districts providing educational services to
35 children admitted or committed to residential institutions of the
36 Department of Mental Health are authorized to may count children
37 admitted or committed to residential institutions of the Department
38 of Mental Health from the first day of residency in such these
39 institutions, provided, that the first day is within the particular
40 district‟s school year. The inclusion of these children is for the
41 purpose of participation in the districts‟ educational programs for
42 handicapped children supported under the Education Finance Act
43 of South Carolina.
[4011] 19
1
2 Section 59-20-50. (1) Notwithstanding the computations
3 prescribed in Section 59-20-40, the level of state contributions to
4 each district shall may not be reduced to a per-pupil level of
5 foundation program funds below that per-pupil level of state
6 funding of programs for the fiscal years prior to before
7 implementation of this chapter which will be incorporated in the
8 foundation program.
9 Provided, no a district shall may not receive annually an
10 increase in state funds less than the full rate of the inflationary
11 adjustment in the base student cost specified in Section
12 59-20-40(A)(1)(b). This increase shall must be computed annually
13 over and above the amount actually received from the State for the
14 foundation program in the prior fiscal year.
15 Provided, further, after the fiscal year 1982-83 no a district shall
16 may not receive annually an increase in state funds less than
17 four-fifths of the inflationary adjustment in the base student cost
18 specified in Section 59-20-40(A)(1)(b). This increase shall must
19 be computed annually over and above the amount actually received
20 from the State for the foundation program in the prior fiscal year.
21 Beginning July 1, 1994, no additional school district shall
22 receive hold-harmless funds under this subsection due to decreases
23 in student numbers or upward adjustments in the index of
24 taxpaying ability.
25 (2) Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter, any local
26 school district may increase the local effort above the foundation
27 program funding level as deemed necessary to meet the aspirations
28 of the people of the district.
29 (3) Eighty-five percent of the funds appropriated through state
30 and local effort for each weighted classification shall must be spent
31 in direct and indirect aid in the specific area of the program
32 planned to serve those children who generated the funds. Districts
33 expending less than the required eighty-five percent of the
34 appropriated amount shall must be subject to a penalty the
35 following fiscal year in the amount equal to the difference between
36 the amount spent and the required eighty-five percent figure.
37 However, this requirement shall does not apply to the funds
38 generated by children in the pupil classification „Speech
39 Handicapped Pupils‟.
40 (4)(3)(a) Each school district shall pay each certified teacher or
41 administrator an annual salary at least equal to the salary stated in
42 the statewide minimum salary schedule for the person‟s experience
43 and class. No A teacher or an administrator employed in the same
[4011] 20
1 position, over the same time period, shall may not receive less total
2 salary, including any a normal incremental increase, than that
3 teacher or administrator received for the fiscal year before the
4 implementation of this article.
5 (b) The state minimum salary schedule must be based on the
6 state minimum salary schedule index in effect as of July 1, 1984
7 2005. In Fiscal Year 1985, the 1.000 figure in the index is
8 $14,172. (This figure is based on a 10.27% increase pursuant to the
9 South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984.) Beginning
10 with Fiscal Year 1986, the 1.000 figure in the index must be
11 adjusted on a schedule to stay at the southeastern average as
12 projected by the Division of Research and Statistical Services and
13 provided to the Budget and Control Board and General Assembly
14 during their deliberations on the annual appropriations bill. The
15 southeastern average teacher salary is the average of the average
16 teachers‟ salaries of the southeastern states. In projecting the
17 southeastern average, the division shall include in the South
18 Carolina base teacher salary all local teacher supplements and all
19 incentive pay. Under this schedule, school districts are required to
20 maintain local salary supplements per teacher no less than their
21 prior fiscal level. In Fiscal Year 1986 and thereafter teacher pay
22 raises through adjustments in the state‟s minimum salary schedule
23 may be provided only to teachers who demonstrate minimum
24 knowledge proficiency by meeting one of the following criteria:
25 (1) holding a valid professional certificate;
26 (2) having a score of 425 or greater on the Commons
27 Examination of the National Teachers Examinations;
28 (3) meeting the minimum qualifying score on the
29 appropriate area teaching examination; or
30 (4) meeting the minimum standards on the basic skills
31 examinations as prescribed by the State Board of Education
32 provided in Section 59-26-20.
33
34 Section 59-20-55. Beginning July 1, 1986, and thereafter,
35 employment may be provided only to teachers who demonstrate
36 minimum knowledge proficiency by meeting one of the criteria
37 outlined in Section 59-20-50(4)(b) 59-20-50(3)(b). The criteria do
38 not have to be met by teachers having twenty-five years or more of
39 teaching service as of the effective date of the South Carolina
40 Education Improvement Act of 1984 in order for them to be
41 employed.
42
[4011] 21
1 Section 59-20-60. (1) School districts shall give first spending
2 priority of funds allocated under this chapter to full
3 implementation of the defined minimum program.
4 (2) The State Board of Education shall audit the programmatic
5 and fiscal aspects of this chapter, including the degree to which a
6 school meets all prescribed standards of the defined minimum
7 program and shall report the results in the Annual Report of the
8 State Superintendent of Education. Schools which have been
9 classified as „dropped‟ by the defined minimum program
10 accreditation procedures are not eligible for funding in the
11 following fiscal year until an acceptable plan to eliminate the
12 deficiencies is submitted and approved by the State Board of
13 Education.
14 (3) Each school district board of trustees shall cause the district
15 and each school in the district to develop comprehensive five-year
16 plans with annual updates to outline the District and School
17 Improvement Plans. Districts which have not begun a strategic
18 planning cycle must shall do so and develop a plan no later than
19 the 1994-95 school year. Districts which have undertaken such a
20 this planning process may continue in their planning cycle as long
21 as the process meets the intent of this section and the long-range
22 plans developed or under development can be amended to
23 encompass the requirements of this section. For school year
24 1993-94, districts may submit either the improvement plan
25 consistent with State Department guidelines or their five-year
26 comprehensive plan.
27 The State Board of Education shall recommend a format for the
28 plans which will be flexible and adaptable to local planning needs
29 while encompassing certain state mandates, including the early
30 childhood and academic assistance initiative plans pursuant to
31 Section 59-139-10 and the provision of services for students in
32 poverty. All district District and school plans must be reviewed
33 and approved by the board of trustees. The District Plan should
34 integrate the needs, goals, objectives, strategies, and evaluation
35 methods outlined in the School Plans. Measures of effectiveness
36 must include outcome and process indicators of improvement and
37 must provide data regarding what difference the strategies have
38 made. Staff professional development must be a priority in the
39 development and implementation of the plans and must be based
40 on an assessment of needs. Long and short-range goals,
41 objectives, strategies, and time lines need to be included.
42 (4)(2) Each plan shall provide for an Innovation Initiative,
43 designed to encourage innovative and comprehensive approaches
[4011] 22
1 based on strategies identified in the research literature to be
2 effective. The Innovation Initiative must be utilized by school
3 districts to implement innovative approaches designed to improve
4 student learning and accelerate the performance of all students.
5 Funds may be expended on strategies in one or more of the
6 following four categories:
7 (a) new approaches to what and how students learn by
8 changing schooling in ways that provide a creative, flexible, and
9 challenging education for all students, especially for those at risk.
10 Performance-based outcomes which support a pedagogy of
11 thinking and active approaches for learning must be supported;
12 (b) applying different teaching methods permitting
13 professional educators at every level to focus on educational
14 success for all students and on critical thinking skills and providing
15 the necessary support for educational successes are encouraged;
16 (c) redefining how schools operate resulting in the
17 decentralization of authority to the school site and allowing those
18 closest to the students the flexibility to design the most appropriate
19 education location and practice;
20 (d) creating appropriate relationships between schools and
21 other social service agencies by improving relationships between
22 the school and community agencies (health, social, mental health),
23 parents and the business community, and by establishing
24 procedures that cooperatively focus the resources of the greater
25 community upon barriers to success in school, particularly in the
26 areas of early childhood and parenting programs, after-school
27 programs, and adolescent services.
28 Funds for the Innovation Initiative must be allocated to districts
29 based upon a fifty percent average daily membership and fifty
30 percent pursuant to the Education Finance Act formula. At least
31 seventy percent of the funds must be allocated on a per school
32 basis for school based innovation in accord with the
33 District-School Improvement Plan. Up to thirty percent may be
34 spent for district-wide projects with direct services to schools.
35 District and school administrators must work together to determine
36 the allocation of funds.
37 For 1993-94, districts and schools may use these funds for
38 designing their Innovation Initiatives to be submitted to the peer
39 review process established in Section 59-139-10 prior to
40 implementation of the innovations in 1994-95. Notwithstanding
41 any other provisions of law, districts may carry over all
42 unexpended funds in 1993-94, and up to twenty-five percent of
[4011] 23
1 allocated funds each year thereafter in order to build funds for an
2 approved program initiative.
3 (5)(3) An annual district programmatic report to the parents and
4 constituents of the school district must be developed by the local
5 school board. Each report shall include the goals and objectives of
6 the school district, the strategies implemented to meet the goals
7 and objectives, and an evaluation of the outcomes. An annual
8 school report to the parents and constituents of the school must be
9 developed by the School Improvement Council and shall provide
10 information on the school‟s progress on meeting the school and
11 district goals and objectives. These reports shall must be provided
12 by November fifteenth of each year and advertised no later than
13 April thirtieth annually.
14 (6)(4) Each school board of trustees shall establish an
15 improvement council at each school in the district and this council
16 is to be involved in improvement and innovation efforts at the
17 school. The council shall must be composed of at least two
18 parents, elected by the parents of the children enrolled in the
19 school; at least two teachers, elected by the faculty; at least two
20 students in schools with grades nine and above elected by the
21 students; other representatives of the community and persons
22 appointed by the principal. The elected members of the council
23 shall comprise at least a two-thirds majority of the elected and
24 appointed membership of the council. The council should also
25 include ex-officio members such as the principal and others
26 holding positions of leadership in the school or school
27 organizations, such as parent-teacher groups, booster clubs, and
28 federal program advisory groups. Each council shall assist in the
29 preparation of the five-year plan and annual updates required in
30 this section, assist with the development and monitoring of school
31 improvement and innovation, provide advice on the use of school
32 incentive grant awards, and provide assistance as the principal may
33 request as well as carrying out any other duties prescribed by the
34 local school board. The local school board shall make provisions
35 to allow any council to file a separate report to the local school
36 board if the council considers it necessary. However, no council
37 has any of the powers and duties reserved by law or regulation to
38 the local school board. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
39 this subsection, an area vocational center‟s school improvement
40 council must be composed as defined exclusively by federal law.
41 The council shall perform all duties and responsibilities provided
42 for in any state or federal law which applies to these councils.
[4011] 24
1 In order to provide additional accountability for funds expended
2 under statutory requirements, the elected members of the school
3 improvement council shall serve a minimum term of two years.
4 Parents of students or students in their last year of enrollment at an
5 individual school may serve terms of one year only. The terms
6 must be staggered and initially determined by lot. Elections of
7 members to school improvement councils shall occur no later than
8 October fifteenth of the school year. The elections must be
9 organized to ensure that every parent and faculty member has an
10 opportunity to vote each year. Within thirty days following the
11 election, the names, addresses, terms of service, and status of all
12 council members as a parent, teacher, student, or representative of
13 the community must be provided to the School Improvement
14 Council Assistance at the University of South Carolina for the
15 purpose of sharing information. The district board of trustees shall
16 include in its annual district report a summary of the training
17 opportunities provided or to be provided for school improvement
18 council members and professional educators in regard to
19 council-related tasks and a summary of programs and activities
20 involving parents and citizens in the school.
21 (7)(5) Each school district board of trustees shall:
22 (a) review each school improvement plan and the annual
23 updates for integration with district plans and objectives and
24 school progress in meeting those goals and objectives;
25 (b) cause to be prepared an annual written report to account
26 for funds expended in each pupil classification as prescribed by the
27 State Board of Education;
28 (c) participate in the statewide testing program as prescribed
29 by the State Board of Education;
30 (d) maintain an ongoing systematic evaluation of the
31 educational program needs in the district and shall develop a
32 comprehensive annual and long-range plan for meeting these
33 program needs. These plans shall include an assessment of needs.
34 At minimum, the process of assessing needs and establishing goals
35 and objectives must be carried out for each of the program
36 classifications specified in Section 59-20-40(A)(1)(c). Each
37 school district board of trustees shall develop and execute a
38 method of evaluating the extent to which the goals and objectives
39 specified in its comprehensive plan are being achieved and shall
40 annually report the results of its evaluation to the people of the
41 school district and to the State Board of Education.
42 (e) provide a program for staff development for all
43 educational personnel. A portion of the funds in the foundation
[4011] 25
1 program must be used for this staff development that may include,
2 but not be limited to:
3 (1) college courses in education, subject area of
4 certification or management;
5 (2) teaching center offerings;
6 (3) State Department of Education workshops; and
7 (4) district-wide or in-school training for the purpose of
8 fostering professional growth or improving the competency of all
9 educational personnel; and
10 (5) professional development opportunities for both
11 teachers and administrators on the standards in the core academic
12 areas of mathematics, English/language arts, social studies, and
13 science for kindergarten through twelfth grade and on
14 research-based best practices for teaching those standards.;
15 (f) in accordance with the format approved by the State
16 Board of Education, annually submit to the State Board of
17 Education and to the people of the district that district‟s fiscal
18 report.
19 (8)(6) The State Department of Education shall:
20 (a) develop, by September, 1993, a plan for offering help to
21 districts and schools in designing and implementing the district
22 and school comprehensive improvement plan;
23 (b) develop, by December, 1993, with approval by the State
24 Board of Education, criteria for monitoring the district and school
25 plans;
26 (c)(a) review each district‟s annual fiscal report;
27 (d) provide assistance to school districts in improving the
28 programs, correcting the deficiencies, and in carrying out its staff
29 development program;
30 (e) develop or select and field test a competency-based
31 student assessment program;
32 (f)(b) prepare an annual fiscal and programmatic report to
33 the Governor and the General Assembly each year to assess
34 compliance with this chapter and to make recommendations
35 concerning necessary changes in this chapter;
36 (g)(c) in compliance with the intent of the chapter, waive the
37 prescribed reporting practices if considered necessary by the State
38 Board of Education and authorize the substitution of alternate
39 reporting practices which accomplish the objectives implied in this
40 section. This waiver may not be utilized to avoid full
41 accountability and implementation of this chapter; and
[4011] 26
1 (d) administer a statewide assessment program to measure
2 student performance on state standards pursuant to Article 3,
3 Chapter 18 of Title 59.
4 (9)(7) The Legislative Audit Council shall audit to assess
5 compliance with this chapter as requested by the General
6 Assembly. On the basis of these audits, the Legislative Audit
7 Council shall make recommendations to the General Assembly
8 concerning necessary changes in this chapter.
9 (10) A twelve-member Education Finance Review Committee
10 must be established to advise the General Assembly and review its
11 implementation of this chapter. This advice and review may
12 include, but not be limited to:
13 (a) the cost of the defined minimum program;
14 (b) provisions included in the defined minimum program;
15 (c) the pupil classification weights in Section 59-20-40;
16 (d) the formula for computing required local effort;
17 (e) the ongoing evaluation of the education program needs
18 of the school districts.
19 The committee must be made up of three representatives from
20 each of the following committees of the General Assembly -
21 Senate Education, Senate Finance, House Education and Public
22 Works, and House Ways and Means - appointed by each respective
23 chairman. The committee shall seek the advice of professional
24 educators and all other interested persons when formulating its
25 recommendations.
26
27 Section 59-20-65. The State Board of Education, acting
28 through the existing School Council Assistance Project at the
29 University of South Carolina, shall provide services and training
30 activities to support school improvement councils and their efforts
31 in preparing an annual school improvement report as required in
32 this section.
33
34 Section 59-20-70. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law,
35 any school district which complies with the provisions of Section
36 59-20-60 is exempted from the provisions of Article 15 of Chapter
37 1 of Title 1 relating to the fiscal accountability of state agencies,
38 departments and institutions.
39
40 Section 59-20-80. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
41 each school board of trustees in this State shall annually make
42 available to the general public its budget for that year, which
43 budget shall include an itemized list of the average salaries paid to
[4011] 27
1 the superintendents, supervisors, administrators, principals,
2 consultants, counselors and teachers employed by the district. No
3 state aid shall be given to any school district whose board of
4 trustees fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
5
6 Section 59-20-90. The State Superintendent of Education and
7 the State Board of Education shall review and recommend to the
8 General Assembly changes to or deletions of regulations which are
9 inconsistent with the intent of this chapter.
10
11 Section 59-20-100. Beginning with fiscal year 2007, the General
12 Assembly in the annual general appropriations act with general
13 fund revenues must appropriate sufficient revenues to provide
14 allocations to school districts under this chapter based on the full
15 amount of the base student cost as determined under this chapter.”
16
17 Part III
18
19 Repeals and Effective Date
20
21 SECTION 7. Sections 59-21-160 and 59-21-1030 of the 1976
22 Code are repealed.
23
24 SECTION 8. (A) Article 3, Chapter 10 of Title 4 and Chapter 37
25 of Title 4 of the 1976 Code are repealed; provided, however, that
26 the special sales taxes authorized before the effective date of this
27 section to support capital projects under Article 3, Chapter 10 of
28 Title 4 and the special sales taxes or tolls authorized before the
29 effective date of this section to support transportation
30 infrastructure projects under Chapter 37 of Title 4 shall continue
31 until their termination date to provide financing or debt service
32 funding for the projects authorized.
33 (B) In those counties in which is imposed on the effective date
34 of this act the local sales and use tax allowed pursuant to Article 1,
35 Chapter 10, Title 4 of the 1976 Code, there must be conducted a
36 referendum held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in
37 November following such effective date on rescinding the tax in
38 the county as provided in Section 4-10-35 of the 1976 Code,
39 without regard to the petition requirements provided therein. If a
40 majority of the qualified electors voting in the referendum favor
41 rescinding the tax, the tax is rescinded on a date determined by the
42 governing body of the county not more than twenty-four months
43 following the date the result of the referendum is certified to
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1 county council. The governing body of the county shall notify the
2 Department of Revenue of the date the tax is rescinded.
3
4 SECTION 9. This act takes effect July 1, 2006, and for purposes
5 of the tax exemption allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-253 of the
6 1976 Code, as amended by this act, applies for property tax years
7 beginning after 2006 and motor vehicle tax years beginning after
8 June 30, 2006.
9 ----XX----
10
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