Bill > S0088

This bill amends South Carolina's education law to allow individuals to receive years of experience credit on their teaching certificates based on prior relevant work experience. Specifically, the State Department of Education will award one year of experience credit for every two years of full-time work experience directly related to the content field of the teaching certificate. Teachers can submit a verification form to have these experience credits added to their certificate, which will enable them to advance on the teacher salary schedule. The bill applies both to new applicants seeking an initial teaching certificate and to existing certificate holders who entered the teaching profession before July 1, 2025. Importantly, these additional experience credits are strictly limited to salary schedule advancement and cannot be used for state retirement or health plan service credits. The bill maintains all existing requirements for obtaining a teaching certificate, ensuring that work experience is just one component of certification. The State Department of Education must develop and make the work experience verification form available within 90 days of the bill's approval by the Governor, and the bill will take effect immediately upon gubernatorial approval.

Education

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=88&session=126&summary=B