Bill > S0078

This bill amends South Carolina's education law to allow individuals to receive work experience credit on their teaching certificates for relevant non-teaching professional experience. Specifically, the bill permits the State Department of Education to award one year of experience credit for every two years of full-time occupational experience in or related to the content field of the teaching certificate, but only for those with a bachelor's degree and for the purpose of advancing on the teacher salary schedule. Individuals who entered teaching before July 1, 2025, can submit a verification form to have additional years of experience added to their certificate, which would result in a salary adjustment at the beginning of the next school year. The bill explicitly states that these experience credits cannot be used for retirement or state health plan service credits and do not alter existing requirements for obtaining an educator certificate. The State Department of Education is required to develop implementation guidelines and create a verification form within 180 days of the Governor's approval, and no additional staff positions will be created to process these certification requests. The bill takes effect immediately upon the Governor's approval.

Education

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=78&session=126&summary=B