COMMITTEE REPORT
May 20, 2010
S.319
Introduced by Senators Leventis, Rose, Malloy, Davis, Lourie and Hayes
S. Printed 5/20/10--H.
Read the first time May 12, 2009.
THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND PUBLIC WORKS
To whom was referred a Bill (S.319) to amend Title 59, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Chapter 46 so as to enact the “Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children”, etc., respectfully
REPORT:
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting in its entirety Section 594640, as contained in SECTION 1, pages 23, and inserting:
/ Section 594640.In accordance with the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, there is created the South Carolina Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, referred to in this section as ‘Council’.
(A)The council consists of the following eleven members:
(1)the Governor or his designee;
(2)one member appointed by the Governor to represent military installations in the State;
(3)two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(4)two members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(5)two members appointed by the State Superintendent of Education, to include a superintendent of a school district with a high concentration of military families and a member of a military family with experience in the educational challenges that military children face;
(6)the State Board of Education chair and chairelect; and
(7)the State Superintendent of Education or his designee, who shall serve as chair.
(B)Appointments must be made no later than September 1, 2010, at which time the chair shall call the first meeting. Elected members serve terms coterminous with their terms of office. Citizen members serve at the pleasure of the individual making the appointment. All members may be reappointed. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, must be made for the unexpired terms. Vacancies must be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
(C)The council initially shall meet on the call of the chairman and, at a minimum, shall meet quarterly. A majority of members constitutes a quorum. The council may consider any matters related to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children or the general activities and business of the organization and has the authority to represent the State in all actions of the compact.
(D)The State Superintendent of Education shall employ a military family education liaison as provided by Article VIIIof the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
(E)The Council members serve without compensation. All members must be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The costs of expenses of the legislative members incurred in the performance of their duties must be paid from appropriations to the representative body. The costs of expenses of nonlegislative citizen members incurred in the performance of their duties must be paid from funds as provided for this purpose in the annual appropriation act.
(F)The chairman of the council shall submit electronically to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary of the interim activity and work of the council no later than the first day of regular session of the General Assembly following the first full year of the council’s creation. Thereafter an executive summary must be electronically submitted biennially to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Clerk of the Senate and must be posted on the General Assembly’s website. /
Amend the bill further, by deleting in its entirety SECTION 2 as contained on page 23.
Amend the bill further, by adding the following SECTIONS at the end to read:
/ SECTION2.Chapter 5, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
“Section 595160.(A)In order to facilitate the ontime graduation of children of families who have moved to South Carolina during the child’s twelfth grade year, the State Board of Education may:
(1)waive specific courses required for graduation if those courses were not specifically required for graduation in the student’s most recent state of residence; however, the State Board may not waive the number of courses required in ELA, math, and science. If a student does not have sufficient course credit to be issued a South Carolina diploma, the State Board, to the extent possible, shall provide an alternative means of acquiring required coursework so that the student could receive a South Carolina high school diploma and graduation may occur on time; and
(2)may accept exit exams, endofcourse exams, or alternative testing required for graduation from the sending state in lieu of South Carolina testing requirements for graduation provided that all portions of these exams necessary for graduation from the sending state have been satisfactorily met.
(B)In the event the alternatives provided in subsection (A) cannot be accommodated after all alternatives have been considered, the State Board of Education shall work with other state boards and departments of education to help facilitate the receipt of a diploma from the sending state if the student meets the graduation requirements of that state.
(C)The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines and subsequent regulations to comply with the provisions of this section. /
/SECTION 3.Any rule of the Interstate compact on educational opportunity for Military Children which is adopted subsequent to July 1, 2010, is binding on the State only if adopted by joint resolution by the General Assembly./
/ SECTION4.This act takes effect July 1, 2010, contingent upon an appropriation by the General Assembly specified for this purpose, in an amount equivalent to that documented by the fiscal impact statement provided by the Office of State Budget of the State Budget and Control Board, and agreement by the Interstate Commission to Section 3 of this act. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
PHILLIP D. OWENS for Committee.
STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT
ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT ON GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES:
A Cost to the General Fund of the State (See Below)
ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT ON FEDERAL & OTHER FUND EXPENDITURES:
$0 (No additional expenditures or savings are expected)
EXPLANATION OF IMPACT:
The State Department of Education (SDE) estimates the recurring fiscal impact to be $120,577. This cost consists of 1.50 FTE at $91,250 per year which includes fringe benefits and $8,232 for office space and technical support. There is a levy from the Interstate Commission which is estimated at $15,000 annually ($1 per military child). In addition, $6,095 would be needed for travel, meals, and materials.
The seven member council shall serve without pay, but shall receive per diem, subsistence and mileage. At $190 per member the cost per meeting can be estimated $1,330. If the council meets quarterly the annual impact can be estimated at $5,320. Therefore, total annual impact of this bill can be estimated at $125,897.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT:
SDE estimates the cost to local school districts for annual training at $4,400.
SPECIAL NOTES:
The italicized portion of this impact indicates the items that have been revised. For this impact, the revised constitutes information that was not available in the original impact.
Approved By:
Harry Bell
Office of State Budget
[319-1]
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 46 SO AS TO ENACT THE “INTERSTATE COMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN”, TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNOR MAY EXECUTE THE COMPACT WITH OTHER COMPACT STATES, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION IS THE COMPACT COMMISSIONER OF THIS STATE, TO ESTABLISH A COUNCIL ON EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN, TO PROVIDE FOR THE COUNCIL’S MEMBERSHIP, APPOINTMENTS, TERMS, QUORUM, LEADERSHIP, FILLING OF VACANCIES, AND POWERS AND DUTIES, AND TO PROVIDE THE TERMS OF THE COMPACT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION1.Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
“CHAPTER 46
Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity
for Military Children
Section 594610. This chapter may be cited as the ‘Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children’.
Section 594620. (A)The Governor of this State may execute a compact, in substantially the form set out in Section 594650. The General Assembly signifies in advance its approval and ratification of the compact when the compact has been enacted into law by any ten of the compact states, including South Carolina, and the consent of the United States Congress to the interstate compact has been obtained.
(B)When the Governor has executed the compact on behalf of this State, and caused a verified copy to be filed with the Secretary of State, and when the compact has been ratified by ten or more of the compact states, including South Carolina, the compact shall become operative and effective as between this State and the states that have ratified the compact. The Governor shall take action as may be necessary to complete the exchange of official documents between this State and any other state ratifying the compact, and to otherwise carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(C)Upon the compact becoming operative and effective between this State and other states ratifying the compact, it is declared to be the policy of this State to perform and carry out the compact and to accomplish its purposes.
Section 594630. The State Superintendent of Education shall serve as the Compact Commissioner of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children on behalf of this State.
Section 594640. (A)There is established a council to be known as the ‘Council on Educational Opportunity for Military Children’. The council shall consist of seven members:
(1)the State Superintendent of Education or his designee;
(2)one local school district superintendent appointed by the Governor who represents a school district with a high concentration of military children enrolled during the most recent school year;
(3)one person appointed by the Governor from a list of five potential appointees provided by the South Carolina School Boards Association;
(4)one person appointed by the Governor from a list of five potential appointees provided by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators;
(5)one person appointed by the Governor from a list of five potential appointees provided by the State Board of Education;
(6)one person appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives who represents a military installation; and
(7)one person appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(B)Appointed council members shall possess the following qualifications:
(1)have knowledge and experience in assisting military families in obtaining educational services for their children;
(2)be members of the military or the family of a member of the military with firsthand experience in the challenges that military children face with multiple educational placements related to transfers because of reassignment of military duty location; and
(3)be residents of the State of South Carolina at the time of appointment and throughout their terms.
(C)Council members shall draw lots to determine the length of the initial term so that their terms are staggered with the longest term not to exceed four years. Subsequent appointments must be for four year terms.
(D)If a vacancy occurs in an appointed position, the vacancy must be filled by appointment by the official who made the appointment, and the new appointee shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(E)The State Superintendent of Education or his designee shall serve as chair.
(F)The council shall meet at times and places as the chair deems necessary, but no meetings may be held outside the state of South Carolina.
(G)A majority of the members of the council constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business. Action of the council must be made by a majority vote of the full membership of the council.
(H)The council shall:
(1)advise the Governor and the General Assembly about developments related to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children;
(2)coordinate among state government, school districts, and military installations compliance with the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; and
(3)designate a military family education liaison as provided by Article VIII of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
(I)The State Department of Education shall provide staff and office space to the council.
(J)Members of the council shall serve without pay, but shall receive per diem, mileage, and subsistence as provided by law for members of boards, commissions, and committees while engaged in the work of the board.
Section 592650.The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children is enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining in the compact in the form substantially as follows:
INTERSTATE COMPACT ON EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITY FOR MILITARY CHILDREN
ARTICLE I
PURPOSE
It is the purpose of this compact to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves and deployment of their parents by:
A.Facilitating the timely enrollment of children of military families and ensuring that they are not placed at a disadvantage due to difficulty in the transfer of education records from the previous school districts or variations in entrance/age requirements.
B.Facilitating the student placement process through which children of military families are not disadvantaged by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, sequencing, grading, course content or assessment.
C.Facilitating the qualification and eligibility for enrollment, educational programs, and participation in extracurricular academic, athletic, and social activities.
D.Facilitating the ontime graduation of children of military families.
E.Providing for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact.
F.Providing for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools and military families under this compact.
G.Promoting coordination between this compact and other compacts affecting military children.
H.Promoting flexibility and cooperation between the educational system, parents and the student in order to achieve educational success for the student.
ARTICLE II
DEFINITIONS
As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction:
A. ‘Active duty’ means: fulltime duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty orders pursuant to U.S.C. Section 1209 and 1211.
B.‘Children of military families’ means: schoolaged children, enrolled in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade, in the household of an active duty member.
C.‘Compact commissioner’ means: the voting representative of each compacting state appointed pursuant to Article VIII of this compact.
D.‘Deployment’ means: the period one month prior to the service members’ departure from their home station on military orders though six months after return to their home station.
E.‘Educational records’ means: those official records, files, and data directly related to a student and maintained by the school or local education agency, including but not limited to records encompassing all the material kept in the student’s cumulative folder such as general identifying data, records of attendance and of academic work completed, records of achievement and results of evaluative tests, health data, disciplinary status, test protocols, and individualized education programs.
F.‘Extracurricular activities’ means: a voluntary activity sponsored by the school or local education agency or an organization sanctioned by the local education agency. Extracurricular activities include, but are not limited to, preparation for and involvement in public performances, contests, athletic competitions, demonstrations, displays, and club activities.
G.‘Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children’ means: the commission that is created under Article IX of this compact, which is generally referred to as Interstate Commission.
H.‘Local education agency’ means: a public authority legally constituted by the state as an administrative agency to provide control of and direction for Kindergarten through Twelfth grade public educational institutions.
I.‘Member state’ means: a state that has enacted this compact.
J.‘Military installation’ means: a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including any leased facility, which is located within any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands and any other U.S. Territory. Such term does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects.
K.‘Nonmember state’ means: a state that has not enacted this compact.
L.‘Receiving state’ means: the state to which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought.
M.‘Rule’ means: a written statement by the Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Article XII of this compact that is of general applicability, implements, interprets or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact, or an organizational, procedural, or practice requirement of the Interstate Commission, and has the force and effect of statutory law in a member state, and includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule.
N.‘Sending state’ means: the state from which a child of a military family is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought.
O.‘State’ means: a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands and any other U.S. Territory.
P.‘Student’ means: the child of a military family for whom the local education agency receives public funding and who is formally enrolled in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade.
Q.‘Transition’ means:
(1)the formal and physical process of transferring from school to school; or
(2)the period of time in which a student moves from one school in the sending state to another school in the receiving state.