House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, talks with staff during the House’s organizational session on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 at the Statehouse in Columbia. (Mary Ann Chastain/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — South Carolina public school students could not be considered absent for participating in an off-campus club activity during the school day under a bill advanced Tuesday in the House.
Also given the go-ahead by a subcommittee was a bill dubbed the “Educator Assistance Act,” which teachers’ advocates named a top priority in keeping teachers in classrooms. The bill passed the House unanimously last year but never got a hearing in the Senate, though its sponsor is optimistic this will be the year it passes.
Excused absences
One re-introduced bill that was never taken up last session would require school districts to adopt a policy excusing students for attending certain extracurricular events.
Many schools already excuse students for attending school-sanctioned activities, such as club trips. At others, though, students must choose between being marked absent and skipping events that happen during the school day, said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Patrick Haddon, R-Greenville.
Future Farmers of America members, for example, sometimes attend conventions or exhibitions that take place during the school day. Requiring schools excuse absences to attend those would give the 15,000 or so students enrolled in the club a chance to learn things they might not otherwise, said Troy Helms, state director of agricultural education at Clemson University.
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“We’re teaching something that will allow students to get outside the classroom, compete against others, while at the same time being exposed to industries that are out there,” Helms said.
The bill only covers “work-based learning experiences,” listing Future Farmers of America and 4-H as examples. A certified teacher would have to be supervising the activity, and students would be required to make up any work they missed.
Students who attend those conferences and other events might have a leg up to pursue career paths in which the state needs more professionals, such as agriculture, Haddon said.
“It’s very amazing what it does for these kids, to get them ready to go into the workforce,” Haddon said.
Educator Assistance Act
As the state tries to recruit and retain more teachers, the Educator Assistance Act could address several concerns that cause teachers to leave the profession, advocates said.
The bill would cut down on paperwork by making teaching certificates permanent, eliminating bureaucratic hurdles involved in renewing it through the state Department of Education every five years.
Districts would also be required to include in teachers’ contracts their minimum salary for the next school year before they commit to staying.
Teachers are asked to sign those contracts by May 10, before legislators have passed a final budget and school districts have decided on salaries. That means teachers often have to sign onto their position without knowing how much they’ll be making.
“I don’t know many jobs where you’d sign a blank contract and agree to work somewhere,” said House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, the bill’s sponsor. “I think it shows a lack of respect for our teachers to require them to do that.”
Unlike the version of the bill the House passed last year, which would give teachers wiggle room to bow out of a contract after seeing their final pay, this version would require districts to give teachers an estimated pay schedule before they sign their contract.
In some cases, teachers also don’t know what subject they’ll be teaching or what school they’ll be assigned to before the school year begins. Current law requires districts to notify teachers of their assignment by Aug. 15, but with more schools starting earlier in the year, that means some districts aren’t giving their teachers enough time to prepare.
The bill would also require districts to give a reason for reassigning a teacher part-way through the school year in an effort to keep teachers’ plans and students’ experiences consistent.
That was something Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association, has experienced firsthand, she said. One year, as she was going on holiday break, her district notified her she would be teaching chemistry when she returned — a subject she had never taught before then, she said.
Other teachers have been given even less time to prepare lesson plans, she added.
“We do hear stories about that all the time,” Erickson said.
Erickson, a Beaufort Republican, said she’s hopeful that changes, such as requiring districts to give an estimated salary in teachers’ contracts, will assuage senators’ concerns enough to get the bill to the finish line.
“We really, really need to show our teachers how much we care about them and treat them like professionals,” Erickson told the SC Daily Gazette. “It’s a basic thing they are asking for that we should be giving them.”
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The rules have gained significance in the past year, as schools grapple with continuing teacher vacancies, said Patrick Kelly, lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
Although the number of vacancies decreased this year, it remains higher than it should, Kelly said. Legislators are already working to address the pay problem many teachers cite as one of their biggest concerns, having raised the minimum pay for first-year teachers to $47,000 last year.
Gov. Henry McMaster is calling on legislators to raise that again to $50,000 this year.
That means it’s time to look at teachers’ other major problems, including what they see as a lack of support, a lack of time to plan and a lack of respect, all of which the bill would address, Kelly said.
“This year, it is essential,” Kelly said.
Both bills advanced to the full House Education Committee.