New South Carolina law aims to improve classroom conditions and retain teachers
South Carolina teachers are celebrating the passage of a bill that advocates say will strengthen job protections, improve conditions in the classroom and give educators greater flexibility.
At the same time, the Educator Assistance Act may help address the state’s teacher shortage by giving the state board of education more flexibility in keeping teachers who leave their jobs certified to come back to teaching.
The bill sailed through the S.C. House of Representatives unanimously on Wednesday, April 30, two weeks after the bill also passed the Senate without opposition.
“This is a really big win for educators and the students they serve,” said Patrick Kelly, director of governmental affairs for the Palmetto State Teachers Association. “This makes a significant difference in working conditions. It will help retain teachers, let them spend more time and capacity on serving their students, and on developing high quality instruction.”
One of the main changes is in how schools will handle teacher contracts moving forward.
State law previously required the state board to suspend for up to one year the teaching certificates of any teacher who breached their contract with a local school district. Critics said the law was applied inflexibly. It didn’t take into account the reasons teachers may need to quit their jobs before the end of the school year — like an illness, a family move or other unforeseen circumstances.
More flexibility
A review by The State showed that in any given year, more than 100 teachers might have their license suspended by the state board, usually because the teacher left their job before the end of their contract. Advocates for change said that made it more difficult for the state to fill open teaching jobs and often ended up causing teachers to leave the profession altogether.
Under the new law, starting in the 2025-26 school year, the maximum period of suspension will be cut to six months.
“It also gives them discretion to look at the situation and decline to take action based on the context,” Kelly said, meaning a leaving teacher won’t automatically have their certification suspended.
Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, had been working on the bill from her post as chair of the House education committee since last session, when a version of the bill failed to pass on the final day of the 2023-24 session after ping-ponging between the House and Senate.
“The contract piece is a huge step, so they can count on what they’re going to be doing with transparency from the district,” Erickson said.
If a school district doesn’t issue a current teacher a new contract by May 1, the law requires that their teaching contract will automatically be renewed for the next school year. Responding to fears that this might make districts too passive in managing teacher contracts, the law will also fine districts $10,000 for any teacher who isn’t issued a new contract, Kelly said. That change comes into force for the 2026-27 school year.
The act also allows a teacher to withdraw from a contract within 10 days of the district publishing its salary schedule for the coming year.
Helping teachers plan
The new law also requires that teachers be told what subject they’re assigned and where they’ll be teaching at least 14 days before the start of the school year.
In the fall of 2023, parents and teachers alike in Richland 1 were upset when the district moved teachers out of classes they had already started teaching several weeks into the new school year in order to cover for shortages at other schools. Administrators at the time said staffing adjustments were not unusual at the beginning of a new school year, but some teachers said such treatment would only lead more teachers to leave.
“I hope they take away that we understand that they’re professionals,” Erickson said.
State Superintendent Ellen Weaver applauded passage of the bill in a statement released after the positive vote in the House.
“As we work to attract and retain excellent educators in every classroom, this legislation delivers meaningful support through commonsense changes and streamlined processes,” Weaver said in a statement, adding that the legislation “will help reengage veteran educators, simplify certification renewals, provide greater transparency around teacher contracts and assignments, and establish a statewide sick leave bank — all important steps in supporting our education workforce.”
The new law will also protect a teacher who has to move in the middle of the school year — for example, if a spouse gets another job elsewhere.
“If a teacher has a bona fide change of residence to a non-contiguous county, you can’t remove that teacher,” Kelly said.
It also gives teachers at least two unencumbered work days per school year to prepare their lesson plans and classrooms, Kelly said.
“In my 20 years in the classroom, I’ve spent a lot of time in the summer getting ready to serve my student, and that’s only possible because I know what I’ll be teaching,” he said.
Holding onto teachers
Erickson said many of the changes in the bill were recommendations from a committee looking at boosting teacher recruitment and retention.
“They shouldn’t have to jump through so many hoops to stay employed,” she said.
The education chairwoman said it was easier to get the bill through the Legislature before the end of this year’s session on Thursday, after it came so close to passing in 2024.
Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association, said she would encourage districts to go further than the law in what protections they offer teachers in their new contracts.
“We are advocating for more wiggle room on teacher assignments,” she said. “In some counties, it could be an hour or more drive to your school.”
But, East added, “there’s nothing we don’t like about the bill.” She applauded a requirement that districts allow employees to pool their available sick leave, allowing for an extended amount of paid time off educators can draw from for long-term health-related absences. She said she’s benefited from working in districts that already allow employees to share sick time.
“In both districts I’ve worked in, I donated one day [to the sick bank], and then if something happens to me, I can get time from the sick leave bank,” East said.
Legislators have made teachers a priority this session. Both the House and Senate have agreed to raise teachers’ starting salaries to $48,500, although a conference committee between the two chambers might still be needed to hammer out other details in that bill.
Erickson praised the cooperation she saw between teachers, superintendents and school boards in getting to the final product.
“When we have collaboration like that, we can have success,” she said.
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