SC Senate adopts $1.9B COVID-19 plan, votes to pause high-stakes tests for students
The South Carolina Senate agreed Tuesday to spend a bulk of the state’s $1.9 billion COVID-19 federal share to replenish the state’s jobless fund and for one year exempt students from standardized testing — a move proposed Monday by the state’s schools chief.
The addition by senators would further allow Superintendent Molly Spearman to request a federal waiver to exempt students from taking those tests in the next school year as health officials continue to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
“Yesterday (Monday), I committed to our parents & teachers to seek a one year federal waiver from standardized tests to maximize instructional time during the 20-21 school year,” Spearman tweeted. “While not guaranteed, I believe this would be in the best interests of S.C. students.”
Senators voted 43-0 Tuesday to spend $1.2 billion to respond to the state’s coronavirus outbreak, which grew by another 890 confirmed cases on Tuesday and contributed to the death of another 14 South Carolinians, health officials announced.
The state’s share is part of the federal CARES Act legislation signed by President Donald Trump in March.
Lawmakers will hold onto more than $668 million of the federal dollars to spend on virus response later in the year, part of a two-phase approach as the state gets more information about the virus’ impact, said Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee.
“I’m ready to go home,” said Senate Finance chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, wearing a mask and gloves.
“I suspect you are too.”
The S.C. House will debate the COVID-19 spending bill Wednesday, and House budget chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, told The State newspaper on Tuesday that he believes the House will agree to the Senate’s proposal.
“By and large, the Senate bill is ... recommendations of the governor and Accelerate South Carolina, so I think we’re all conceptually on the same page,” Smith said of the bill that’ll spend $500 million to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance fund and $222.7 million for summer academic recovery camps and to add another five days of class instruction.
When House members gavel in Wednesday, Smith said he anticipates two hiccups from lawmakers: questions over the state public health agency’s partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina and other providers to administer enough tests and broadband internet.
Smith chided the state’s public health agency Tuesday for failing to return phone calls from providers trying to help the state Department of Health and Environmental Control test for the virus and questioned one official as to why money reserved to reimburse hospitals across the state had not been spent.
“I just think that DHEC is overwhelmed,” Smith told The State. “I’m not blaming them from ignoring it. I’m just saying that ... I’m not so sure that all they have going on that they have the capacity to make sure that we’re testing at a rate that is expected from all of us when we appropriate these dollars. So, that’s why we emphasized partnerships last time.”
Meanwhile, the legislation spends $50 million for broadband mapping and planning, infrastructure and mobile hot spots.
“What’s the plan for broadband?” Smith said. “How are we going to do that, so I’m having discussions with the Senate to see if we can try to create some mechanism that we can explain to our members what the broadband plan is and where it’s going to be implemented. I think that’s obviously the concerns of rural areas of this state that most need it: Is the money going to make it there to provide services for them?”
COVID-19 spending bill
The Senate agreed to spend:
▪ $500 million, to replenish the unemployment trust fund, which has so far shelled out $543.5 million or about 49% of its total holdings since the beginning of March when the COVID-19 outbreak hit South Carolina and businesses shut down;
▪ $270 million, to reimburse state and local governments, and college and university COVID-19 spending;
▪ $222.7 million, for the state’s Department of Education to hold face-to-face summer academic recovery camps for roughly 25,000 students who completed Kindergarten through third grade, add five days of instruction to the school calendar from four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade, reimburse for food services and pay for cafeteria workers;
▪ $125 million, for a hospital relief fund through the state’s Department of Administration;
▪ $50 million, for internet broadband mapping and planning, infrastructure and mobile hot spots;
▪ $42.4 million, for the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control for statewide testing and monitoring;
▪ $16.8 million, for the state Adjutant General’s emergency management division for PPE stockpile and supply chain; and
▪ $10 million, for the third-party grant administrator firm, Guidehouse, that will vet, process and audit the federal relief.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 3:35 PM.
