Legislative Provisos FY 2024-25.Some of these provisos pertain to Early Childhood teachers, students, and programs.

1.3 (SDE: State Aid to Classrooms) – This proviso updates the State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule and the projected total pupil count and per pupil funding. It adds a provision that school districts shall report monthly fund balances to the Department of Education. The State Department of Education Office of Finance has provided guidance on this new provision. It mandates that the State Department of Education will review the child count data for school districts and conduct a focus review of a District’s special education population if the percentage of enrolled students with IEPs is outside of the typical percentage range.

 1.78 (SDE: Funding for Schools Safety) – This proviso was included in last year’s budget. It continues the School Safety Grant which allows public school districts and charter school districts to apply for grant funding to pay for school safety upgrades.

 1.113 (SDE: Strategic Compensation Pilot) – This is a new proviso that requires the Department to establish a strategic compensation pilot for certified teachers. More guidance will be sent out about this in the coming weeks.

 1.114 (SDE: 4K Teachers) - This is a new proviso that requires the Department to work with school districts to encourage them, where practical, to include 4K teachers in the unencumbered time requirements found in Section 59-5-63.

 1.115 (SDE: Child Nutrition Program) – This is a new proviso that prohibits schools that serve school breakfast and/or school lunch from charging a reduced-price payment. This proviso is contingent on funding from EIA surplus. A memo will be sent out about this in the coming weeks.

 1.120 (SDE: Student Physical Privacy) – This is a new proviso that requires that all South Carolina school districts must designate multi-occupancy restrooms and changing facilities for use only by members of one sex and prohibits students of the opposite sex from using the same bathrooms, changing facilities, overnight sleeping quarters, shared bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms.

 1A.9 (SDE-EIA: Teacher Supplies) – This proviso was included in last year’s budget but was amended to raise the teacher stipend from $350 to $400.

DSS Licensure Info:  All South Carolina child care programs are required to be licensed, registered, approved, or legally exempt (S.C. Code Ann. §43-1-80 43-1-80 and 63-13-180 et seq). Proviso 1.47 explicitly exempts Child Early Reading Development and Education Program (CERDEP) classrooms from child care licensure. However, all other child care programs operating in public schools for more than four hours per day must be licensed by DSS unless an exemption applies. Historically, DSS and SCDE operated under a mutual agreement that 3K and non-CERDEP 4K programs operated by public schools were not subject to child care licensing requirements. Due to continued statutory developments and program expansion across the state, adjustments to this agreement are necessary to resolve ambiguities highlighted recently in a report by the State Inspector General. Both agencies are committed to bringing programs into compliance with state child care licensing requirements while minimizing any potential disruptions to children, parents, and districts. If DSS determines your program does not meet an exemption, its Child Care Licensing staff will work with you to complete the licensure process. Programs will be provided adequate time to become licensed, with compliance deadlines determined in phases, beginning with classrooms serving children ages three and under. For further details on the licensing process and to access DSS regulations, please visit the SC Child Care Services website.