Flexibility Guide Offers School Districts a Comprehensive Tool to Tackle Complex Educational Challenges

Press Release

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) today released an all-encompassing resource that provides schools, districts, and communities with policy guidance and direction for meeting the unique needs of students.

South Carolina state leaders have strived to provide an array of exemptions, options, and waiver opportunities to encourage innovative approaches to learning. The South Carolina Education Flexibility Guide provides a step-by-step overview of current flexibilities that exist in state law and regulation, encourages school districts to explore options, and provides the next steps they should take to personalize learning and to ensure all students achieve the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.

“We have listened to parents and educators, and it is clear that our existing state level education flexibilities need to be more transparent and readily accessible,” said State Superintendent Molly Spearman. “This guide is designed to be a one-stop shop for educators, offering innovative solutions to challenges faced inside the classroom.”

The 23-page guide provides a pathway for district and school leaders to create their own approach to personalized learning, leveraging strong foundations state leaders have put in place. Working within basic parameters established at the state level, districts and schools are free to establish their own goals, set expectations for student success, and design instructional programs.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our school districts into overdrive as they work hard to implement accelerated learning programs,” said Stephanie DiStasio, SCDE’s Director of Personalized Learning. “It is crucial that our educators are equipped with strategies that benefit all students.”

Key highlights from the Flexibility Guide include:

• Foundations for Personalized Learning – This section covers the four critical components making up the framework of Personalized Learning and the state-developed competencies that, along with the SC Academic Standards, define the critical components of world-class knowledge, world-class skills, and life and career characteristics.
• Flexibility-Focused Pathways – This section discusses the flexibilities that exist within state statutes and regulations that can be utilized by districts to meet Personalized Learning goals and objectives. These flexibilities include the options, alternatives, exemptions, and waivers that may be sought. Some require approval by the State Board of Education, State Superintendent, or the SCDE while others may simply be implemented on the local level with community support. Examples of schools utilizing flexibilities include North Charleston High School in Charleston County School District and Meeting Street Academy in Spartanburg School District 7. Both schools applied for and received flexibilities for state laws and regulations as part of the state’s Schools of Innovation legislation.
• Finding and Using Flexibility – This section details the steps schools and districts must take to attain the flexibility they seek. This includes how to apply for specific waivers from the State Board of Education, become a School of Innovation, and design innovative instructional programs and district strategic plans.

The SCDE will soon be taking the Flexibility Guide on tour – meeting statewide with district leaders to hear their thoughts and to gather their input as the agency builds a playbook of implementation strategies designed to support districts as they imagine what might be possible for the future of learning in South Carolina.

The SCDE’s Office of Personalized Learning regularly develops new resources for educators to explore. Visit: https://personalizesc.ed.sc.gov/.

To view the guide in its entirety, visit https://personalizesc.ed.sc.gov/pd/district-innovation-flexibility-waivers/sc-education-flexibility-guide/.

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