SC Department of Education Provides Updates on School Operations, Full Face to Face Instruction, and S.704

Press Release

Today, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) released an update on current school and district operations, plans to transition to full face to face instruction, and a statement from State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman on legislation (S.704) that recently passed the General Assembly.

Current Operations:

• 76 districts are currently offering full face to face for all students
• 3 districts are offering hybrid in-person instruction. The three districts are Colleton, Greenville, and Hampton 2 all of whom will transition to five day face to face instruction for ALL students on April 26.
• 0 districts are only offering fully virtual instruction

*This breakdown does not include the two statewide charter school districts as their operational decision making occurs at the school and not the district level.

School Operations

• Full face to face: 1210
• Hybrid (2-4 days): 51
• Virtual: 0*

*This does not include the 5 always virtual charter schools.

Today, the General Assembly passed a joint resolution (S.704) that requires every school district to offer five-day, in-person classroom instruction to students no later than April 26, 2021. It also requires five day in person learning to be offered to next school year, removes earnings limitations (up to $50,000) for retired K-12 educators, and prohibits districts from assigning a teacher to deliver instruction to students simultaneously in-person and virtually unless it is reasonable and necessary due to extreme and unavoidable circumstances. In such circumstances, additional compsensation must be provided.

Please note that districts may offer virtual instruction to those families that have chosen it for the 2020-21 school year. The face to face instruction requirement in S.704 does not preclude a district from continuing to offer a virtual option.

Statement on S.704

“Every family must be given the option of sending their child to school five days a week face to face and the science shows that this can be done safely in every community. I am thankful for the educators who have been making this option a reality for many throughout this school year and look forward to the Governor signing this bill into law, ensuring every school will be fully open for in-person learning now and into the future.” – Molly M. Spearman, State Superintendent of Education

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