H 4068

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 4068
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
59-63-285 SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO THE SUSPENSION OF PRESCHOOL
STUDENTS, TO PROVIDE FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS,
AND STAFF, TO REQUIRE EFFORTS TOWARD MAINTAINING STUDENT ENROLLMENT, AND TO
PROVIDE FOR RELEVANT DATA COLLECTION.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Article 3, Chapter 63, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended
by adding:
    Section
59-63-285. (A) For purposes of this
section:
       (1)
"Challenging behavior" means any repeated pattern of behavior, or adult
perception of behavior, that interferes with or is at risk of interfering with
optimal learning or engagement in positive interactions with peers and adults.
       (2)
"Publicly funded preschool" means formal education programs funded by CERDEP,
EIA, Title I, and district funds.
    (B) A
student enrolled in 3K or 4K programs in a publicly funded preschool may not
receive an out-of-school suspension unless a serious safety threat exists that
has not been reduced or eliminated despite the implementation and exhaustion of
the services and interventions in subsection (E) and no other reasonable option
is appropriate.
    (C) A
student enrolled in 3K or 4K programs in a publicly funded preschool may not
receive an in-school suspension unless the provision of services and
interventions in subsection (E) has been implemented and are unsuccessful.
Preschool students removed from the classroom for short periods of time to
collect themselves after exhibiting challenging behavior must be returned to
the classroom as quickly as possible when deemed appropriate by school
personnel.
    (D)
If an in-school or out-of-school suspension is deemed necessary, school
personnel shall assist the preschool student in returning to full participation
in all program activities as quickly as possible while minimizing loss of
instruction and ensuring child safety.
    (E)
Before a publicly funded preschool expels or suspends a child for challenging
behavior, the school shall first attempt to maintain participation and
enrollment by:
       (1)
exhausting its own interventions and strategies available, such as multitiered
system of support measures, trauma-informed care, early childhood behavioral
specialists, and school mental health therapists;
       (2)
if determined to be appropriate for the student, ensuring the student has
received referrals for assessments or evaluations for special education or
other support services, the assessments or evaluations have been completed, and
any interventions, services, or accommodations have been implemented. A school
or program is not required to exhaust the services and interventions prior to
suspension if the preschool student's parents or guardians have refused
evaluation or interventions, and these refusals have been documented by the
school;
       (3)
if the student has an IEP or 504 Plan, convening an IEP or Section 504 meeting
to review if appropriate supports are being provided; and
       (4)
revising existing student codes of conduct and publishing revised written codes
of conduct that acknowledge age-appropriate behavior for preschoolers and
age-appropriate consequences for challenging behavior exhibited by preschoolers
as distinguished from conduct expected of and consequences appropriate for
older students.
    (F)
The provisions of Sections 59-63-230 and 59-63-240 must be extended to students
enrolled in a publicly funded preschool in a public school.
    (G)
All efforts to maintain participation and enrollment, provide due process, and
accurately report suspensions as required in this section must be documented in
the student information system as directed by the State Department of
Education. First Steps and Head Start 4K programs that qualify as publicly funded
preschools must collect this data through the systems in use or of its choice
as long as the program captures the documentation, actions, and data required
in this section except for the due process procedures in subsection (F).
    (H)(1) The State Department of Education
shall make available to publicly funded preschools in public school districts:
  (a)
preservice and in-service professional development on working with children in
preschool with challenging behaviors to administrators, teachers, and staff.
This professional development should include, but is not limited to:
  (i)
making administrators, teachers, and staff aware of additional resources
available in the community for families with young children who have more
intensive needs;
  (ii) publicizing the resources
available to administrators, teachers, and staff in relation to navigating a
child's challenging behaviors and maintaining enrollment; and
  (iii) training administrators,
teachers, and staff on trauma-informed practices to support children whose
challenging behaviors may arise from trauma;
  (b)
materials on available resources and working with children with challenging
behaviors to parents and caregivers; and
  (c)
technical assistance for districts:
  (i)
to build internal capacity to provide ongoing support and professional
development for preschool classroom teachers on evidence-based strategies to
prevent challenging behavior and to appropriately intervene if challenging
behavior persists;
  (ii) to develop and revise existing
district codes of conduct to acknowledge age-appropriate behavior and
consequences for preschoolers and to distinguish it from conduct expected of
and consequences appropriate for older students; and
  (iii) to implement trauma-informed
frameworks to support children attending school after or while experiencing
trauma.
       (2)
This section may not be construed to prevent publicly funded preschools in
public school districts and those in other programs from collaborating on
training materials and opportunities if they desire to do so.
    (I)
The State Department of Education shall collect at the school, school district,
and state level data concerning publicly funded preschool suspension and
expulsion for the current school year and four immediately previous school
years and any other data as requested by the Joint Citizens and Legislative
Committee on Children or the Education Oversight Committee. The department
shall report this data annually by September first to the Joint Citizens and
Legislative Committee on Children and the Education Oversight Committee. First
Steps and Head Start 4K programs that qualify as publicly funded preschools
shall collect data concerning preschool suspension and expulsion for the
current school year and any other data as requested by the Joint Citizens and
Legislative Committee or deemed informative by the programs. First Steps and
Head Start shall report these aggregated data annually by September first to
the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children.
SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on February 20, 2025 at 10:48 AM