H 4604

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 4604
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
SO AS TO ENACT THE "MERIT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF
2026"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-680 SO AS TO ENSURE THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF
DEI STRUCTURES AND RACE-CONSCIOUS CONSIDERATIONS, ADMISSIONS, HIRING,
PROMOTION, AND RETENTION DECISIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA'S PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION
SYSTEM ARE TRULY MERIT-BASED, TRANSPARENT, AND AUDITABLE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION
1.  This act may
be cited as the "Merit and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Act of 2026."
SECTION 2.  (A) The legislative intent of
this act is to protect:
       (1)
equal opportunity in admissions and employment;
       (2)
lawful nondiscrimination and due process;
       (3)
public trust in institutional fairness; and
       (4)
South Carolina's future workforce and competitiveness.
    (B)
This act does not create preferences or quotas. It only prevents hidden
discrimination under a "merit" banner.
SECTION 3.  Article 2, Chapter 101, Title
59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:
    Section 59-101-680.  (A)(1) Each public institution of higher
learning must publish before each admission and hiring cycle:
  (a) evaluation criteria and scoring
categories;
  (b) weighting systems; and
  (c) eligibility thresholds and
required documentation.
       (2) Undisclosed criteria may not be
used in the admissions or hiring process.
    (B)(1) Annually, each public institution
of higher learning must publish on its website:
  (a) applicant pools versus admitted
student demographics;
  (b) hiring pools versus faculty
hires; and
  (c) retention, graduation, tenure,
and promotion outcomes.
       (2) Institutions with persistent
disparities must submit corrective action plans focused on process
improvements.
    (C) To maintain constitutional equal
protection:
       (1) evaluators must complete
bias-prevention training grounded in civil rights compliance;
       (2) all adverse evaluation decisions
must include documented reason codes tied to published criteria; and
       (3) records must be retained and
available for review.
    (D) Applicants and job candidates may
request anonymized comparative scorecards and challenge procedural errors
through an established appeals process.
    (E) The Commission on Higher
Education shall:
       (1) audit institutions with
unexplained disparities or inconsistent evaluation practices;
       (2) review anonymized decisions for
adherence to published criteria; and
       (3) require corrective enforcement
where necessary.
    (F)(1) Each public institution of higher
learning must certify compliance with:
  (a) equal protection standards;
  (b) consistent application of merit
criteria; and
  (c) assurance of nondiscriminatory
access.
       (2) The commission shall review
compliance reports and issue penalties as necessary.
    (G) The commission may promulgate
regulations to implement the provisions of this section.
SECTION
4.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on December 17, 2025 at 12:49 PM