H 5120

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5120
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Committee Amendment Adopted
May 13, 2026
H. 5120
Introduced by Reps. Cox, Garvin, Holman, T.
Moore, Sessions, Wetmore, C. Mitchell and Yow
S. Printed 5/13/26--S.
Read the first time March 10, 2026
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-19-2020, RELATING TO
CONFIDENTIALITY OF JUVENILE RECORDS, SO AS TO CLARIFY WHEN NOTICE ABOUT THE
DISPOSITION OF A CASE AGAINST A CHILD CHARGED WITH CERTAIN OFFENSES MUST BE
PROVIDED TO A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, AND TO CLARIFY WHEN JUVENILE FINGERPRINT
RECORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TAKEN, HOW THESE RECORDS ARE MAINTAINED, AND THE
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THESE RECORDS MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO ANOTHER AGENCY OR
PERSON; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-19-2030, RELATING TO JUVENILE LAW
ENFORCEMENT RECORDS, SO AS TO CLARIFY WHEN INCIDENT REPORTS ABOUT A CHILD
CHARGED WITH CERTAIN OFFENSES MUST BE PROVIDED TO A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL.
    Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 63-19-2020 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
63-19-2020.  (A) Except as
provided herein, all information obtained and records prepared in the discharge
of official duty by an employee of the court or department are confidential and
must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than the judge,
the child's attorney, or others entitled under this chapter or any other
provision of law to receive this information, unless otherwise ordered by the
court. The court may order the records be disclosed to a person having a
legitimate interest and to the extent necessary to respond to that legitimate
interest. However, these records are open to inspection without a court order
where the records are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a
child.
    (B)
The director of the department must develop policies providing for the
transmission of necessary and appropriate information to ensure the provision
and coordination of services or assistance to a child under the custody or
supervision of the department. This information must include that which is
required for the admission or enrollment of a child into a program of services,
treatment, training, or education. The information may be provided to another
department or agency of state or local government, a school district, or a
private institution or facility licensed by the State as a child-serving
organization. This information may be summarized in accordance with agency
policy.
    (C)
The director is authorized to enter into interagency agreements for purposes of
sharing information about children under the supervision or in the custody of
the department. The agencies entering into these agreements must maintain the
confidentiality of the information.
    (D)
Reports and recommendations produced by the department for the court for the
purpose of a dispositional hearing must be disseminated by the agency to the
court, the solicitor, and the child's attorney.
    (E)(1) The department must notify the
principal of a school in which a child is enrolled, intends to be enrolled, or
was last enrolled upon final disposition of a case in which the child is
charged with any of the following offenses:
  (a)
a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;
  (b)
a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used;
  (c)
assault and battery against school personnel, as defined
in Section 16-3-612 where the victim is a school
employee or volunteer;
  (d)
assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds
or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in
an official capacity; or
  (e)
distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter
53 of Title 44.
       (2)
Each school district is responsible for developing a policy for schools within
the district to follow to ensure that the confidential nature of a child
offense history and other information received is maintained. This policy must
provide for, but is not limited to:
  (a)
the retention of the child offense history and other information relating to
the child offense history in the child's school disciplinary file or in some
other confidential location;
  (b)
the destruction of the child offense history upon the child's completion of
secondary school or upon reaching twenty-one years of age; and
  (c)
limiting access to the child's school disciplinary file to school personnel.
This access must only occur when necessary and appropriate to meet and
adequately address the educational needs of the child.
    (F)
When requested, the department must provide the victim of a crime with the name
of the child and the following information retained by the department
concerning the child charged with the crime:
       (1)
other basic descriptive information, including but not limited to, a
photograph;
       (2)
information about the juvenile justice system;
       (3)
the status and disposition of the delinquency action including hearing dates,
times, and locations;
       (4)
services available to victims of child crime; and
       (5)
recommendations produced by the department for the court for the purpose of a
dispositional hearing.
    (G)
The department or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or both, must
provide to the Attorney General, a solicitor, or a law enforcement agency, upon
request, a copy of a child offense history for criminal justice purposes. This
information must not be disseminated except as authorized in Section
63-19-2030. The department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division must
maintain the child offense history of a person for the same period as for
offenses committed by an adult.
    (H)
Other information retained by the department may be provided to the Attorney
General, a solicitor, or a law enforcement agency pursuant to an ongoing
criminal investigation or prosecution.
    (I)
The department may must fingerprint
and photograph a child upon the filing of a petition,
release from detention, release on house arrest, or commitment to a juvenile
correctional institution as part of the admission
process to any secure facility operated by the agency. Fingerprints and
photographs taken by the department remain confidential and must not be transmitted to the State Law Enforcement Division, and kept separate from the
fingerprint records of adults. The agency and the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division must not transmit the child's fingerprints and photographs except to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or another agency or person, except for the purpose of:
       (1)
aiding the department in apprehending an escapee from the department;
       (2)
assisting the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or
identification of a missing or runaway child;
       (3)
locating and identifying a child who fails to appear in court as summoned;
       (4)
locating a child who is the subject of a house arrest order; or
       (5)
as otherwise provided in this section.
    (J)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any statutory or common law
privileges attached to the department's internal reports or to information
contained in the file of a child under the supervision or custody of the
department.
SECTION 2.  Section 63-19-2030 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
63-19-2030.  (A) Except as
provided herein, law enforcement records and information identifying children
pursuant to this chapter are confidential and may not be disclosed directly or
indirectly to anyone, other than those entitled under this chapter to receive
the information.
    (B)
Law enforcement records of children must be kept separate from records of
adults. Information identifying a child must not be open to public inspection,
but the remainder of these records are public records.
    (C)
Law enforcement agencies must maintain admission and release records on
children held in secure custody, nonsecure custody, or both. The records must
include the times and dates of admission and release from secure and nonsecure
custody and, if appropriate, the times and dates of transfer from one custody
status to another.
    (D)
Law enforcement information or records of children created pursuant to the
provisions of this chapter may be shared among law enforcement agencies,
solicitors' offices, the Attorney General, the department, the Office Department of Mental
Health, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Probation, Parole
and Pardon Services for criminal justice purposes without a court order.
    (E)
Incident reports in which a child is the subject are to be provided to the
victim of a crime pursuant to Section 16-3-1520. Incident reports, including
information identifying a child, must be provided by law enforcement to the
principal of the school in which the child is enrolled when the child has been
charged with any of the following offenses:
       (1)
a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;
       (2)
an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or
more if committed by an adult;
       (3)
a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used;
       (4)
assault and battery against school personnel, as defined
in Section 16-3-612 where the victim is a school
employee or volunteer;
       (5)
assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds
or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in
an official capacity; or
       (6)
distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter
53 of Title 44.
    Incident reports
involving other offenses must be provided upon request of the principal. This
information must be maintained by the principal in the manner set forth in
Section 63-19-2020(E) and must be forwarded with the child's permanent school
records if the child transfers to another school or school district.
    (F)
A child charged with any offense may be photographed by the law enforcement
agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is taken into secure
custody and detained, the detention facility must photograph the child upon
admission. These photographs may only be disseminated for criminal justice
purposes or to assist the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or
identification of a missing or runaway child.
    (G)
A child charged with an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment
of five years or more if committed by an adult must be fingerprinted by the law
enforcement agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is taken
into secure custody and detained, the detention facility must fingerprint the
child upon admission. In addition, a law enforcement agency may petition the
court for an order to fingerprint a child when:
       (1)
the child is charged with any other offense; or
       (2)
the law enforcement agency has probable cause to suspect the child of
committing any offense.
    (H)
The fingerprint records of a child must be kept separate from the fingerprint
records of adults. The fingerprint records of a child must be transmitted to
the files of the State Law Enforcement Division.
    (I)
The fingerprint records of a child may be transmitted by the State Law
Enforcement Division to the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation only
when the child has been adjudicated delinquent for having committed an offense
that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if
committed by an adult.
    (J)
The fingerprint records of a child adjudicated delinquent for an offense that
would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed
by an adult must be provided by the State Law Enforcement Division or the law
enforcement agency who took the child into custody to a law enforcement agency
upon request by that agency for criminal justice purposes or to assist the
Missing Person Information Center in the location or identification of a
missing or runaway child.
    (K)
The fingerprints and any record created by the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division as a result of the receipt of fingerprints of a child pursuant to Section 63-19-2020(I) and this section must not be
disclosed for any purpose not specifically authorized by law or court order.
    (L)
Upon notification that a child has not been adjudicated delinquent for an
offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more
if committed by an adult, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the
law enforcement agency who took the child into custody must destroy the
fingerprints and all records created as a result of such information.
SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on May 13, 2026 at 07:11 PM