Governor Signs Charter School Bill – Creating Pathways to High Quality Charter School Growth
June 16, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – Governor Haley signed the House Bill H3853 into law on Thursday, June 12, 2014 refining the procedures of starting and closing public charter schools in South Carolina with a clear focus on student achievement. This bill creates alternative education campuses for students most at risk of not graduating from high school, implements rigorous new school development practices, and develops clear pathways to school closure for those public charter school not able to realize the vision set forth in their charter.
Unanimous final approval for the bill was given in both the Senate and the House last week during the closing hours of the regular legislative session. S.C. House Education Chairman Phil Owens was the leader on this bill in the statehouse and engaged charter school leaders and authorizers in strengthening charter school accountability and improving educational outcomes for students.
Mary Carmichael, Executive Director of the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, states, “The goal of these changes to the SC Charter School Act is to increase the effectiveness of the public charter schools in South Carolina. Charter schools are public schools. They sign a contract confirming their understanding that in exchange for their autonomy they will be held highly accountable for increasing educational outcomes and being excellent stewards of public funds.”
The law goes into effect immediately which changes the application procedures for new schools applying to open in the 2015-16 school year. Applicant groups will now apply directly to their sponsoring district since the Charter School Advisory Board is eliminated with this bill. There is some additional information the applicants will need to provide due to changes in the bill. Up to date application information and links can be found at http://www.sccharterschools.org/charter-application-resources .
Public charter schools will serve an estimated 26,000 students in South Carolina in 68 schools in the 2014-15 school year. Public charter schools now account for over 5% of all of South Carolina’s public schools.
