South Carolina S 840: Parental Bill of Rights

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 840 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 21, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 840

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 "PARENTAL RIGHTS ACT"; BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 28, TITLE 59 SO AS TO 
DEFINE TERMS PERTAINING TO PARENTAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION; TO AFFIRM AND 
ENUMERATE THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF PARENTS TO DIRECT THE UPBRINGING, 
EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, AND GENERAL WELFARE OF THEIR CHILDREN; TO REQUIRE THE 
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ADOPT MINIMUM STANDARDS TO IMPLEMENT PARENTAL 
RIGHTS; TO REQUIRE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES TO ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT RELATED 
POLICIES; TO ESTABLISH ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND 
RESOLUTION OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS; AND TO PROVIDE FOR A LIMITED PRIVATE CAUSE OF 
ACTION UPON EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES; BY AMENDING SECTION 
63-5-340, RELATING TO A MINOR'S CONSENT TO HEALTH SERVICES, SO AS TO DEFINE 
TERMS PERTAINING TO A MINOR'S CONSENT TO HEALTH SERVICES, TO EXPAND 
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARENTAL CONSENT FOR NONEMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT OF MINORS, 
AND TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES FOR VIOLATIONS ALLEGED BY PARENTS; BY 
DESIGNATING THE EXISTING PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 28, TITLE 59 AS "GENERAL 
PROVISIONS"; BY REPEALING SECTION 63-5-350 RELATING TO HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDED 
TO MINORS WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT; AND BY REPEALING SECTION 63-5-370 RELATING 
TO THE PROVISION THAT ANY CONSENT GIVEN PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE SHALL NOT BE 
SUBJECT TO DISAFFIRMANCE BECAUSE OF MINORITY WHEN SUCH MINOR REACHES MAJORITY.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Parental Rights Act".

SECTION 2. Chapter 28, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 3

Parental Rights in Education

 Section 
59-28-310. As used in this article:

 (1) 
"Child" means an unemancipated individual who has not attained 
eighteen years of age.

 (2) 
"Curriculum" includes all textbooks, handouts, videos, software, 
questionnaires, surveys, or other written or electronic materials used to 
instruct students in a class or course.

 (3) 
"Decision-making authority" means the power granted by the State to a 
nonparent to make important decisions regarding a child, including decisions 
regarding the child's education, religious training, healthcare, 
extracurricular activities, and travel.

 (4) 
"Educational records" means all data and information about a child in 
the possession or control of an LEA or any employee or agent of an LEA 
including, but not limited to, attendance records, test scores of assessments, 
screeners, and any other test administered by the school and statewide 
assessments, grades, extracurricular activity or club participation, email 
accounts, online or virtual accounts or data, disciplinary records, counseling 
records, psychological records, applications for admission, medical records, 
immunization information, teacher and counselor evaluations, and reports of 
behavioral patterns.

 (5) 
"Local Education Agency" or "LEA" means a local education 
agency, to include the sponsor of a public charter school pursuant to Section 
59-40-40, and the:

 (a) 
Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities;

 (b) 
Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe;

 (c) 
Special School of Science and Mathematics, also referred to as the Governor's 
School for Science and Mathematics;

 (d) 
Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School; and

 (e) 
South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind.

 (6) 
"Parent" means:

 (a) 
a biological parent, adoptive parent, or person with legal custody, excluding 
an individual whose parental relationship to the child has been legally 
terminated; or

 (b) 
an individual who has been granted decision-making authority over the child by 
court order or under state law.

 (7) 
"State" means the State of South Carolina, any school district in 
this State, to include charter authorizers, and any political subdivision of 
the State and includes a branch, department, agency, board, commission, 
instrumentality, entity, or officer, employee, official of the State, school 
district, or a political subdivision of the State, or any other person acting 
under color of law.

 Section 
59-28-320. (A) The liberty of a 
parent to the care, custody, and control of the parent's child, including the 
right to direct the upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health of the 
child, is a fundamental right.

 (B) 
The State shall not substantially burden the fundamental rights of a parent 
under this article unless the State demonstrates that the burden, as applied to 
the parent and the child, is in furtherance of a compelling state interest and 
is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling state