South Carolina H 5354: Department of Social Services

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5354 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 11, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5354

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 63-7-2355 SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT 
CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE WHO ARE PLACED IN RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES BE ASSIGNED TO 
SEX-SPECIFIC FACILITIES BASED ON THE CHILD'S ANATOMICAL SEX AT BIRTH AS 
RECOGNIZED ON THEIR ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

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

SECTION 1. Article 5, Chapter 7, Title 63 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
63-7-2355. (A) Any residential 
facility licensed by the Department of Social Services for the placement of 
children in foster care shall assign residents to housing units, sleeping 
quarters, and other sex-specific facilities based strictly upon the 
individual's anatomical sex at birth as recognized on their original birth 
certificate and shall not take into consideration the gender identity of the 
child.

 (B) 
The department is responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcing the 
provisions of this section.

 (C) 
Any residential facility found to be in wilful violation of this section is 
subject to administrative penalties, up to and including licensing sanctions.

 (D) 
For the purposes of this section, "residential facility" means a group home, 
residential treatment center, or other facility that, pursuant to a contract 
with or a license or permit issued by the department, provides residential 
services to children in the custody of the department. This includes, but is 
not limited to, child caring institutions, emergency shelters, group homes, 
wilderness therapeutic camps, and organizations with supervised individual 
living facilities.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on March 11, 2026 at 11:12 AM