South Carolina H 4739: College Safety Training Programs for Students

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4739 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4739

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 ARTICLE 
4 TO CHAPTER 101, TITLE 59 SO AS TO REQUIRE EACH PUBLIC COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY, 
AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE IN THIS STATE AND EACH INDEPENDENT INSTITUTION OF HIGHER 
EDUCATION IN THIS STATE THAT RECEIVES CERTAIN LOTTERY SCHOLARSHIP-FUNDED 
TUITION PAYMENTS TO IMPLEMENT A SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ALL NEW STUDENTS, 
TO PROVIDE EXCLUSIONS FROM THE PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS OF THE 
PROGRAMS, TO REQUIRE EACH INSTITUTION TO COMPILE AND ANNUALLY REPORT CERTAIN 
CAMPUS CRIME STATISTICS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL REPORTING 
REQUIREMENTS, AND TO PROVIDE ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 101, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 4

College Safety Training Programs for Students

 Section 
59-101-810. As used in this article:

 (1) 
"Institution of higher learning" means each public college, public university, 
private college, private university, and technical college in this State that 
receives tuition payments from a South Carolina Education Lottery-funded 
scholarship or grant.

 (2) 
"Public safety director" means the director or equivalent designated leader of 
a campus public safety department.

 (3) 
"Campus public safety department" means the division of an institution of 
higher learning that provides law enforcement and safety services to the institution.

 Section 
59-101-820. (A) Each institution 
of higher learning shall develop and implement a safety training program for 
all new students. The training must be administered during the student's 
initial orientation or within the first thirty days of the student's arrival on 
campus. The provisions of this subsection apply to undergraduate and graduate 
students who are enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis and physically 
attend class on campus. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to:

 (1) 
students who are only enrolled in adult education, dual enrollment, or 
certificate programs;

 (2) 
continuing education students; and

 (3) 
transient students.

 (B)(1) The training program for an 
institution of higher learning to which the provisions of this article apply 
pursuant to subsection (A) must be developed by the institution's public safety 
director, in coordination with the institution's president and governing board. 
In the absence of a campus public safety department, a technical college or an 
independent institution of higher learning to which the provisions of this 
article apply pursuant to subsection (A) shall contract with the security 
personnel that it uses on campus to develop and implement the student safety 
training in coordination with the president and governing board.

 (2) 
Notwithstanding the provisions of item (1), the president of the University of 
South Carolina system, in coordination with the governing board, shall work 
with the appropriate administrative personnel, public safety personnel, or both 
at each system institution to ensure that each campus implements a training 
program as required by this chapter.

 (3) 
The content, format, and delivery method of the training must be determined by 
each institution and may include orientation programs, first-year experience 
courses, online modules, or any other methods considered appropriate by the institution.

 (C) 
A student safety training program must include information and instruction on 
the following topics:

 (1) 
personal safety and situational awareness on campus;

 (2) 
emergency procedures, including evacuation, lockdown, and shelter-in-place 
protocols;

 (3) 
how to access campus security services, emergency alerts, and communication 
systems;

 (4) 
prevention of and response to sexual assault, dating violence, domestic 
violence, and stalking, including Title IX rights and reporting procedures;

 (5) 
the role and contact information of the institution's behavioral intervention 
team or threat assessment team, if applicable; and

 (6) 
bystander intervention strategies and safe reporting practices.

 (D) Institutions 
may tailor their training to the unique needs, size, and resources of their 
campus, and may include additional topics as considered appropriate.

 (E)(1) Before January thirty-first of 
each academic year:

 (a) 
each public college and university and each independent institution of higher 
learning to which the provisions of this article apply pursuant to subsection 
(A) shall submit an annual report to the Commission on Higher Education; and

 (b) 
each technical college shall submit an annual report to the State Board for 
Tech