South Carolina H 3470: School District Consolidation

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3470 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3470

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 
59-17-35 SO AS TO REQUIRE COUNTYWIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS NO LATER THAN JULY 1, 
2027; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-17-36 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTYWIDE 
SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY JULY 1, 2032.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 17, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
59-17-35. (A)(1) No later than July 
1, 2027, the area of each county of this State must be constituted as a school 
district and a county may not have multiple school districts within its 
boundaries. The General Assembly shall provide for the governance, fiscal 
authority, and administrative and operational responsibilities for a countywide 
school district if no provisions of law apply following the creation of the 
countywide school district as required in this section.

 (B) 
Upon the effective date of this act, school districts that need to consolidate 
to establish a countywide school district as described in subsection (A) must 
begin all prudent and essential preparations to achieve an efficient and 
well-organized consolidation.

SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
59-17-36. No later than July 1, 2032, countywide 
school districts must be consolidated into school districts as follows:

 (1) 
Anderson County, Oconee County, and Pickens County;

 (2) 
Berkley County, Charleston County, and Dorchester County;

 (3) 
Chesterfield County, Dillon County, and Marlboro County;

 (4) 
Allendale County, Bamberg County, and Barnwell County;

 (5) 
Darlington County, Florence County, and Marion County;

 (6) 
Georgetown County and Horry County;

 (7) 
Beaufort County, Colleton County, Hampton County, and Jasper County;

 (8) 
Calhoun County and Orangeburg County;

 (9) 
Cherokee County, Spartanburg County, and Union County;

 (10) 
Abbeville County, Edgefield County, Greenwood County, Laurens County, McCormick 
County, Newberry County, and Saluda County;

 (11) 
Chester County, Lancaster County, and York County;

 (12) 
Clarendon County, Kershaw County, Lee County, and Sumter County;

 (13) 
Greenville County;

 (14) 
Aiken County;

 (15) 
Fairfield County, Lexington County, and Richland County;

 (16) 
Williamsburg County.

The General Assembly shall 
provide for the governance, fiscal authority, and administrative and 
operational responsibilities for a school district if no provisions of law 
apply following the creation of the school district as required in this 
section.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 12:09 PM