South Carolina S 88: Prior Work Experience for Teachers

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 88 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 88

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 
59-25-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE MAY BE 
AWARDED ON AN INITIAL TEACHING CERTIFICATE IF THE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS IN OR RELATED 
TO THE CONTENT FIELD OF THE CERTIFICATE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT EXISTING 
CERTIFICATE HOLDERS MAY ALSO RECEIVE THE SAME CREDIT FOR PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 25, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
59-25-60. (A) When reviewing an 
application by an individual for an educator certificate, the State Department 
of Education shall award years of experience on the educator certificate for 
occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of the certificate 
for which the individual qualifies. One year of experience credit may be 
awarded for every two years of full-time relevant work experience completed by 
the individual. Years of experience shall be awarded solely for the purpose of 
advancement on the teacher salary schedule. To be eligible for years of 
experience on the educator certificate, the individual must complete and submit 
a verification of relevant work experience form developed by the State 
Department of Education with the application for an educator certificate.

 (B) 
Individuals who entered the teaching profession prior to July 1, 2025, with 
occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of their teaching 
certificate may complete and submit the verification of relevant work 
experience form to the State Department of Education to have additional years 
of experience added to their certificate for the purposes of advancing on the 
teacher salary schedule. If additional years of experience are awarded, the 
eligible individual is entitled to have their pay adjusted for the current 
school year to reflect the new experience step on the employing district's 
salary schedule. However, the individual is not entitled to retroactive pay for 
the increased years of experience during prior years of teaching or for any 
purpose other than advancement on the teacher salary schedule.

 (C) 
Nothing in this section alters any existing requirements for receiving an 
educator certificate. Individuals with the work experience identified in 
subsection (A) must still meet all other existing requirements in order to 
receive an educator certificate.

 (D) 
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing additional years of 
experience to be awarded for purposes other than advancement on the teacher 
salary schedule. Years of experience awarded pursuant to this section for 
relevant work experience are not considered service credit for the purposes of 
the state retirement or state health plans administered by PEBA.

SECTION 2. The 
State Department of Education shall make available the work experience 
verification form described in this act no later than ninety days after the act's 
approval by the Governor

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

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This web page was last updated on December 11, 2024 at 04:50 PM