South Carolina H 3758: A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE JUSTIN BRYANT MATTHEWS FOR HIS REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA AND TO SALUTE HIM UPON ACHIEVING THE CELEBRATED RANK OF EAGLE SCOUT, THE HIGHEST AWARD IN SCOUTING.

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3758 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3758

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Amended

April 30, 2025

H. 3758

Introduced 
by Reps. Mitchell and Yow 

S. Printed 4/30/25--H.

Read the first time January 15, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 59-1-435, RELATING TO THE RELIGIOUS VIEWPOINTS ANTIDISCRIMINATION ACT, 
SO AS TO PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT CERTAIN POLICIES CONCERNING 
LIMITED PUBLIC FORUMS AND VOLUNTARY STUDENT EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS VIEWPOINTS 
before the 2026-2027 school year, AND TO PROVIDE A MODEL POLICY THAT SCHOOLS 
MAY ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THESE POLICY REQUIREMENTS.

 Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. Section 59-1-435 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
59-1-435. (A) This section may be 
cited as the "Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act."

 (B) As 
used in this section, "discriminate" means to make a distinction in favor of or 
against a person on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the 
person belongs, rather than according to actual merit.

 (C) A 
school district and charter schools shall treat a 
student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an 
otherwise permissible subject in the same manner the district treats a student's 
voluntary expression of a secular or other viewpoint on an otherwise 
permissible subject and must not discriminate against the student based on a 
religious viewpoint expressed by the student on an otherwise permissible 
subject.

 (D)(1) To ensure that the school district 
does not discriminate against a student's publicly stated voluntary expression 
of a religious viewpoint, if any, and to eliminate any actual or perceived 
affirmative school sponsorship or attribution to the district of a student's 
expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, a school district and charter 
school shall adopt a policy which must include the establishment of a limited 
public forum for student speakers at all school events at which a student is to 
publicly speak. This policy must be adopted and implemented before the 
beginning of the 2026-2027 School Year. The policy regarding the limited public 
forum must also require the school district and charter school to:

 (a) provide the forum in a manner that 
does not discriminate against a student's voluntary expression of a religious 
viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible subject;

 (b) provide a method, based on neutral 
criteria, for the selection of student speakers at school events and graduation 
ceremonies;

 (c) ensure that a student speaker does 
not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech; and

 (d) state, in writing, orally, or both, 
that the student's speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, 
position, or expression of the district.

 (2) A school district and charter 
school disclaimer must be provided at all graduation ceremonies. The school 
district and charter school must also continue to provide the disclaimer at any 
other event in which a student speaks publicly for as long as a need exists to 
dispel confusion over the district's nonsponsorship of the student's speech. 
The disclaimer must be stated in written or oral form, or both, such as, "The 
student giving the introduction for this event is a volunteering student 
selected on neutral criteria to introduce the event. The content of the 
introduction is the private expression of the student and does not reflect the 
endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the school district."

 (3) Student expression on an otherwise 
permissible subject may not be excluded from the limited public forum because 
the subject is expressed from a religious viewpoint.

 (D)(E) A student may express his beliefs about religion in 
homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from 
discrimination based on the religious content of his submission. Homework and 
classroom assignments must be judged by ordinary academic standards of 
substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns 
identified by the school district. A student may not be penalized or rewarded 
based on the religious content of his work.

 (E)(F) Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, 
"see you at the pole" gatherings, or other religious gatherings before, during, 
and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize 
other noncurricular student activities and groups. Religious groups must be 
given the same access to school facilities for assembling as is given to other