South Carolina S 115: School Safety

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 115 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 115

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 SO AS TO ENACT 
THE "GUARDIANS OF OUR SCHOOLS ACT"; BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 66, TITLE 59 
SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR, THE GOVERNING BOARDS 
OF PUBLIC K-12 SCHOOLS MAY DESIGNATE EMPLOYEES AS SCHOOL GUARDIANS TO PROVIDE 
ARMED PROTECTION AND OTHER RELATED PUBLIC SAFETY FUNCTIONS ON THEIR CAMPUSES, 
TO DEFINE RELATED TERMINOLOGY, AND TO PROVIDE RELATED REQUIREMENTS; BY ADDING 
SECTION 23-23-112 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COUNCIL MUST DEVELOP A 
TRAINING PROGRAM AND GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL GUARDIANS THAT MUST BE OFFERED BY 
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-23-420, RELATING TO 
EXEMPTIONS FROM THE PROHIBITION ON POSSESSION OF FIREARM ON SCHOOL PROPERTY, SO 
AS TO EXEMPT SCHOOL GUARDIANS.

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Guardians of our Schools Act".

SECTION 2. Chapter 66, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 3

Guardians of our Schools Act

 Section 
59-66-310. For the purposes of this article:

 (1) "Firearm 
safe" means a protective storage container secured to the floor or wall for 
firearms and firearm ammunition and to which access is restricted by use of 
combination lock, key, digital lock, or fingerprint identification. A firearm 
safe must be certified by Underwriters Laboratories or its successor 
organization. The school administrators shall designate the locations of 
firearm safes in each applicable school which should be easily accessible and 
in close proximity to each designated school guardian.

 (2) 
"Public school" has the same meaning as Section 59-1-120 and includes 
kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, secondary school, junior high 
school, or high school as defined in Section 59-1-150.

 (3) "Public 
school employee" means a person employed by a school district, as defined in 
Section 59-1-160.

 (4) "School" 
means a K-12 public school.

 (5) 
"School guardian" means a person certified as having successfully completed a 
training course offered by the Law Enforcement Training Council and Criminal 
Justice Academy pursuant to Section 23-23-112 and intended to provide armed 
protection and other specific public safety and first responder functions to 
public school children and employees during an active assailant situation. A 
school guardian has no authority to act in any law enforcement capacity except 
to the extent necessary to prevent or abate an active assailant incident on a 
school premises.

 Section 
59-66-320. (A) Beginning with the 
2025-2026 School Year, a school board may designate public school employees as 
school guardians to provide armed protection and other specific public safety 
and first responder functions to attendees and employees of each public school 
during an active assailant situation, with specialized training from the 
Criminal Justice Academy as required by the Law Enforcement Training Council. 
The responsibilities and duties of a school guardian are voluntary and are in 
addition to his normal responsibilities and duties. Compensation, if any, for 
additional duties relating to service as a school guardian must be funded by 
the employing school, which is prohibited from using state funds to provide 
this compensation.

 (B) The 
school board shall also designate a list of acceptable firearms and ammunition 
for use by each school guardian.

 Section 
59-66-330. (A) A person designated 
as a school guardian may possess a firearm on the school premises if he:

 (1) 
holds a valid concealed weapons permit pursuant to Article 4, Chapter 31, Title 
23;

 (2) 
successfully completes school guardian training pursuant to Section 23-23-112;

 (3) 
keeps the weapon locked in the school firearm safe until confronted by an 
active assailant situation; and

 (4) 
has no history of violence or unmanaged anger, mental health or substance abuse 
issues documented by his employer.

 (B) A 
public school employee who seeks designation as a school guardian shall apply 
for the designation in writing to the school by whom he is employed, using 
forms created by the state Department of Education, in conjunction with SLED 
and furnished by the school in its administrative offices and on its internet 
website. An applicant also shall submit with the application proof that he 
holds the permit and certification required in subsection (A).

 (C) A 
school board shall hold a public hearing to decide whether to designate any of 
its employees as school guardians before the school board may designate an 
employee to serve as a school guar