South Carolina S 429: Private Providers

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 429 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 429

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 
5 TO CHAPTER 10, TITLE 59 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE EVALUATORS TO EVALUATE PUBLIC 
SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, OR THERAPEUTIC NEEDS, TO AUTHORIZE 
PRIVATE PROVIDERS TO PROVIDE RELATED SERVICES AT SCHOOLS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, 
TO SPECIFY THESE EVALUATIONS AND SERVICES ONLY MAY OCCUR UPON REQUEST OF THE 
PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF THE STUDENT, TO PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS MAY NOT PROHIBIT 
SUCH EVALUATIONS OR SERVICES IN SCHOOLS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, TO PROVIDE THE 
STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHALL ADOPT A RELATED MODEL POLICY, TO PROVIDE 
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MODEL POLICY, TO PROVIDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL ADOPT 
RELATED POLICIES, AND TO DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 10, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 5

Private Providers

 Section 
59-10-510. For purposes of this article:

 (1) "Evaluation" 
includes, but is not limited to, the following criteria:

 (a) 
diagnosis;

 (b) 
determination of intervention type;

 (c) 
determination of intervention length;

 (d) 
identification of the goals of a student;

 (e) 
identification of the impact of student behavior on the student's educational 
program; and

 (f) 
planning for involvement of the student's family in the student's treatment 
plan.

 (2) 
"Private provider" means a provider who renders health, behavioral health, or 
therapeutic services and is licensed by this State and in good standing or, if 
state licensure is not available, a provider who is certified by and in good 
standing with a national certification or accreditation organization. A private 
provider includes, but is not limited to:

 (a) 
speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists;

 (b) 
psychiatrists;

 (c) 
psychologists;

 (d) 
clinical social workers;

 (e) 
licensed professional counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists; 
and

 (f) 
behavioral interventionists and specialists including, but not limited to:

 (i) 
board certified behavior analysts;

 (ii) 
board certified assistant behavior analysts;

 (iii) 
board certified assistant behavior analyst doctoral practitioners; and

 (iv) 
certified registered behavior technicians under the appropriate supervision of 
a board certified behavior analyst or board certified assistant behavior 
analyst.

 (3) 
"Classroom aide" means a private paraprofessional who works under the 
supervision of a private provider to assist students with disabilities and 
deliver direct services to such students at school during the school day. A 
classroom aide is not a teacher aide as defined in Section 59-1-140 or other 
employee of a school district.

 (4) 
"Evaluator" means a private provider who is:

 (a) 
licensed to perform a medical, behavioral, or therapeutic evaluation at a 
parent or guardian's request;

 (b) 
not an employee of a public school district or the State Department of 
Education; and

 (c) 
licensed by this State and in good standing or, if state licensure is not 
available, a provider who is certified by and in good standing with a national 
certification or accreditation organization.

 (5) 
"Medically necessary service" means a service recommended or ordered by a 
healthcare provider who is:

 (a) 
licensed in this State or another state and provides services within 
twenty-five miles of the border of this State;

 (b) 
acting within the scope of the provider's license; and

 (c) 
covered by an independent third-party payor.

 Section 
59-10-520. A school board may not uniformly 
prohibit:

 (1) 
an evaluator from performing an evaluation of a student at a public school 
during school hours if the parent or legal guardian of the student requests 
such an evaluation from the evaluator; or

 (2) a 
private provider or classroom aide from providing medically necessary services 
authorized by an independent third-party payor to a student at a public school 
during school hours if the parent or legal guardian of the student requests 
such services from the provider or aide. For purposes of this section, an 
independent third-party payor includes, but is not limited to, Medicaid and 
commercial insurance.

 Section 
59-10-530. (A) The State Board of 
Education shall develop a model policy setting the parameters for evaluators to 
perform evaluations and for private providers and classroom aides to provide 
medically necessary services during the school day, including during instructional 
time, in compliance with:

 (1) 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. Section 1400