South Carolina H 4604: Merit and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Act of 2026

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4604 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4604

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 "MERIT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 
2026"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-680 SO AS TO ENSURE THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF 
DEI STRUCTURES AND RACE-CONSCIOUS CONSIDERATIONS, ADMISSIONS, HIRING, 
PROMOTION, AND RETENTION DECISIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA'S PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION 
SYSTEM ARE TRULY MERIT-BASED, TRANSPARENT, AND AUDITABLE.

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

SECTION 
1. This act may 
be cited as the "Merit and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Act of 2026."

SECTION 2. (A) The legislative intent of 
this act is to protect:

 (1) 
equal opportunity in admissions and employment;

 (2) 
lawful nondiscrimination and due process;

 (3) 
public trust in institutional fairness; and

 (4) 
South Carolina's future workforce and competitiveness.

 (B) 
This act does not create preferences or quotas. It only prevents hidden 
discrimination under a "merit" banner.

SECTION 3. Article 2, Chapter 101, Title 
59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 Section 59-101-680. (A)(1) Each public institution of higher 
learning must publish before each admission and hiring cycle:

 (a) evaluation criteria and scoring 
categories;

 (b) weighting systems; and

 (c) eligibility thresholds and 
required documentation.

 (2) Undisclosed criteria may not be 
used in the admissions or hiring process.

 (B)(1) Annually, each public institution 
of higher learning must publish on its website:

 (a) applicant pools versus admitted 
student demographics;

 (b) hiring pools versus faculty 
hires; and

 (c) retention, graduation, tenure, 
and promotion outcomes.

 (2) Institutions with persistent 
disparities must submit corrective action plans focused on process 
improvements.

 (C) To maintain constitutional equal 
protection:

 (1) evaluators must complete 
bias-prevention training grounded in civil rights compliance;

 (2) all adverse evaluation decisions 
must include documented reason codes tied to published criteria; and

 (3) records must be retained and 
available for review.

 (D) Applicants and job candidates may 
request anonymized comparative scorecards and challenge procedural errors 
through an established appeals process.

 (E) The Commission on Higher 
Education shall:

 (1) audit institutions with 
unexplained disparities or inconsistent evaluation practices;

 (2) review anonymized decisions for 
adherence to published criteria; and

 (3) require corrective enforcement 
where necessary.

 (F)(1) Each public institution of higher 
learning must certify compliance with:

 (a) equal protection standards;

 (b) consistent application of merit 
criteria; and

 (c) assurance of nondiscriminatory 
access.

 (2) The commission shall review 
compliance reports and issue penalties as necessary.

 (G) The commission may promulgate 
regulations to implement the provisions of this section.

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

----XX----

This web page was last updated on December 17, 2025 at 12:49 PM