South Carolina H 4761: Barbara Willingham Jones, sympathy

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4761 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 26, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4761

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

Committee Report

March 26, 2026

H. 4761

Introduced by Reps. Erickson, Taylor, Bradley, 
Brewer, Chapman, Crawford, Davis, Duncan, Forrest, Gatch, Gilliam, Guest, 
Haddon, Hardee, Hartnett, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, J. E. 
Johnson, Lawson, Long, Lowe, McCravy, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, Oremus, W. Newton, 
Pedalino, Pope, Robbins, Sanders, Sessions, G. M. Smith, M. M. Smith, Vaughan, 
Whitmire, Wickensimer, Willis, Yow, Magnuson, Terribile, Teeple, Pace, Cromer, 
Edgerton, D. Mitchell, Gilreath, Huff, Frank, White and Kilmartin 

S. Printed 3/26/26--H.

Read the first time January 13, 2026

________

The committee on House Education and 
Public Works

To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4761) to amend 
the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-101-15 so as to provide 
annual evaluations of faculty at public institutions of higher learning in, etc., 
respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered 
the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

SHANNON ERICKSON for Committee.

statement of estimated fiscal impact

Explanation of Fiscal Impact

State Expenditure

This bill requires state institutions of 
higher learning to establish an annual performance evaluation policy for all 
faculty members as well as a post-tenure review process for every tenured 
faculty member. The annual faculty performance evaluation as well as the 
post-tenure review process must be reviewed by the institution's president in 
consultation with the provost no less than every five years, with any policy 
updates requiring approval by the institution's board of trustees. Performance 
evaluations and post-tenure review must utilize criteria listed in the bill, 
including teaching, research, service, administration, and any other categories 
as determined by the institution. The bill requires that the post-tenure review 
process occurs no less than once every six years after the faculty has gained 
tenure and that the process may not exceed a period of nine months for each 
faculty member. The bill sets guidelines for cases in which tenured faculty 
subsequently accepts an administrative position or in cases in which a tenured 
faculty member does not meet performance expectations. The bill provides that 
state institutions may initiate a termination for cause of a faculty member at 
any time and lists reasons that may result in the causal termination of a 
faculty member. 

The bill requires institutions of higher 
learning to provide a joint letter signed by the institution's president and 
board chair before November fifteenth of each year affirming that the 
institution is in compliance with the annual performance review requirements as 
well as post-tenure review process to the Chairman of the Senate Education 
Committee, Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee, and 
Chairman of CHE.

Commission on Higher Education. CHE 
reports that this bill will have no resulting expenditure impact, as overseeing 
compliance with the bill's requirements by the institutions of higher learning 
will take place under normal agency operations. 

State Institutions of Higher Learning. 
This bill is not expected to have a significant impact on Clemson, MUSC, CCU, 
CofC, Winthrop, Lander, and the Citadel, based on responses from these 
institutions. MUSC, CCU, Winthrop, and Lander all indicate that existing 
performance and post-tenure review procedures are in place and the institution 
is in compliance with the requirements of the bill. USC states that the bill 
will have an undetermined expenditure impact pending further review and may 
involve adjustments to existing administrative processes including faculty 
management systems, central review functions, and related support activities at 
the college and department levels. These activities may entail additional 
administrative coordination associated with faculty review and reporting.

Technical College System. The Tech 
System indicates that the requirements of the bill align with current 
evaluation practices for full-time faculty and will have no expenditure impact 
on the system. 

Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director

Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office

_______

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
59-101-15 SO AS TO PROVIDE ANNUAL EVALUATIONS OF FACULTY AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 
OF HIGHER LEARNING IN THIS STATE, TO REQUIRE SCHOOLS ADOPT RELATED POLICIES, TO 
PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POLICIES, AND TO PROVIDE RELATED PROCEDURES AND 
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-17 SO AS TO require PUBLIC 
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING SHALL ESTABLISH POST-TENURE REVIEW PROCESSES