South Carolina H 5120: Fingerprinting, offenses by minors

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5120 Text of Previous Version (May. 13, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5120

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

Committee Amendment Adopted

May 13, 2026

H. 5120

Introduced by Reps. Cox, Garvin, Holman, T. 
Moore, Sessions, Wetmore, C. Mitchell and Yow 

S. Printed 5/13/26--S.

Read the first time March 10, 2026

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-19-2020, RELATING TO 
CONFIDENTIALITY OF JUVENILE RECORDS, SO AS TO CLARIFY WHEN NOTICE ABOUT THE 
DISPOSITION OF A CASE AGAINST A CHILD CHARGED WITH CERTAIN OFFENSES MUST BE 
PROVIDED TO A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, AND TO CLARIFY WHEN JUVENILE FINGERPRINT 
RECORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TAKEN, HOW THESE RECORDS ARE MAINTAINED, AND THE 
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THESE RECORDS MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO ANOTHER AGENCY OR 
PERSON; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-19-2030, RELATING TO JUVENILE LAW 
ENFORCEMENT RECORDS, SO AS TO CLARIFY WHEN INCIDENT REPORTS ABOUT A CHILD 
CHARGED WITH CERTAIN OFFENSES MUST BE PROVIDED TO A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL.

 Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. Section 63-19-2020 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
63-19-2020. (A) Except as 
provided herein, all information obtained and records prepared in the discharge 
of official duty by an employee of the court or department are confidential and 
must not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than the judge, 
the child's attorney, or others entitled under this chapter or any other 
provision of law to receive this information, unless otherwise ordered by the 
court. The court may order the records be disclosed to a person having a 
legitimate interest and to the extent necessary to respond to that legitimate 
interest. However, these records are open to inspection without a court order 
where the records are necessary to defend against an action initiated by a 
child.

 (B) 
The director of the department must develop policies providing for the 
transmission of necessary and appropriate information to ensure the provision 
and coordination of services or assistance to a child under the custody or 
supervision of the department. This information must include that which is 
required for the admission or enrollment of a child into a program of services, 
treatment, training, or education. The information may be provided to another 
department or agency of state or local government, a school district, or a 
private institution or facility licensed by the State as a child-serving 
organization. This information may be summarized in accordance with agency 
policy.

 (C) 
The director is authorized to enter into interagency agreements for purposes of 
sharing information about children under the supervision or in the custody of 
the department. The agencies entering into these agreements must maintain the 
confidentiality of the information.

 (D) 
Reports and recommendations produced by the department for the court for the 
purpose of a dispositional hearing must be disseminated by the agency to the 
court, the solicitor, and the child's attorney.

 (E)(1) The department must notify the 
principal of a school in which a child is enrolled, intends to be enrolled, or 
was last enrolled upon final disposition of a case in which the child is 
charged with any of the following offenses:

 (a) 
a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60;

 (b) 
a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used;

 (c) 
assault and battery against school personnel, as defined 
in Section 16-3-612 where the victim is a school 
employee or volunteer;

 (d) 
assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds 
or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in 
an official capacity; or

 (e) 
distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter 
53 of Title 44.

 (2) 
Each school district is responsible for developing a policy for schools within 
the district to follow to ensure that the confidential nature of a child 
offense history and other information received is maintained. This policy must 
provide for, but is not limited to:

 (a) 
the retention of the child offense history and other information relating to 
the child offense history in the child's school disciplinary file or in some 
other confidential location;

 (b) 
the destruction of the child offense history upon the child's completion of 
secondary school or upon reaching twenty-one years of age; and

 (c) 
limiting access to the child's school disciplinary file to school personnel. 
This access must only occur when necessary and appropriate to meet and 
adequately address the educational