South Carolina S 1060: Elections

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 1060 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 26, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 1060

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 
14 TO CHAPTER 63, TITLE 59, SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO EDUCATOR SAFETY 
AND CLASSROOM AUTHORITY; TO INCLUDE RELEVANT EDUCATOR CLASSROOM AUTHORITY; TO 
PROVIDE FOR REFERRAL, REMOVAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FOLLOW-UP PROCESSES; TO 
PROVIDE PROTECTIONS FOR EDUCATORS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND STAFF; TO CREATE DUTIES 
FOR THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION; AND TO REQUIRE LOCAL DISTRICT BOARD OF 
TRUSTEES TO REVISE THEIR STUDENT AND STAFF CODES OF CONDUCT TO CONFORM WITH 
THIS ARTICLE WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE DATE OF ENACTMENT.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 63, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 15

Educator Safety and Classroom Authority

 Section 
59-63-1500. As used in this article:

 (1) 
"Abusive language" includes but is not limited to:

 (a) 
profane or obscene language that is verbal, written, or digital and directed at 
school staff;

 (b) 
name calling, which entails behavior intended to provoke someone in an 
insulting or contemptuous manner that is verbal, written, or digital; or

 (c) 
vulgar language, slurs, derogatory comments, defiance, or obscene gestures.

 (2) 
"Administrator" means the school principal or the principal's designated 
representative.

 (3) 
"Criminal conduct" means those activities defined in law and engaged in by a 
student that result in violence to oneself or another person or property or 
which pose a direct and serious threat to the safety of oneself or others in 
the school.

 (4) 
"Department" means the South Carolina Department of Education.

 (5) 
"Disruptive conduct" means student conduct that:

 (a) 
is directed against persons or property, the consequences of which tend to 
endanger the health or safety of oneself or others in the school;

 (b) 
significantly prevents a teacher from delivering planned lessons or maintaining 
an orderly classroom;

 (c) 
materially disrupts the learning environment for other students, including 
repeated refusal to follow directions; or

 (d) 
requires frequent or intensive intervention by school personnel to restore 
order.

 (6) 
"Educator" means any member of the instructional staff in an elementary or 
secondary public school to whom students are assigned for instruction, 
including but not limited to, classroom teachers, special education students, 
instructional aides, and others designated by the principal.

 (7) 
"Removal" means the act of requiring a student to leave the classrooms because 
of disruptive, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate behavior, pending further 
administrative disciplinary action.

 (8) 
"School" means a classroom, on school premises, on a school bus or other 
school-owned vehicle, at an official school bus stop, at school-sponsored 
activity or event, whether or not it is held on school premises or at another 
program or function where the school is responsible for the supervision and 
care of students.

 (9) 
"Staff" means all administrators, educators, or other employees of the school 
or districts.

 (10) 
"Student code of conduct" means the written conduct policy adopted by the local 
school district board of trustees.

 (11) 
"Threat of violence" means any statement, gesture, or other form of 
communication that conveys an intent to cause serious bodily injury or death to 
a student, school employee, or other person on school property, and that a 
responsible person would interpret as credible and imminent.

 (12) 
"Violence" means an action that causes physical harm.

 Section 
59-63-1510. (A) Students enrolled 
in a public school in this State are expected to:

 (1) 
follow schools rules;

 (2) 
respect the authority of school staff; and

 (3) 
engage in interventions or supports assigned in response to student misconduct.

 (B) 
Educators shall establish classroom rules and expectations for their students 
that are consistent with state law, state board of education policy, and local 
school district board policy, communicate them with parents, and implement 
consistent in-class routines to support effective classrooms management, 
engaging instruction, and clear expectations for student behavior.

 (C) 
Staff shall have authority over the classroom and all students enrolled in the 
school from the time students board school transportation or arrive at school 
for the state of the instructional day until the time they depart school 
grounds or have departed school transportation at the conclusion of the 
instructional day.

 (D) 
Subject to state law and district board policy, educators shall have explicit 
authority to:

 (1) 
establish classro