South Carolina S 897: Tax rates for individuals, estates, and trusts

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 897 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 05, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 897

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 AMENDING 
SECTION 44-29-180, RELATING TO VACCINATION AND IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS OF 
SCHOOL PUPILS AND DAY CARE CENTER CHILDREN, SO AS TO REMOVE THE RELIGIOUS 
EXEMPTION FOR THE MMR VACCINE FOR CHILDREN ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS; BY 
AMENDING SECTION 59-8-110, RELATING TO EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP TRUST FUND 
DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE AN ELIGIBLE STUDENT AS ONE WHO HAS HAD A MMR 
VACCINE OR A MEDICAL EXEMPTION; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-41-20, RELATING TO 
CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR GRANTS, SO AS TO INCLUDE A REQUIREMENT THAT AN ELIGIBLE 
CHILD HAS A MMR VACCINE OR MEDICAL EXEMPTION; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-600 
SO AS TO MANDATE A PERSON MUST HAVE A MMR VACCINE TO ATTEND A PUBLIC 
INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING.

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

SECTION 1. Section 44-29-180 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
44-29-180. (A) No superintendent of 
an institution of learning, no school board or principal of a school, and no 
owner or operator of a public or private childcare facility as defined in 
Section 63-13-20 may admit as a pupil or enroll or retain a child or person who 
cannot produce satisfactory evidence of having been vaccinated or immunized so 
often as directed by the Department of Public 
Health and Environmental Control. Records of 
vaccinations or immunizations must be maintained by the institution, school, or 
day care facility to which the child or person has been admitted.

 (B) 
The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall monitor the immunization 
status of each child who is enrolled or retained in a licensed child day care 
facility or a registered church or religious child day care facility. The 
monitoring of day care facilities shall consist of a review of the immunization 
or vaccination records to insure that required immunizations are complete as 
recommended and routinely provided by the Department of 
Public Health and Environmental Control for 
all infants and children.

 (C) 
South Carolina Department of Public Health and Environmental Control Regulation 
61-8 60-8, as amended, "Vaccination, 
Screening and Immunization Regarding Contagious Diseases", and only its exemptions apply to this section; but the Department of Public Health or a local health 
department shall not grant a Certificate of Religious Exemption for the measles, 
mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

 (D) 
A South Carolina Certificate of Special Exemption signed by the school 
principal, authorized representative, or day care director may be issued to 
transfer students while awaiting arrival of medical records from their former 
area of residence or to other students who have been unable to secure 
immunizations or documentation of immunizations already received. A South 
Carolina Certificate of Special Exemption may be issued only once and is valid 
for only thirty calendar days from date of enrollment. At the expiration of 
this special exemption, the student must present a valid South Carolina 
Certificate of Immunization, a valid South Carolina Certificate of Medical 
Exemption, or a valid South Carolina Certificate of Religious Exemption.

 (E) 
Registered family day care homes are exempt from requirements of this section.

SECTION 2. Section 59-8-110(4) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (4) "Eligible student" means a student 
who:

 (a) 
is a resident of this State; and

 (b)(i) has attained at least the age of 
five on or before September first of the school year in which scholarship funds 
are awarded;

 (ii) 
in School Year 2025-2026, has a household income that does not exceed three 
hundred percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and

 (iii) 
in School Year 2026-2027, and all subsequent years has a household income that 
does not exceed five hundred percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and.

 (c) has a valid South Carolina 
Certificate of Immunization that shows the student has been administered at 
least two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine or a valid 
South Carolina Certificate of Medcical Exemption.

 "Eligible student" 
does not include students participating in the Educational Credit for 
Exceptional Needs Children's Fund program, as provided in Section 12-6-3790 or 
a student who is not subject to the compulsory attendance requirements of 
Section 59-65-10.

SECTION 3. Section 59-41-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
59-41-20. Subject to the terms and provisions of this chapter every school 
child in the State who has not yet finished or graduated from high school, has a valid South Carolina Certificate of Immunization