A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-25-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE MAY BE AWARDED ON AN INITIAL TEACHING CERTIFICATE IF THE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS IN OR RELATED TO THE CONTENT FIELD OF THE CERTIFICATE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT EXISTING CERTIFICATE HOLDERS MAY ALSO RECEIVE THE SAME CREDIT FOR PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE.

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

SECTION 1.  Chapter 25, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

    Section 59-25-60.  (A) When reviewing an application by an individual for an educator certificate, the State Department of Education shall award years of experience on the educator certificate for occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which the individual qualifies. One year of experience credit may be awarded for every two years of full-time relevant work experience completed by the individual. Years of experience shall be awarded solely for the purpose of advancement on the teacher salary schedule. To be eligible for years of experience on the educator certificate, the individual must complete and submit a verification of relevant work experience form developed by the State Department of Education with the application for an educator certificate.

    (B) Individuals who entered the teaching profession prior to July 1, 2025, with occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of their teaching certificate may complete and submit the verification of relevant work experience form to the State Department of Education to have additional years of experience added to their certificate for the purposes of advancing on the teacher salary schedule. If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible individual is entitled to have their pay adjusted for the current school year to reflect the new experience step on the employing district's salary schedule. However, the individual is not entitled to retroactive pay for the increased years of experience during prior years of teaching or for any purpose other than advancement on the teacher salary schedule.

    (C) Nothing in this section alters any existing requirements for receiving an educator certificate. Individuals with the work experience identified in subsection (A) must still meet all other existing requirements in order to receive an educator certificate.

    (D) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing additional years of experience to be awarded for purposes other than advancement on the teacher salary schedule. Years of experience awarded pursuant to this section for relevant work experience are not considered service credit for the purposes of the state retirement or state health plans administered by PEBA.

SECTION 2.  The State Department of Education shall make available the work experience verification form described in this act no later than ninety days after the act's approval by the Governor

SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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