Latest news with #PalmettoStateTeacher'sAssociation
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC bill could expand students' access to free school lunch
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – A bill in the state house is looking to give low-income students free school breakfast and lunches. Currently in South Carolina, students living in poverty can access free or reduced meals at school. A bill could make this provision a permanent state law. 'It's kind of a problem that's sort of already been solved,' Sen. Greg Hembree (R – Horry). It's really a question of it's in proviso we can keep it right there and let it ride, but quite honestly — I just don't like that practice. I think that's not a good way to legislate, and I think we've already got system that is working really well.' The bipartisan bill said students who qualify for the National School Lunch Program can get free meals. Some criteria needed to qualify as a student in poverty include being eligible for Medicaid benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits or being homeless, in foster care or transient. Sen. Hembree said many parents were not even aware that their child qualified for the program. 'You had all these children that for whatever reason they qualify, but their parents didn't apply for free lunch,' Sen. Humbree continued. 'They just didn't get on the list for whatever reason, and it literally doubled the number of districts and schools that were eligible.' School districts can participate in the Community Eligibility Provision known as more than 40% of students in a school district qualify, then the entire district could receive free school lunch. 'The school lunch provision has been in the state budget for the last two years. Now they've seen that it can work, that it has not caused disruptions to district operations or caused an unfunded mandate on districts,' explained Patrick Kelly with the Palmetto State Teacher's Association. An amendment made last week said if the CEP is discontinued by federal action, then the requirement to participate in the program is suspended. 'If the federal program went away, the state doesn't have the funding to backstop what the federal government is currently spending money on,' Kelly said. Kelly said this is a 'commonsense amendment' and will hopefully not impact the program, but it makes sense that lawmakers would be cautious. This program is funded by the Federal Department of Agriculture and does not use any state dollars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC House passes Educator Assistance Act early in session
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – Many teachers don't know where they will be teaching or how much they will be paid each year, which is worrying for them, students and their parents. 'It's a universal problem, there are certain core elements of teacher working conditions that are necessary to recruit retain teachers in all areas, across all subjects,' said Patrick Kelly, Palmetto State Teacher's Association. Last week the South Carolina House of Representatives unanimously passed the Educator Assistance Act, which improves teachers work life and gives them more flexibility in their contracts. One of the bill's goals is to address the teacher shortage in the state. The bill was passed in the House four times last session, but was never debated in the of the House, Education Committee Representative Kambrell Garvin (D-District 77) said the committee worked aggressively with members of the house to get this passed early, so that the senate has more than enough time to speak on it. 'It wasn't a Democrat bill or a Republican bill, it was a good bill for the people of South Carolina, the teachers of South Carolina and we recognize that when our teachers do well, our students will do well,' Garvin said. Garvin said this bill will also benefit students and their parents. 'We have seen our teachers leave the classroom in mass exodus and we know that that disadvantages families because when you have schools that are filled with inexperienced teachers, some of that institutional knowledge is lost,' Garvin said. Kelly said this bill is crucial, and urges the Senate to get this bill onto the governor's desk. 'Every policy in this bill addresses a real situation that's been experienced by teachers in South Carolina. Now, not every district is going to have these experiences,' Kelly said. 'Some districts are already, basically, engaging in best practices in advance but every policy addresses a real issue that's been faced by a teacher.' Senator Greg Hembree, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said his committee looks forward to discussing the bill further. Kelly said when the Palmetto State Teacher's Association polled their members, this was the first time in years that work conditions were more important to the majority of them, over teacher pay. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New bill aims to improve teacher contracts in South Carolina
GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – If you've ever been asked to sign a work contract without knowing how much you'll get paid and where you'll be working, that can be considered as a huge, red flag. Thousands of teachers across South Carolina have been doing that for decades. 'The contract lacks details that you would find in almost any other profession,' said Patrick Kelly, the Governmental Affairs Director with the Palmetto State Teacher's Association. 'It lacks the school location where you're going to be assigned. It doesn't have the course or grade level that you will be asked to teach, and most importantly, it doesn't have a salary figure attached to it.' Teachers have complained for years, and nothing has changed with previous state bills aimed at addressing the problems, failing to break through bureaucratic barriers every time. 'Most people that see a teacher contract from South Carolina say, 'I wouldn't sign it', but we have to,' said Sherry East, the President of the South Carolina Education Association. 'We don't have a choice. You either sign it or not.' Now, there's a new bill that on the horizon that teachers, advocates, and parents hope can rise above the rest that have failed to become law: the Educator Assistance Act. 'A similar, prior version of this bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously four times in the prior General Assembly. It just never got a hearing in the Senate,' said Kelly. The EAA passed the House Education and Public Works committee unanimously on Thursday. It's now heading to the hands of state senators. 'It's just a good, it's like [lawmakers] listened to what the things that are bothering teachers and what would help us,' said East. The EAA will make teacher contracts more transparent, create a leave bank teachers can donate to and pull from, and also address a common concern by teachers: license renewals. 'Right now, teachers have to go through an extensive renewal period every five years, and it's out of your own pocket. You have to pay for your 120 credit hours, or two graduate classes is basically what it comes down to. So this would eliminate that,' said East. Each school district already has some form of continuing education classes it offers to teachers. However as it stands currently, the time teachers spend on those courses don't count towards the 120 hours of professional development the South Carolina Department of Education requires for license renewal. Both East and Kelly explained that the bill wouldn't eliminate professional development requirements, but rather automate how the state tracks it. It would allow teachers to count district-provided, professional development courses towards the renewal requirements. East also expressed optimism about how the bill defines a 'breach of contract.' 'It gives teachers a little bit more leeway in getting it out of your contract, or how long your breach of contract is,' said East. 'Currently, it could take up to a year for the State Board of Education to hear your case, and then you could get your license suspended for the next year. So potentially, a teacher has sat out the classroom for two years, sometimes over a breach of contract.' The EAA also requires school districts to inform teachers of their school assignments within 14 days of the school year, something East said could leave to another 'big mess' if not implemented. 'In one of the counties here in the Midlands, they transferred [new] teachers at 45 days in. They've transferred 10 teachers from their classrooms at the 45 day mark, and so they took Kindergarten teachers and put them in Third Grade or Second Grade at a school across town mid-year,' said East. 'People flipped out. The teachers flipped out. The parents flipped out. The children were stressed out. It just wasn't a good situation.' East admitted she had been told to switch from teaching Biology during the Fall, to Chemistry coming back from Winter break several years ago which prompted her to voluntarily switch districts at the end of the school year. 'I was like, 'What?'' said East. 'I get no notice and I had to spend my Christmas break learning how to teach chemistry. I mean, I'm certified, but I'd never taught it before.' Ultimately both East and Kelly expressed optimism that the bill leads to higher teacher retention rates. 'We have never seen teachers leave mid year like we had probably two years ago, and it was after the pandemic, and it was just teachers said, 'It's enough, it's too much. I can't deal with it.' So they were leaving in, you know, February. They were leaving in November,' said East. 'Issues of working conditions are of primary importance to enhancing educator retention,' said Kelly. 'This bill is just a common sense pathway to doing the things that are necessary to improve working conditions.' The bill would take effect July 1, 2025, if passed this Spring. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
