ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Orangeburg County School District will pay their teachers an extra $1,000 per semester if they teach in-person and virtually.
"We would like for the board to consider a supplement for our teachers that provide simultaneous instruction," proposed Dr. Andress Carter-Sims, OCSD's Assistant Superintendent For Curriculum & Instruction.
"If they are doing it, the right thing to do is compensate them for it," Dr. Shawn Foster, OCSD's Superintendent said.
The General Assembly passed legislation earlier this year that puts limitations on teaching both ways at the same time.
The legislation states:
"School districts are prohibited from assigning a teacher to deliver instruction to students simultaneously in-person and virtually, an approach often referred to as "dual-modality instruction," unless it is reasonable and necessary due to extreme and unavoidable circumstances to ensure that all students have access to highly qualified instructors."
South Carolina Department of Education's Chief Communications Officer, Ryan Brown, told News 19, "Unfortunately, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases amongst students and staff, many districts are now in 'extreme and unavoidable circumstances' that have necessitated some districts, like Orangeburg, to re-integrate dual-modality instruction to ensure that students who are at home in quarantine or isolation do not fall behind."
Under a rule passed during the state budget, districts must provide additional compensation to the teachers and give the department of education the teacher's name, school, and subject area in which the teacher was hired to teach.
The Orangeburg County School District will also pay its nurses an extra $1,000 per semester for the 2021-2022 school year.