COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina senators are set to go late into the evening Tuesday as they try to reach an end to the amendment debate on their version of the education reform bill.
The debate, which began January 21st and now stretches into March, has taken over the Senate as the proposed bill’s status limited discussion of other bills and issues.
Senators worked through many amendments on Tuesday, particularly those of Senator Mike Fanning, a Democrat representing District 17. Fanning has been a vocal opponent of the bill, often criticizing it on social media and from the floor of the Senate.
On Tuesday, Senator Fanning pulled dozens of his amendments and argued several others, many of which failed to pass. However, Fanning did succeed in eliminating the Education Oversight Committee.
The Senate eventually moved on to other amendments sponsored by senators besides Senator Fanning. The amendments tackled school start dates, scholarship funding, and rules governing school boards. It’s unclear if the Senate will complete debate on the bill Tuesday night or some time on Wednesday.
“I think we’re close to the end on second reading of this bill,” said Lexington Democrat Nikki Setzler. “ We’ve had a substantial number of amendments. But keep in mind this is the first time in probably 15 years there’s been a major education piece of legislation on the floor of the Senate where all 46 members have been able to debate reforming public education in this state,” Setzler continued.
The Lexington Senator said he was pleased an effort to expand four-year-old kindergarten for at-risk populations was approved, as well as other measures to help teachers.
“An amendment of mine that allowed education majors to also get scholarships, not just math and science, which will be huge in addressing the teacher shortage and retention in South Carolina, “Setzler said.
The expansion of four-year-old kindergarten for at-risk students to every county in the state was a bipartisan source of pride in the Senate.
“I think we’ve taken a comprehensive look starting with early children in South Carolina in K-4, for example. To try to get them ready to go into our schools, better equipped to learn once they get there. I think that will help teachers in the classroom. Hopefully that will help on discipline issues, hopefully it will help on kindergarten readiness. But then also, there’s been an earnest effort to protect teachers and also provide incentives to recruit more teachers into our classrooms,” said Spartanburg Republican Scott Talley.
In its current form, the Senate proposal would give teachers up to $550 in reimbursements for supplies purchased for the classroom and reimburse new teachers for certification costs up to $500.
The bill also includes some reductions of standardized testing, makes changes to the Read to Succeed program, and would change how the state can step in to takeover poor performing districts.