‘It is on the fast track:’ SC lawmaker asks for help vetting K-12 bill before it passes
State Rep. Wendy Brawley acknowledged Monday that there are not enough House votes needed to stop the chamber’s proposal that seeks to overhaul South Carolina’s public-education system and turn around underperforming schools and failing school districts.
Out of 124 House members, House Bill 3759 — filed by House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington — had 83 co-sponsors as of Monday.
“It is on the fast track,” the Richland Democrat told more than 50 people at Lower Richland High School on Monday night. “What we do in the next two weeks could affect generations.”
At Lower Richland, Brawley asked parents and teachers to help vet the House education proposal, an effort, she said, to help spur possible amendments to the bill that will be debated Wednesday during the House Education and Public Works Committee meeting.
Separately, the Senate Education K-12 subcommittee will debate a portion of its companion bill — S. 419 — at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Monday, one woman, who identified herself as a literacy teacher, said any state-mandated test is too many. Another teacher said the bill’s measure to raise the lowest starting teacher salaries to a minimum $35,000 — up from $32,000 — is too low. Other parents wondered aloud how their child’s school would be impacted if the state took over their child’s school district.
“I must admit it’s a concern for me,” said Brawley, a member of the House Education and Public Works Committee, who has not signed onto the bill as a co-sponsor.
Last week, the House’s K-12 subcommittee adopted a package of amendments to the House proposal, which included smoothing a provision that would have immediately fired teachers at underperforming schools during a state takeover. Changes also included the deletion of a provision that would have had the state Department of Education study changing how teachers are paid.
The House is expected to debate the K-12 bill the first week March, ahead of the House debate over the state’s general fund budget.
Brawley will hold a second forum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cherryvale Elementary School in Sumter.
There will be other opportunities for the public to comment on the bill, organized by the state Senate:
▪ 6 p.m. March 4 at McCormick Middle School
▪ 6 p.m. March 11 at Coker College in Hartsville
▪ 6 p.m. March 18 at Gaffney High School
▪ 6 p.m. March 21 at Georgetown High School
This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 8:35 PM with the headline "‘It is on the fast track:’ SC lawmaker asks for help vetting K-12 bill before it passes."
