South Carolina

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in South Carolina
Shelley Ward
Shelley Ward, a teacher-librarian at the Charleston County’s Belle Hall Elementary School, assists a student. While teaching, she earned her master’s level school librarian certification through the district’s "grow-your-own" partnership with the University of South Carolina.
Photo courtesy of the Charleston County School District
Recruitment & Retention How This District Boosted Its Ranks of School Librarians—From Within
A South Carolina district partnered with a local university to grow its own teacher-librarians and fill vacancies.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 18, 2023
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5 min read
Illustration of a man pushing half of clock and half of a money coin forward on a red arrow
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Budget & Finance District Leaders Want More Time to Spend ESSER Funds—and More Money, Too
On Capitol Hill, superintendents pointed to big wins fueled by federal relief aid, from extended learning time to mental health support.
Mark Lieberman, September 21, 2023
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4 min read
Edha Gupta at a protest at Central York School District, where students, teachers and community members gathered to fight against a ban on 300 books and educational resources.
Edha Gupta at a protest at Central York School District, where students, teachers and community members gathered to fight against a ban on 300 books and educational resources.
Courtesy of Ben Hodge
Reading & Literacy What Happened When Students Led Fights to Reverse Book Bans
The stories of two student groups that found success in organizing to fight district book bans.
Eesha Pendharkar, July 18, 2023
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7 min read
Pregnant teacher wearing N95 Face mask and standing in front of a whiteboard holding a blue marker.
E+/Getty
Teaching Profession Paid Parental Leave for Teachers Is Happening in More States and Districts
Policymakers are hoping that the expansion of paid leave will be a recruitment and retention tool.
Madeline Will, June 22, 2023
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6 min read
Pastor Thomas Dixon speaks at a rally at the Richland County courthouse, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, in Columbia, S.C., asking prosecutors to drop charges against a 16-year-old South Carolina high school student who was videotaped being yanked from her desk and thrown to the floor by a police officer in her classroom at Spring Valley High.
Pastor Thomas Dixon speaks at a rally at the Richland County courthouse, in December 2015 in Columbia, S.C., asking prosecutors to drop charges against a South Carolina high school student who was videotaped being yanked from her desk and thrown to the floor by a police officer in her classroom at Spring Valley High School.
Jeffrey Collins/AP
Law & Courts Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down South Carolina’s ‘Disturbing Schools’ Law
A federal appeals court held that the statutes, which have been the subject of nationwide attention, were unconstitutionally vague.
Mark Walsh, February 22, 2023
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4 min read
Ellen Weaver, the Republican nominee for South Carolina superintendent of education, speaks at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan's Faith & Freedom BBQ ahead of the keynote speaker, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, in Anderson, S.C.
Ellen Weaver, the Republican nominee for South Carolina superintendent of education, speaks at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan's Faith & Freedom BBQ in Anderson, S.C.
Meg Kinnard/AP
States K-12 Insider or Conservative Advocate? Stark Choice in One State Superintendent's Race
A think tank CEO and a high school English teacher battle it out for South Carolina's top K-12 job.
Libby Stanford, October 14, 2022
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8 min read
Illustration of voting.
DigitalVision Vectors
States Election Guide 2022: Results on the Issues and Races Affecting K-12
Education was at the heart of some of the most contentious issues on voters' minds as they weigh candidates from governor to local school board.
Libby Stanford, September 27, 2022
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14 min read
LaTosha Walker knocks on the door of a home where a student lives that has dropped out of school due to attendance records to talk to them about enrollment in Lowcountry Acceleration Academy in North Charleston on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
LaTosha Walker, an enrollment coach for Lowcountry Acceleration Academy, knocks on the door of the home of a student who dropped out of school in Charleston, S.C.
Henry Taylor for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness 'Graduation Counselors' Go Door-to Door to Find Missing Students
On tree-lined streets and trailer parks, workers knock on doors to offer students a second chance at graduation.
Eesha Pendharkar, August 29, 2022
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6 min read
Image of thirty minutes on a clock.
Illustration by Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Teachers Often Don't Get Lunch or Bathroom Breaks. That's Why Some States Guarantee Them
As concerns about keeping teachers mount, could laws assuring duty-free breaks help?
Libby Stanford, May 24, 2022
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2 min read
Clark County School District K9 Officer James Harris and his partner Ziggy, a one-year-old, gun-sniffing Labrador Retriever, search for a gun during a training session at Desert Pines High School Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. The number of weapons confiscated from students at Las Vegas-area schools has risen nearly 30% since the 2019-2020 academic year, corroborating what experts and educators have called a spike in troublesome behavior among schoolchildren since the return of in-person learning nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clark County School District K9 Officer James Harris and his partner Ziggy, a gun-sniffing Labrador Retriever, search for a gun during a training session at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas in February 2019. After two recent incidents in which students brought guns to school, a South Carolina district is raising money through a GoFundMe campaign so it can purchase specially trained dogs to detect firearms.
Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP
School Climate & Safety One District’s Unusual Fundraising Campaign to Curtail Guns in Schools
A S.C. school district has established a GoFundMe page to raise $20,000 to buy specially trained dogs to sniff out firearms.
Lyn Riddle, The State (Columbia, S.C.), April 26, 2022
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2 min read
Kara Klever holds a sign in protest in the hall outside of the Blue Room as Governor Kevin Stitt signs a bill into law that prevents transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams at the Capitol Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Oklahoma City, Oka. The bill, which easily passed the Republican-led House and Senate mostly along party lines, took effect immediately with the governor's signature. It applies to female sports teams in both high school and college.
Kara Klever holds a sign in protest as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs a bill into law that prevents transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams.
Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP
States Beyond 'Don't Say Gay': Other States Seek to Limit LGBTQ Youth, Teaching
Legislators want to ban lessons on LGBTQ communities and require teachers to tell parents when students want their pronouns changed.
Stephen Sawchuk, April 6, 2022
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9 min read
Law enforcement respond to a shooting at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, S.C., Thursday March 31, 2022. A student was shot and taken to the hospital Thursday at the South Carolina middle school, authorities said. The shooter, a minor, was taken into custody near Tanglewood Middle School not long after the shooting, Greenville County Sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Flood said in a statement. An initial statement issued by police indicated he was a student at the school.
Law enforcement officers respond to a March 31 fatal shooting at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, S.C.
Mike Ellis/The Greenville News via AP
School Climate & Safety 12-Year-Old Boy Is Youngest Victim of a Fatal Shooting Inside a School in Recent Years
The boy died after being shot at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, S.C., on March 31.
Evie Blad, April 1, 2022
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1 min read
Collage of figures and money texture.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Education Funding State K-12 Spending Is Inequitable and Inadequate. See Where Yours Ranks
There's a $17,000 per student difference between the highest- and lowest-spending states. High-poverty schools suffer especially.
Mark Lieberman, October 28, 2021
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4 min read
Scales of justice and Gavel on wooden table.
Pattanaphong Khuankaew/iStock
School Climate & Safety Law Against 'Disorderly Conduct' in Schools Led to Unfair Student Arrests, Judge Rules
The South Carolina ruling is a model for other states where students are still being arrested for minor incidents, an attorney said.
Evie Blad, October 11, 2021
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6 min read
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