South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 88 — Prior Work Experience for Teachers

Last action — Referred to Committee on Education

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 11, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-25-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE MAY BE AWARDED ON AN INITIAL TEACHING CERTIFICATE IF THE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS IN OR RELATED TO THE CONTENT FIELD OF THE CERTIFICATE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT EXISTING CERTIFICATE HOLDERS MAY ALSO RECEIVE THE SAME CREDIT FOR PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

55 added · 5 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendments to Bill S 88 include a provision that allows individuals applying for an educator's certificate to receive credit for prior work experience related to the content field of their certification. Specifically, applicants can earn one year of experience credit for every two years of relevant full-time work they have completed. This change is significant because it recognizes the value of real-world experience in education, potentially attracting more qualified candidates to the teaching profession, while also providing existing certificate holders with additional opportunities for salary advancements based on their past work.

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2025-2026 Bill 88 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
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11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 88Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-25-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE MAY BE AWARDED ON AN INITIAL TEACHING CERTIFICATE IF THE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS IN OR RELATED TO THE CONTENT FIELD OF THE CERTIFICATE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT EXISTING CERTIFICATE HOLDERS MAY ALSO RECEIVE THE SAME CREDIT FOR PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Chapter 25, Title 59 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 59-25-60.  (A) When reviewing an application by an individual for an educator certificate, the State Department of Education shall award years of experience on the educator certificate for occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which the individual qualifies.
One year of experience credit may be awarded for every two years of full-time relevant work experience completed by the individual.
Years of experience shall be awarded solely for the purpose of advancement on the teacher salary schedule.
To be eligible for years of experience on the educator certificate, the individual must complete and submit a verification of relevant work experience form developed by the State Department of Education with the application for an educator certificate.
    (B) Individuals who entered the teaching profession prior to July 1, 2025, with occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of their teaching certificate may complete and submit the verification of relevant work experience form to the State Department of Education to have additional years of experience added to their certificate for the purposes of advancing on the teacher salary schedule.
If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible individual is entitled to have their pay adjusted for the current school year to reflect the new experience step on the employing district's salary schedule.
However, the individual is not entitled to retroactive pay for the increased years of experience during prior years of teaching or for any purpose other than advancement on the teacher salary schedule.
    (C) Nothing in this section alters any existing requirements for receiving an educator certificate.
Individuals with the work experience identified in subsection (A) must still meet all other existing requirements in order to receive an educator certificate.
    (D) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing additional years of experience to be awarded for purposes other than advancement on the teacher salary schedule.
Years of experience awarded pursuant to this section for relevant work experience are not considered service credit for the purposes of the state retirement or state health plans administered by PEBA.
  SECTION 2.  The State Department of Education shall make available the work experience verification form described in this act no later than ninety days after the act's approval by the Governor   SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 11, 2024 at 04:50 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Education

  2. Introduced and read first time

  3. Referred to Committee on Education

  4. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
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Frequently asked questions

What does S 88 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-25-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE MAY BE AWARDED ON AN INITIAL TEACHING CERTIFICATE IF THE PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS IN OR RELATED TO THE CONTENT FIELD OF THE CERTIFICATE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT EXISTING CERTIFICATE HOLDERS MAY ALSO RECEIVE THE SAME CREDIT FOR PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE.
Who sponsors S 88?
S 88 is sponsored by Senator Tom Young, Jr..
What is the current status of S 88?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 11, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 88?
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