Schools, districts, and education policy in South Carolina.
Act 123 overhauls the 1996 Charter Schools Act, requiring public transaction registers, management contract disclosures, and annual authorizer reviews, with early compliance data showing many schools have not yet posted required records.
The state board approved a financial operations takeover of Marlboro County School District, citing delayed audits, enrollment decline, and a procurement investigation.
Facing a 32 percent enrollment drop, three consecutive high-risk financial ratings, and a missing audit, the district lost local board authority in May 2018. The takeover led to consolidation and later to a legislative rewrite of state intervention law.
A new state law prohibits minimum grades that exceed actual performance, removes a patchwork of district policies, and creates a task force to revise the Uniform Grading Policy by 2028-2029.