SC has a teacher shortage. But teachers who leave can be blackballed from coming back

“I can’t believe they have that kind of power over someone’s career,” she said.

Now Minto is advocating for a legislative change backed by teachers’ organizations in South Carolina. The bill, H.4280 or the Educator Assistance Act, would:

•Allow teachers to opt out of their contracts within 10 days of the publication of the district’s salary schedule, which often comes after teachers have already signed their contracts for the next year;

•Limit the amount of time a school district has to report a breach and give the state board more flexibility in issuing suspensions;

•Move the starting date of a suspension from the date of the state board’s action to the day a teacher quit, which would allow a suspended teacher to return to the classroom sooner;

•And cut the maximum suspension for a breach of contract from a year down to six months.

The bill has already passed the S.C. House of Representatives unanimously but is awaiting action in the Senate Education Committee. The bill will die if no action is taken before the legislative session ends on May 9.

“Amid a record educator shortage, with more vacancies than any year we’ve collected that data, it is the height of insanity to suspend the license of someone who wants to teach and haven’t done anything to endanger a student,” said Patrick Kelly, director of government affairs for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.

At the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, South Carolina school districts reported 1,613 open positions, a 9% increase over the year before, according to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. An update from February 2024 showed another 924 teachers had left the classroom since the school year began.

The Education Department is supportive of changes that would give the State Board of Education more flexibility in how it handles teacher contract disputes.

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