Hiring Policy
Emergency License(s) Availability:
South Carolina requires that only teachers who have met all state requirements teach in core academic areas. The state defines core subject areas as "English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics, government, economics, history, geography, and the arts."
New legislation in South Carolina removed the option of allowing out-of-state teachers who do not meet state licensure requirements to teach on a temporary certificate in non-core subject areas.
As a result of South Carolina's strong provisional and emergency licensing policies, no recommendations are provided.
South Carolina recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis; however, the analysis was updated subsequent to state's review.
6B: Provisional and Emergency Licensure
Teachers who have not passed content licensing tests place students at risk. While states may need a regulatory basis for filling classroom positions with a few people who do not hold full teaching credentials, many of the regulations permitting this put the instructional needs of children at risk, often year after year.[1] For example, schools can make liberal use of provisional certificates or waivers provided by the state if they fill classroom positions with instructors who have completed a teacher preparation program but have not passed their state licensing tests. These allowances are permitted for up to three years in some states. The unfortunate consequence is that students' needs are neglected in an effort to extend personal consideration to adults who cannot meet minimum state standards.[2]
While some flexibility may be necessary because licensing tests are not always administered with the needed frequency, making provisional certificates and waivers available year after year could signal that the state does not put much value on its licensing standards or what they represent. States accordingly need to ensure that all persons given full charge of children's learning are required to pass the relevant licensing tests in their first year of teaching, ideally before they enter the classroom. Licensing tests are an important minimum benchmark in the profession, and states that allow teachers to postpone passing these tests are abandoning one of the basic responsibilities of licensure.