The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) announces that the Request for Proposals for the Summer 2025 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) subgrant program is now available online. Approximately $2 million in funding will be distributed on a competitive basis and the deadline to apply is May 16, 2025.

The South Carolina Department of Education is pleased to recognize high school seniors who will be entering the military or attending a military service academy with a red, white, and blue honor cord to be worn during graduation ceremonies. Thank you for participating in this program to honor the commitment these students are making to serve our country.

As part of South Carolina’s ongoing efforts to support early identification and intervention through a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), all districts and charter schools are required by Act 213 to submit annual data on MTSS implementation and literacy universal screening procedures.

The online assurance form for hiring retired educators for SY 2025–26 is now available to superintendents and their designees with assigned user roles via the Retiree Assurance Form link in the Application Portal.

Funding for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) is available for the 2025–26 school year through Section 19 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The purpose of the FFVP is to provide students in participating schools with a variety of free fresh fruit and vegetables as healthy snack options throughout the school day (at times other than at breakfast, lunch, or in an afterschool program).

The Students Health and Fitness Act (SHFA) (S.C. Code § 59-10-10, et seq.) requires each South Carolina school to report the number of minutes of weekly physical education instruction and the number of weekly minutes of physical activity per class for schools with grades K–5.

We’re excited to announce an opportunity for you to make your voice heard! The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Visual and Performing Arts Proficiency Standards are now available for public review and feedback.

Act 114 of 2024 permits district superintendents or charter school authorizers to request a waiver from the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) to waive the minimum one hundred eighty-day school attendance requirement for kindergarten and South Carolina Child Early Reading Development and Education Program (CERDEP) students to administer readiness assessments.

The South Carolina Principal Induction Program (PIP) is now accepting enrollment of all first- time principals for the 2025–26 school year. Satisfactory completion of PIP is required for all first-time principals per S.C. Code Ann. § 59-5-60 and 59-24-80. State Board of Education Regulation 43-165.1 defines a principal as, “the chief administrative head or director of an elementary, middle, or secondary school or of a vocational, technical, special education, or alternative school.”

The South Carolina Department of Education launched a community engagement initiative in 2024 named Project Raise Your Hand (PRYH), a needs-based program that at its core allows Agency employees to serve students and educators in the conduct of daily duties.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SC DHHS) is seeking information specific to your district. The goal is to identify potential barriers to Medicaid billing and reimbursement. SC DHHS also aims to obtain districts’ feedback about how Medicaid billing and reimbursement could be improved.

The Office of Leadership Effectiveness offers a variety of professional learning opportunities to support districts and schools to promote access to effective instruction for all students. Ongoing training for evaluators and district leaders is critical in ensuring the South Carolina Principal Standards, the South Carolina Teaching Standards (SCTS), and the 2020 Special Areas Evaluation Standards are implemented in ways that support educator growth and effective instruction.

The Office of Educator Leadership Effectiveness is pleased to announce dates for emerging leader cohorts beginning in the summer 2025. Our mission is to increase access to highly effective teaching and leadership for every student in South Carolina. Participants in our cohorts build their leadership capacity in the following focus areas: instructional support, leadership styles, and talent management.

Military Recruiters from the Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, Army/Army Reserve, National Guard, and Air Force have entered into a memorandum of understanding to create a centralized process for requesting and releasing directory information. The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion (USARB) is managing that process and has agreed to request this information from the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE).

The Office of Assessment and Standards Social Studies Standards Team is excited to offer Office Hours for Spring 2025. These sessions are designed for teachers of social studies. Each session will kick off with 15 minutes of facilitated learning centered around a social studies instructional practice, resource, or planning strategy.

The Office and Assessment and Standards is excited to announce the launch of new, asynchronous learning units in Canvas, designed specifically for Elementary Science educators. These learning units, organized by grade-level, focus on building capacity and understanding of the Disciplinary Core Ideas found in the South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Science Standards 2021.

Pursuant to the provisions under Section 59-65-40 of the SC Code of Laws, any pupil who was approved and received Home Instruction between the 1st and 135th day of school must be included in this report. Report only those students that are supervised by your district. Students whose instruction is conducted under the sponsorship of the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools are not eligible for funding.

In the Fall of 2024, the Office of Health and Nutrition (OHN) launched the “Buy Local – Buy Fresh” initiative to enhance the availability of fresh, local products for school meals. This initiative encourages South Carolina School Nutrition Directors to prioritize the procurement of local, fresh products whenever feasible and seeks to eliminate barriers for both our schools and local farms.

In preparation for the upcoming 2025-26 school year, we are offering PADEPP evaluator training to new superintendents and new principal evaluators. Anyone who evaluates principals must complete a one-day training.

The Office of Instructional Supports (OIS) and the Office of Educator Services (OES) are committed to providing professional development opportunities to help schools better serve their students.