Accreditation of Schools and Districts

Reports, District

Accountability is a key element in the success of educational improvement; therefore, for the purpose of continuing to hold South Carolina public school districts and schools accountable to the State, its taxpayers, and parents, all public school districts and schools must comply with the requirements in State Board of Education (SBE) Regulation 43-300 (R.43-300). Accreditation signifies that the public school district and/or school has met professional standards at an acceptable level and is committed to maintaining those standards.

To ensure professional standards are being met and all students are being provided with the opportunity to meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, public school districts and schools in South Carolina must choose one of the following two options

Option 1: Accreditation through the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) by meeting the standards in the defined program and all current statutes and regulations as prescribed by the State Board of Education and General Assembly. Detailed Option 1 procedures can be found in R.43-300(II)(A) and R.43-300(III).
Option 2: Accreditation through an accrediting entity accepted by Higher Education (Cognia). Public school districts and schools must meet the accreditation requirements and timelines set forth by the external accrediting entity. See R.43-300(II)(B).

A public school district or school may switch from Option 1 to Option 2 if it does not have any unresolved deficiencies under Option 1 (R.43-300(II)(B)).

If an Option 2 entity becomes less than fully accredited, it will also be reviewed using Option 1 procedures (in addition to Option 2 procedures) (R.43-300(II)(B)).

Public school districts and schools that have been denied accreditation through Option 1 procedures are not eligible for funding in the following fiscal year until an acceptable plan of corrective action has been submitted to and approved by the SBE. If the accreditation of a high school is denied, such school cannot issue South Carolina High School Diplomas until a corrective action plan has been submitted to and approved by the SBE. See R.43-300(III)(C).

A list of all accreditation ratings for both Option 1 and Option 2 entities will be included in the SCDE’s Annual Report of the Accreditation of School Districts in South Carolina to the State Board of Education.

Compliance Monitoring

To ensure compliance with State laws, regulations, and policies, the SCDE monitors each public school district and the schools within its jurisdiction on a schedule developed and publicly posted by the SCDE. Each public school district and school shall comply with State laws, regulations, and policies, including, but not limited to, the qualifications, duties, and workloads of administrative and professional personnel, the defined program for each grade span, the Uniform Grading Policy, and the requirements for earning a South Carolina High School Diploma. See R.43-300(V).

If the SCDE finds noncompliance in a public school district or school, the SCDE will notify the district or school in writing of the noncompliance and the district must submit a corrective action plan to the SCDE within 30 days of receipt of the notification. In defining the steps that the district or school must take to correct the noncompliance and to document such correction, the SCDE may consider a variety of factors and may determine the specific nature of the required corrective action. Noncompliance must be corrected as soon as possible, but in no case more than one year from identification (the date on which the SCDE provided written notification to the district or school of the noncompliance).

In order to demonstrate that previously identified noncompliance has been corrected, the public school district or school must:

Account for all instances of noncompliance;
Identify where noncompliance occurred and the root cause(s) of the noncompliance;
If needed, change policies, procedures, and/or practices that contributed to or resulted in noncompliance; and
Correctly implement the specific regulatory or statutory requirement(s). This must be based on the SCDE’s review of updated data, such as data from subsequent onsite monitoring or data collected through a State data system.

If a public school district or school does not correct identified noncompliance in a timely manner, the SCDE may take action, including imposing initial or additional special requirements or specific conditions, seeking remedies, or pursuing legal action, as appropriate. Continued lack of compliance may also negatively impact the district’s annual SCDE risk rating, as required by 2 CFR Part 200.331.

A list of all monitored districts and any corresponding findings will be included in the SCDE’s Annual Report of the Accreditation of School Districts in South Carolina to the State Board of Education.

Summer School Programs

Summer school programs operated under SBE Regulation 43-240 are implemented 1) to promote students in grades one through eight, or 2) to earn high school credit toward meeting the requirements for a state high school diploma. These district summer school programs that meet the requirements of SBE Regulation 43-240 are reviewed for accreditation. Other school services offered during the summer are not considered summer school programs under this regulation.

For additional information, contact Barret Leviner at 803-734-3477 or bleviner@ed.sc.gov.