S.C. Code Ann. § 59-26-20(j) requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to designate South Carolina’s critical need subject areas and critical need geographic areas (schools) on an annual basis. Once approved by the SBE each January, information regarding the critical need subject and geographic areas (schools) is widely distributed to school districts, teachers, colleges, universities, and other educational entities. These critical need lists may be used for following purposes:
- South Carolina Teacher Loan Program
- Retirement Earnings Limitation Exemption for the Employment of Retired Teachers
South Carolina Teacher Loan Program
The critical need subject area designations are used to determine eligibility for participation in the teacher loan program, and the critical need subject and geographic area designations are used to determine eligibility for loan forgiveness. Borrowers who received a South Carolina Teachers Loan or a SC PACE Loan may be eligible to forgive portions of their loan indebtedness by teaching in certain critical geographic and subject areas in the SC public school system. Please contact South Carolina Student Loan services for information on these loan programs, applications, and loan forgiveness.
Identification of Critical Need Subject and Geographic Areas
The critical need subject areas are identified using the criteria established by the United States Department of Education for federal student loan forgiveness. Data collected through the annual Supply and Demand Survey administered by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) are used in the identification of critical subject shortage areas and include, by subject area, the numbers of unfilled teaching positions, teaching positions filled through alternative routes, and total teaching positions hired.
Critical need geographic areas are identified using criteria established in S.C. Code Ann. § 59-26-20(j). Pursuant to statute, a critical need geographic area must be defined as a school that has an absolute rating of below average or unsatisfactory, or has an average teacher turnover rate for the past three years that is twenty percent or higher, or meets the poverty index criteria at the seventy percent level or higher.
For additional information regarding the identification of critical schools and subject areas, please contact Michael Carothers in the Office of Educator Services at 803-896-2160.
School Year 2025-26
For the purposes of the South Carolina Teacher Loan Program, the SBE approved the critical need subject and geographic areas for the 2025-26 school year on February 4, 2025.
Prior School Years
- A listing of current and prior critical need areas is available through South Carolina Student Loan.
- Information on the identification and designation of critical need subject areas and geographic areas for prior school years is available on the Critical Need Areas Archive webpage.
Retirement Earnings Limitation Exemption for the Employment of Retired Teachers
Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 9-1-1795 (Supp. 2020), beginning in school year 2018–19 and annually thereafter, the SBE will designate areas of critical academic need and critical geographic need for the employment of retired teachers who will be exempt from the earnings limitations imposed by S.C. Code Ann. § 9-1-1790.
General information for educators returning to work as retirees is provided by the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority. Additional information on the requirements to employ retired teachers without the loss of retirement benefits may be found in S. C. Code Ann. § 9-1-1795.
For additional information on the assurance form or process to document that a retired teacher is employed in an exempted position, please contact Kimberly Moss in the SCDE Finance Office at 803-734-8122, or email retireewaiver@ed.sc.gov.
School Year 2025-26
For school year 2025-26 and for the purpose of employing retired teachers who will be exempt from the earnings limitation, the SBE has defined critical need areas as follows:
- Critical need academic areas for the employment of retired teachers will be the critical need subject areas identified and approved by the SBE on March 4, 2025, for the purpose of the South Carolina Teacher Loan Program.
- Critical need geographic areas for the employment of retired teachers will include the following:
- The schools identified and approved by the SBE on March 4, 2025 for the purpose of the South Carolina Teacher Loan Program; and
- additional schools in any school district in which at least 67 percent of the schools meet the criteria to qualify as a critical need geographic area for the purpose of teacher loan forgiveness;
- all career and technology centers statewide; and
- all adult education programs.
The SCDE will be providing guidance on the requirements and procedures for districts to employ retired teachers. Districts must submit documentation of a retiree’s eligibility to be employed and exempt from the earnings limitation through an annual assurance form. Submission of the assurance form must be submitted through the Web Application Portal. Below is the Critical Needs Designations for the Employment of Retired Teachers for School Year 2025-2026.
Prior School Years
Information on eligibility, requirements, and procedures for the Retirement Earnings Limitation Exemption for prior school years is available on the Critical Need Areas Archive webpage.
