Effective January 13, 2025, the South Carolina Department of Education will be utilizing a new records request portal. For new requests, please submit your request through the following SCDE FOIA Portal.

Requests submitted on or before January 12, 2025, can be viewed through the following link.

Note: At this time, the Records Request Portal does not meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. While we are working to meet those standards, we ask that if you are unable to use the requester portal due to accessibility issues, to please submit your request using the following email address: foia@ed.sc.gov.

The business of the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) is open to public review, as is required by the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Fee Schedule:

According to S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-30, "The fee for the search, retrieval, or redaction of records shall not exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who, in the reasonable discretion of the custodian of the records, has the necessary skill and training to perform the request."

The SCDE charges only for its costs to fulfill each request. FOIA requests should be answered without charge when the request requires a minimal and/or reasonable amount of employee time and photocopying expense.

For requests which require a fee, an invoice with an estimate of hours and rates will be sent to the requestor. If the cost of responding to the request is estimated to be $100 or more, requestors will be notified and given an opportunity to narrow their request or will be required to pay a deposit of 25% in advance before the request will be fulfilled. Payment is required in full before the public records are released to the requestor.

Fees will be calculated according to the following guidelines:

*Fee is determined by the hourly wage plus benefits of employee(s) responding

Additional Information:

GED Requests:
The SCDE is now offering a convenient and secure website for former students and corporations to request GED transcripts and student records online. Please note, if you have withdrawn at any time during the current school year, contact the last school attended for copies of records. Please use the following link to make your GED request: https://ed.sc.gov/instruction/adult-education/general-education-development-ged/

Report Card Data:
For data gathered in the current year school report card, please visit: https://screportcards.com/

For data gathered in historic state report cards, please visit: https://www.ed.sc.gov/data/report-cards/state-report-cards/

School Bus Footage:
If you are requesting school bus video footage, please send your request to the individual school district as the SCDE does not keep these records.

Transcripts:
Please contact the school district where you attended school for a copy of the transcript you are seeking.