I. Pupil
Accounting
According to Section 4, paragraph (1)(c) of the South Carolina
Education Finance Act of 1977, each pupil in the state shall be counted in only
one of the pupil classifications and must meet all qualifications both general
and specific, before the pupil can be classified and claimed in a public
school.
A. General Qualifications
Criteria:
1. A pupil will be counted in
membership on the first day of entrance in an instructional program either
through original entry, reentry, or transfer.
2. Membership is defined as the number of
pupils present plus the number of pupils absent.
3. Cumulative average daily membership is the
aggregate number of days in membership divided by the total number of days the
school is in session.
4. A pupil
shall maintain membership in the appropriate instructional program for the
minimum length of the school day.
5. To be eligible for membership a pupil must
not be more than twenty-one years old (or in a graduating class and becomes
twenty-one before graduation) before September 1 of the current school
year.
6. A pupil shall be dropped
from membership on the day when the number of unlawful days absent exceeds ten
consecutive days or when the pupil leaves school because of transfer, death,
expulsion, graduation, legal withdrawal, or for any other reason.
Notwithstanding any other provision, students with disabilities who have been
expelled and continue to receive educational services pursuant to Regulation
43-279
(Section V, Part D) shall not be dropped from membership.
7. An unlawful absence is defined in State
Board of Education Regulation
43-274.
8. A class period is defined as a minimum of
fifty minutes, or an accumulation of the equivalency of 120 hours required for
a Carnegie Unit of Credit.
9. A
pupil whose program of instruction meets the criteria for more than one
category shall be classified in the highest weighted category.
B. Specific Qualifications
Criteria:
1. A pupil shall be five years old
or older on or before September 1 of the current school year to be admitted in
a kindergarten program.
2. Specific
qualifications for grades 1-12
a. A pupil
shall be six years old or older on or before September 1 of the current school
year to be admitted to the first grade.
b. A pupil in an ungraded class shall be
classified in the grade level corresponding to the pupil's age.
c. A pupil shall maintain membership in a
minimum of 200 minutes of daily instruction or its equivalency for an annual
accumulation of 36,000 minutes.
3. Specific qualifications criteria for
exceptional programs
a. To be counted in
membership in an exceptional program, a pupil must be at least five (5) years
of age by September 1 of the current school year, except for hearing disabled
or visually disabled pupils who must be at least four (4) years of age by
September 1 of the current school year.
b. To be counted in membership in a
disabilities program, a pupil must be placed in a program in specific
compliance with Procedures for Survey, Screening, Evaluation, Placement, and
Dismissal of Children Into/Out of Programs for the Disabled.
c. A pupil must maintain membership in a
program designed for the appropriate disability and meet the time constraints
for regular programs consistent with the provisions of the Defined
Program.
d. An itinerant program is
one where specialized instruction, materials, and/or equipment is delivered
within the framework of a regular education setting. A resource room program is
one in which mildly disabled pupils are enrolled for a portion of their
education program and receive direct specialized instruction. A self-contained
program is one in which the pupil receives full delivery of special education
from one teacher. A homebound/hospitalized program is one in which the
incapacitated pupil receives his educational program in accordance with the
State Board of Education regulations.
e. Minimum number of minutes of instructional
time per week or its equivalent for disabled pupils in resource, itinerant,
self-contained and homebound models approved by the Department are as follows:
|
Minutes of Instructional Time Per Week or Its
Equivalent
|
|
(1) Educable Mentally Disabled
|
250
|
|
(2) Learning Disabilities
|
250
|
|
(3) Orthopedically Disabled
|
250
|
|
(4) Emotionally Disabled
|
250
|
|
(5) Visually Disabled
|
250
|
|
(6) Hearing Disabled
|
250
|
|
(7) Homebound
|
250
|
|
(8) Speech Disabilities
|
250
|
|
(9) Trainable Mentally Disabled
|
[FN*]
|
[FN*] Must meet time constraints consistent with the provisions
of the Defined Program.
4. Specific qualifications criteria for
career and technical education
a. A pupil
shall be assigned in grades 9-12 and maintain membership in at least 250
minutes of instructional time per week or its equivalent in an appropriate
career and technical education program approved by the Department.
b. A pupil shall maintain membership in a
minimum of 200 minutes of daily instructional time or its
equivalent.
