South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 43 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Article 19 - INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM
Section 43-259 - Adult Education

1. Service Personnel and Veterans

To be eligible for a state high school equivalency diploma, the candidate must be seventeen years of age or older and must be either a resident of South Carolina or a former resident whose most recent elementary or secondary school attendance was in South Carolina.

2. General Adult Population

3. Juvenile Offenders

Certain juvenile offenders who are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Juvenile Justice may be granted an exception to the requirement that in order to be eligible for a state high school equivalency diploma, a candidate must be seventeen years of age or older and not be currently enrolled in high school during the current school year.

For a juvenile offender to qualify for this exception, the following criteria must be met:

1. Eligible candidates who were initial examinees before July 1, 1991, were awarded a state high school equivalency certificate if they attained an average standard score of 45 or above for the five tests in the GED battery. The South Carolina high school equivalency certificate was not awarded after July 1, 1995.

2. Eligible candidates who were examinees after July 1, 1991, were awarded a state high school equivalency diploma if they attained a minimum-standard score of 35 on each of the five tests in the GED battery and an average standard score of 45 or above for the five tests.

3. Eligible candidates who were examinees after January 1, 1997, were awarded a state high school equivalency diploma if they attained a minimum-standard score of 40 on each of the five tests in the GED battery and an average standard score of 45 or above for the five tests.

4. Eligible candidates who are examinees after January 1, 2002, will be awarded a state high school equivalency diploma if they attain a minimum standard score of 410 on each of the five tests in the GED battery and an average standard score of 450 or above for the five tests.

5. Passing score requirements for all high school equivalency tests authorized by the SCDE after December 31, 2013, will follow test publisher's guidelines and any additional requirements established by the SBE.

1. High School Equivalency Testing in South Carolina

2. High School Equivalency Testing Outside South Carolina

Eligible candidates tested outside South Carolina must submit a diploma application to the SCDE's High School Equivalency Testing Office and must pay the required fee to cover the costs of the diploma. Applicants must arrange for official score reports to be sent to the chief examiner in the SCDE's High School Equivalency Testing Office. Score reports will be accepted as official only when sent directly by an official high school equivalency testing center, by the transcript service of the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES), or by the GED Testing Service in Washington, D.C. Eligible candidates who are tested outside of South Carolina must meet the state's passing score requirements in order to receive a state high school equivalency diploma.

1. The student must earn a total of 24 prescribed units of credit to earn a state high school diploma. The unit requirements are distributed as follows:

* Keyboarding may count up to one-half unit of the computer science requirement.

2. A student may transfer credit earned in the adult education program to a secondary school to count toward the units of credit required for a state high school diploma earned through the regular course of study at a high school, if for each unit being transferred, the student has spent a minimum of 120 hours in class time in that subject at that level and the teacher was properly certified to teach the course.

3. Membership in an adult education program shall be limited to individuals eighteen years of age or older who have left the elementary or secondary school, except when the local school board assigns students under the age of eighteen years who are not officially in membership in a regular school. Students under eighteen may be assigned to an adult education program when they exhibit either an unusual educational need or physical, social, or economic problem that can be served more effectively by the adult education program. Schools should provide counseling regarding all alternatives available to high school students considering dropping out. No student under the age of sixteen may be assigned to the adult education program for any reason.

4. No student shall be graduated from the adult education program prior to the time that he or she would have graduated from a regular high school unless written approval is granted by the high school principal and the SCDE's Office of Adult Education. For a student to be eligible to receive a state high school diploma, he or she must complete one semester in residence (i.e., through actual attendance in the adult education program). This semester in residence is a prerequisite for the state high school diploma and may not be waived. For the purposes of adult education programs, a semester in residence is defined as follows: a minimum of 60 hours of classroom attendance for a student needing only one unit to graduate, and a minimum of 30 hours of classroom attendance for a student who needs only one-half unit to graduate. Completion of a one-half unit or one unit via the virtual school program while enrolled in an adult education program will satisfy the semester-in-residence requirement.

5. The student must complete a study of and pass an examination on the provisions and principles of the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist papers, and American institutions and ideals.

6. A student may earn an unlimited number of units of credit per school year with a maximum of six earned through classroom attendance.

1. Course credit shall be accepted when official transcripts are received from schools that are accredited by a state or by one of the following: New England Association of Colleges and Schools, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Western Association of Colleges and Schools, or the Northwest Association of Colleges and Schools.

2. An adult education program may award credit for courses that have been approved by the SCDE in a proficiency-based system, see R.R.43-234(II)(C), Defined Program, Grades 9-12 and Graduation Requirements. Credit shall only be accepted from institutions validated by the SBE or accredited by one of the following: New England Association of Colleges and Schools, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Western Association of Colleges and Schools, or the Northwest Association of Colleges and Schools.

3. High school diploma credit may be granted only by a teacher certified in the specific area in which credit is to be awarded. If the adult education teacher is not certified in the specific area in which the student is seeking credit, another currently employed adult education teacher that is certified in the specific area may review the student's work and award the unit of credit on that basis. Documentation of the high school credit awarded becomes part of the student's permanent record.

4. Adult Education students are eligible to earn high school units through the district's dual credit arrangement, see R.R.43-234(III), Defined Program, Grades 9-12 and Graduation Requirements.

1. Each district must provide properly certified administrative, teaching, and supervisory staff for the adult education program. Staff members may be either full-time or part-time, according to the size of the program.

2. Each director must either be certified in one of the acceptable areas of certification for an adult education director or hold both an advanced degree in the field of adult education and a South Carolina teaching certificate.

3. Each adult education program must have a director (full-time or part-time).

4. Each center supervisor or program coordinator must either meet the same qualifications for certification as set forth in item 2 above for adult education directors or have a master's degree or a bachelor's degree and five years of adult education experience.

5. Each adult education teacher must be properly certified and meet the appropriate federal statutory requirements.

6. Each adult education high school subject-area teacher must be properly certified and meet appropriate federal statutory requirements to teach the subject area in which he or she is assigned to teach.

7. Any staff member who is assigned duties in a subject for which he or she is not properly certified must hold a valid teaching credential, must have completed 12 semester hours of credit in the assigned subject, and must have obtained an out-of-field permit in that subject from the Office of Educator Certification. The staff member must earn 6 semester hours toward proper certification each year for renewal of the out-of-field permit. After June 30, 2006, out-of-field permits will no longer be issued to teachers who teach core academic subjects as specified by the appropriate federal statutory requirements. These core academic subjects are English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics, government, economics, history, geography, and the arts. The Director of the Office of Adult Education may waive the requirement of properly certified teachers in instances of critical needs. Critical needs may include but are not limited to the following: there is no certification available in the particular subject area; there is no certified teacher available because of the location of the class or meeting time of the class. Non-certified teachers must work under the supervision of an on-site, properly certified teacher. Non-certified teachers may not provide instruction in courses awarding Carnegie units of credit.

8. In order to earn credit toward a state high school diploma earned through an adult education program, a student must attend class a minimum of 60 hours to receive consideration for a unit of high school credit and 30 hours for consideration for one-half unit of high school credit. Actual course credit will be awarded only after the student has completed all course requirements. Completion of a one-half unit or one unit via the virtual school program while enrolled in an adult education program will satisfy the attendance requirement.

9. Applications for innovative-approach programs must be submitted to the SCDE's Office of Adult Education when a departure from certain established standards is necessary for the implementation of the new program. Requests for prior approval must be made to the Office of Adult Education and must be approved by the SCDE's Office of Federal and State Accountability.

10. An accurate record of the attendance and achievements of each student must be kept and must be stored in locked, fireproof filing cabinets or vaults or in a secure database with backup copies. Records of high school credits earned must be retained indefinitely.

11. Students enrolled in the high school completion program must be given access to appropriate library facilities or the Internet.