Post and Courier. April 27, 2024.

Editorial: This bill can make SC more attractive to teachers without costing taxpayers a penny

On Wednesday evening, the South Carolina Senate locked in another set of significant raises for state teachers by passing a budget with the same $4,500-per-teacher increase as the House-passed budget; starting pay will jump to $47,000, and teachers will keep receiving what are called step increases even after 23 years on the job. These raises are the simplest and most obvious way to help stem the teacher shortage that has stranded more students with long-term substitutes each year.

Earlier in the day, a House committee advanced a bill that would do even more to solve the problem, by addressing teachers’ even larger concern: that our state doesn’t respect them as professionals.

S.124 was designed to address the teacher shortage in a very tiny way: by creating an additional route for people who don’t have state teacher certificates to work as teachers while they earn that credential. The House Education Committee voted unanimously to advance the Senate-passed bill — and to add a measure that transforms it into a much bigger deal.

Under a law enacted in 1962, teachers risk losing their jobs if they don’t sign a contract for the next school year before their district sets its teacher pay scale for the coming year. If a school board sets pay lower than teachers expected and they try to take jobs at another district that’s offering more money, their current district can strip them of the right to teach in our state, in some cases for two school years.

Let that sink in: Our state blacklists teachers who care how much they get paid. How would you feel if you were barred by law from getting another job in your field because you wanted to work for an employer who would give you a raise?

That law also allows districts to have teachers’ certificates revoked if teachers leave midyear — even if it’s to take care of an ailing child or parent, or if their spouse takes a job out of state and they can’t afford to maintain two households.

The amendment added to S.124 — which mirrors a bill the House passed unanimously a year ago — would give teachers 10 days to opt out of those contracts after the school district sets its pay for the coming year. It also changes the law to allow rather than require the State Board of Education to revoke teachers’ certificates for breaking their contract, shortens the revocation from a year to six months, and starts the suspension at the time the teacher leaves rather than when the board issues the revocation, which can be months later. In short, it treats them like professionals — and provides a dose of respect that’s difficult to legislate.

Nearly all teachers recognize how disruptive it is to quit in the middle of a school year, and they’d do everything they could to avoid it even if they didn’t risk decertification as punishment. Most teachers want to remain in their current job even if they could make more money in an adjacent district. But the punitive provisions in S.C. Code Section 59-25-530 are just one more way our state telegraphs its lack of appreciation for the vital work they do.

As the main sponsor of the proposal to change that, Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, told her committee Wednesday: “It’s wonderful to have a bill with the alternative certification and to give options for bringing other teachers into the classroom, but we should also be taking care of the teachers who are already in the classroom.”

We don’t understand why the Senate has ignored Ms. Erickson’s bill for almost a year; there’s simply no way to defend those punitive provisions. Whatever the reason, it should be an easy lift to get S.124 to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk in the next two weeks — if senators actually want to persuade more people to become teachers and to remain in the classroom.

___

Times and Democrat. April 27, 2024.

Editorial: Rising heat means extra danger for kids

Officially, summer is not here. But with temperatures in our subtropical climate already on the rise, it’s getting plenty warm – with much hotter days ahead.

It’s essential to prioritize heat safety. The South Carolina State Climatology Office, the National Weather Service, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the S.C. Emergency Management Division are partnering to inform South Carolinians about proper safety precautions and actions to help prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths as we head toward summer.

To support the effort, Gov. Henry McMaster has issued a proclamation declaring April 29-May 3 as South Carolina Heat Safety Week.

South Carolina residents and those visiting the state are encouraged to pay close attention to local weather forecasts from the National Weather Service and local meteorologists, and stay hydrated, find cool spaces and be aware of early signs of heat-related illnesses to ensure safety during the hot season.

We join in pointing out the dangers of being exposed to heat. But some things simply should not have to be stated.

There are obvious reasons for not leaving young children alone in vehicles at any time. But how can any adult walk away from a vehicle and leave a child alone in the heat? It’s unthinkable – but it happens.

AAA advises that parents never leave a child alone in a vehicle, even if the vehicle is parked in the shade or has open, cracked or tinted windows.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 23 kids died of vehicular heatstroke in 2021. The national average is 38 children a year dying.

NHTSA statistics compiled from 1998 to 2014 show 636 children died from heatstroke during the period. Of the 636 deaths:

• 53%: Child “forgotten” by caregiver (336 children)

• 29%: Child playing in unattended vehicle (186 children)

• 186 children (29%) were playing in an unattended vehicle

• 17%: Child intentionally left in vehicle by adult (110 children)

On a typical summer day, the temperature inside a car (even with the windows rolled down a little) can quickly rise above 120 to 140 degrees. Even on a relatively mild day, the temperature inside a car get above 100 degrees. At those temperatures, kids are at great risk for heatstroke, which can lead to a high fever, dehydration, seizures, stroke and death.

Here are AAA tips for parents to prevent a tragedy:

• Avoid heatstroke by never leaving your child unattended in your vehicle, even for a minute.

• Create reminders and habits that give you a safety net. For example: leave an item you need at your next stop in the back seat so you don’t forget about your loved one.

• If you see an unattended child in a vehicle, call 911 and follow the instructions of emergency personnel.

• Lock your car at all times — even in your garage or driveway — so young kids can’t climb into the vehicle without your knowledge.

• Discuss hot-car safety with everyone who drives your child, including partners, grandparents and babysitters.

• Don’t drive distracted. More than half of heatstroke deaths occurred when a distracted caregiver forgot a quiet child was in the vehicle.

Accidental scenarios are terrible and every precaution is to be taken to prevent them, but knowingly leaving a child in a car, we repeat, is unthinkable.

Remember, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “a locked car sitting in the summer sun quickly turns into an oven,” and “temperatures can climb from 78 degrees to 100 degrees in just three minutes, to 125 degrees in 6-8 minutes.”

It doesn’t have to be summer for temperatures to reach deadly levels inside vehicles.

END