South Carolina school emergency plan law

Does South Carolina require school emergency plans?

For the 2026-27 budget year, yes, as a condition of money: to draw down state Aid to Districts funds, school districts, Palmetto Unified District and the Department of Juvenile Justice must work with local law enforcement and fire marshals to ensure the district has updated school safety and fire plans in place. That duty sits in proviso 1A.36 of the FY 2026-27 Appropriations Act, a budget proviso (a provision of the yearly budget law) that opens "For the current fiscal year"; it is not a permanent Code section. In that Act, "current fiscal year" means July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Separately, a State Board of Education regulation, 43-166(D), requires a plan to protect students in any disaster, such as a tornado, hurricane or fire, that threatens the school community.

What must the plan contain?

Under proviso 1A.36, the safety and fire plans must include classroom safety directives, a safe exit strategy for students and staff, and necessary safety staff. Regulation 43-166(D) does not say who designs or adopts its disaster plan and lists no contents beyond protecting students in a disaster; its only other duty is at least one emergency drill at each school within the first month of school. Each school in the state must continue to identify key staff and maintain a threat assessment team.

Is the plan submitted to anyone?

Districts must send the Department of Education a notice that the updated plans are complete no later than September first of the current fiscal year, which for this Act is September 1, 2026. By September thirtieth, the Department of Education must report any district that failed to submit an updated plan to the chairs of four legislative committees. The Department of Education says a district's yearly Model Safe School Checklist submission serves as its notice that the updated school safety plan is complete; this is agency guidance. Under a separate proviso, 1.64, the state-level Threat Assessment Team must continue to coordinate, collect and compile Threat Assessment & School Safety Plans from each school district. Regulation 43-166(D) sets no review interval and no duty to file its disaster plan.

How do schools work with police and fire?

Districts must work with local law enforcement and fire marshals on the safety and fire plans, and, when necessary, with state law enforcement agencies and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. By State Board regulation, school resource officers must also help with emergency crisis planning, building security, and training school staff on handling crises.

What about training and guidance?

The Department of Education must work with stakeholders to provide professional development to staff on school threat assessment teams. By statute, the State Board must develop a model safe schools checklist that includes whether a comprehensive safety plan exists. The Department's checklist asks whether the district's Comprehensive Safety Plan follows National Incident Management System (NIMS) guidelines; this is agency guidance. Under the State Board regulation, the Department of Education is to develop school safety guidelines that refer to the state's school safety statutes. Separately, each public school district or charter school board must develop a cardiac emergency response plan, working with local emergency service providers to build community EMS protocols into it.

Is the plan confidential?

The Threat Assessment & School Safety Plans collected under proviso 1.64 are exempt from South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act. Under the Freedom of Information Act, information about security plans adopted or used by a public body must be closed to the public, except the amounts spent on them.

Are there compliance checks?

The plan duty in proviso 1A.36 is a condition of drawing down state Aid to Districts funds, and the Department of Education reports districts that miss the plan notice to legislative committee chairs. The Department's update memo on the FY 2025-26 proviso says all districts submitted the required safety plans.

Who is covered?

Proviso 1A.36 names school districts, Palmetto Unified District and the Department of Juvenile Justice. A South Carolina charter school must follow the same safety requirements as the public schools of its local school district, including when it is authorized by the SC Public Charter School District or a college or university. Apart from what the charter school law itself requires, a charter school is exempt from laws and regulations that apply to public schools, school boards or districts, though it may choose to follow them.

What changed recently?

H. 5126, the FY 2026-27 Appropriations Act that carries provisos 1A.36 and 1.64, was ratified 8/11/26, had certain items vetoed by the Governor 8/17/26, and became Act No. 259 on 9/15/26. The Governor's 8/17/26 veto message lists 14 vetoes; neither proviso 1A.36 (safety and fire plans) nor proviso 1.64 (threat assessment and school safety plans) is among them. H. 5201 (Safe Schools Act of 2026) would have required district-wide and school-specific multihazard emergency operation plans; it last moved on 4/28/26, when it was referred to the Senate Education Committee, and it is not law. The official H. 5201 bill page shows the bill still in the Senate Education Committee as of 10/27/26. Under H. 5201, district plans would be audited by the state school safety center at least every two years, and SLED (the State Law Enforcement Division) could withhold part of state school safety funds for noncompliance.