This is the final week of legislative action before sine die on Thursday, May 8, when the South Carolina General Assembly will adjourn for the calendar year. Because this is the first year of a two-year legislative session, any bills that don’t pass this week will be carried over for debate until lawmakers return for the remainder of the session in January 2026.
Lawmakers’ business isn’t completely finished this year, though. We expect budget debates to continue over the next few weeks, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for budget provisos (one-year laws tied to the state budget) that seek to take away our civil liberties. We’ll keep you posted.
Mandatory patriotism in the classroom
Senate Bill 135 would require all public school students to salute the U.S. flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance once per school day. The Senate Education Subcommittee will consider this bill on Wednesday, May 7, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 407 of the Gressette Building (1101 Pendleton St., Columbia). This is the only bill on the meeting agenda. A livestream link is not currently available.
This bill seeks to overturn more than half a century of hard-won freedom for students and their families. The ACLU sued on behalf of Jehovah’s Witnesses who opposed mandatory school flag salutes and won in the 1943 U.S. Supreme Court case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. You can read more about that case from our friends at the ACLU of West Virginia.
If you would like to write to subcommittee members, written comments will be accepted until Tuesday, May 6 at 12:00 noon via the email address [email protected].
Teacher criminalization bill stalled in subcommittee
We sounded the alarm last week about House Bill 4123, which would threaten teachers and librarians with 10-year prison sentences for providing books to children that contain “profane language.” The good news is that the bill did not receive a vote at its April 29 hearing before the House Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Special Laws Subcommittee, which spent the bulk of its time discussing other bills.
The bad news is that this bill is still active. It remains before the subcommittee, whose members you can contact via the email address [email protected]. If you live in the district of one of these subcommittee members (full list here), we encourage you to reach out to them directly as a constituent.
As we head into the legislative “off season,” there will still be opportunities to reach out to your elected officials on bills that will carry over until 2026. We’ll set up a page to help you get started writing to these subcommittee members later this week.
Support positive changes in Juvenile Justice
Every year, South Carolina lawmakers introduce bills that would improve the lives of South Carolinians and expand our civil liberties. And every year, some of the best ideas languish in subcommittees without receiving a public hearing.
One way you can help nudge the process along is by contacting your state lawmakers and asking, as a constituent, if they would consider co-sponsoring a bill you support. One bill we would love to see pass in 2026 is House Bill 3655, an evidence-backed package of reforms for the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice.
Among other things, this bill would reduce overcrowding by preventing children from being detained in DJJ facilities for status offenses such as truancy, which are only illegal because of their age. It would also require parents or guardians to participate in family counseling or other therapy services before the Department of Juvenile Justice can accept a referral for incorrigibility.
To learn more, visit our bill page for H. 3655. To look up and contact your state House representative, use the Find Your Legislators tool at scstatehouse.gov.
CONTACT YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE
School proselytization bill advances to Senate
Last week the State House of Representatives unanimously approved House Bill 3758, which would allow students to deliver religious messages at forums including morning announcements, graduation ceremonies, assemblies, and the start of athletic events.
As a reminder, students have the right to pray during free time at school and to participate in before- and after-school religious events and student religious clubs. We oppose efforts to subject public school students to prayer and proselytizing during official school events, a clear violation of the First Amendment’s prohibition on establishment of religion.
H. 3758 has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee. A subcommittee hearing has not been scheduled yet.
