A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-29-12 SO AS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS IN STATE-FUNDED PLACES OF LEARNING WITH AN EDUCATION FOCUSED ON EXCELLENCE AND INTEGRITY, EQUIP THEM TO THINK INDEPENDENTLY AND CRITICALLY, SUPPORT EDUCATORS BY MAINTAINING A LEARNING AND WORK ENVIRONMENT UNENCUMBERED BY SOCIAL OR POLITICAL ACTIVISM, TREAT STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES OF SCHOOLS WITH DIGNITY AS UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT STEREOTYPING OR SCAPEGOATING, PROVIDE INSTRUCTION FREE FROM IDEOLOGICAL INDOCTRINATION OR COERCION, FOSTER AND DEFEND INTELLECTUAL INQUIRY AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH AS WELL AS FREEDOM FROM COMPELLED SPEECH, REQUIRE CLEAR DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE TEACHING OF THEORY AND FACT, REQUIRE FULL TRANSPARENCY OF CURRICULA, PROTECT THE PRIVACY AND INNOCENCE OF CHILDREN AND GUARD THEM AGAINST OBSCENE AND MATURE MATERIALS, RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS AS THEIR child's DECISION-MAKERS FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, INCLUDING EMOTIONAL AND SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT, DEFER TO PARENTS AS THEIR child's PRIMARY SOURCE OF MORAL AND SOCIAL VALUES, ALLOW PARENTS TO OPT OUT OF ACTIVITIES THAT VIOLATE THIS ACT, ESTABLISH A CLEAR PROTOCOL FOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS AND ALLOWING LOCAL ENTITIES TO ADDRESS AND CORRECT ISSUES, AND REQUIRE PRIVACY AND NONDISCLOSURE DURING THE INVESTIGATION PROCESS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1.   Chapter 29, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

   Section 59-29-12.   (A) It is the intent of the General Assembly that all state-funded education entities, including places of learning, state and local agencies, accreditation entities, overseeing authorities, instructional content providers, and educators, faculty, administrators, and staff:

      (1) strive to provide every student with a well-rounded, rigorous, and high-quality education with a positive focus on excellence and high expectations;

      (2) support and allow educators to focus on effectively teaching subjects and content by maintaining a learning and work environment unencumbered by social or political activism;

      (3) treat students, parents, and colleagues respectfully and equally as unique individuals, refraining from stereotyping or scapegoating others based on personal or group characteristics or political and religious beliefs;

      (4) encourage and equip students, without employing ideological coercion or indoctrination, to think critically, creatively, and independently;

      (5) foster and defend freedom of intellectual inquiry, freedom of speech, freedom from compelled speech, and freedom of association;

      (6) respect students' freedom to express differing viewpoints without penalty or marginalization, especially on controversial topics;

      (7) provide instruction that is intellectually honest, placed in historical context, and grounded in verifiable facts;

      (8) provide full transparency to parents, legal custodians, and the public about the teaching subjects and instructional materials used to educate students;

      (9) respect the innocence of children by guarding them against obscene and age-inappropriate topics or content, and by protecting their right to privacy; and

      (10) respect the right of, and defer to, parents and legal custodians as the primary decision-makers and source of their children's education in regard to learning morals, ethics, civic responsibilities, social values, political and religious beliefs, emotional or sexual development, health and medical decisions, and sexual and gender beliefs.

   (B) For purposes of this section:

      (1) "Place of learning" means a public, charter, or private childcare facility, preschool, elementary, middle, secondary, postsecondary school, or institution of higher learning that receives funds or grants that originate from the State of South Carolina, whether in whole or in part, directly from State agencies or indirectly from an intermediary entity.

      (2) "State-funded education entity" (SFEE) means an entity that receives funds or grants that originate from the State of South Carolina, whether in whole or in part, directly from state agencies or indirectly from an intermediary entity, and includes:

         (a) a place of learning;

         (b) a public or private institution, organization, or business engaged in providing accreditation, licensing, professional development, training services, instructional or reading materials, surveys, questionnaires, screenings, or any supplemental resources such as school or class library content in any format to a place of learning or its employees; or

         (c) an "overseeing authority," which includes a state or local agency, school board, school authorizer or sponsor, board of directors, or similar entity having administrative or oversight duties over entities (a) or (b) above.

      (3) "State Board" means the South Carolina State Board of Education.

      (4) "Harmful to minors" and "sexual activity" have the same meanings as defined in Title 16, Chapter 15, Article 3, in particular Section 16-15-375 except as modified for purposes of this section in subsection (D)(5)(a) below.

   (C) The General Assembly hereby affirms that under the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Constitution of South Carolina, and the South Carolina Human Affairs Law found in Chapter 13, Title 1, the following concepts are discriminatory, violate the Constitutional and statutory rights of individuals, and are contrary and inimical to the intentions enumerated in subsection (A)(1):

      (1) one race or biological sex is inherently superior or inferior to another race or biological sex;

      (2) a group or an individual, by virtue of his or her race, ethnicity, color, biological sex, sexual orientation, national origin, heritage, culture, religion, or political belief is inherently racist, sexist, bigoted, ignorant, biased, fragile, privileged, oppressive, or contributive to any oppression, whether consciously or unconsciously;

      (3) an individual or group should receive adverse or favorable treatment, or be discriminated against solely or partly because of his or her race, ethnicity, color, biological sex, sexual orientation, national origin, heritage, culture, religion, or political belief;

      (4) members of one race, biological sex, color, or ethnicity cannot and should not attempt to treat, relate to, advise, or instruct others without respect to race, biological sex, color, ethnicity, or culture, or that individuals should be separated in accordance with race, color, or ethnicity for purposes of employment, instruction, training, living arrangements, or any other activities;

      (5) an individual's moral character, value, or status, whether wholly or partly, is necessarily determined by his or her race, ethnicity, color, biological sex, national origin, heritage, culture, religion, or political belief;

      (6) an individual, by virtue of his or her race, biological sex, color, ethnicity, or heritage, bears responsibility, or must confess or atone for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, biological sex, or ethnic group;

      (7) an individual should be made to feel shame, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of his or her race, color, ethnicity, biological sex, national origin, heritage, culture, religion, or political belief;

      (8) traits, behaviors, or concepts such as meritocracy, a hard work ethic, punctuality, use of standard English language, sense of urgency, pursuit of excellence, valuing the written word, individualism, logic, and objectivity are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race or group to oppress another race or group; and

      (9) an individual must be compelled to affirm, accept, adopt, profess, or adhere to concepts, forms of language, or definitions not firmly and widely established, empirically or scientifically accurate, or that are controversial or theoretical, such as:

         (a) gender theory, including nonbinary pronouns or honorifics;

         (b) unconscious or implicit bias; or

         (c) that race or biological sex are social constructs;

   (D) A state-funded education entity, including its employees and volunteers, shall not:

      (1) promote, engage in, or treat individuals in accordance with, the discriminatory concepts of subsection (C);

      (2) direct or otherwise compel individuals to personally affirm, accept, adopt, profess, or adhere to the discriminatory concepts of subsection (C);

      (3) conduct, sponsor, encourage, or require individuals to participate in instruction, presentations, discussions, trainings, questionnaires, surveys, clubs, counseling, or activities that affirm or promote the discriminatory concepts of subsection (C), whether as part of a lesson, assigned or suggested materials made available in any format or setting, conducted on premises, remotely, or by a third party;

      (4) conduct instruction that:

         (a) teaches theoretical ideas or uncorroborated claims as factual;

         (b) materially distorts or misrepresents verifiable historical facts;

         (c) inculcates, coerces, pressures, or encourages students into accepting or affirming a particular ideology or political belief, or participating in social or political activism such as protesting, marching, lobbying, or writing campaigns;

         (d) offers course credit, incentives, or favorable consideration for participating in social or political activism;

         (e) advertises, promotes, or endorses social or political ideologies, causes, movements, organizations, or political candidates;

         (f) creates an atmosphere hostile to open and respectful inquiry and discussion, or that demeans, marginalizes, or penalizes individuals for expressing differing viewpoints, especially about controversial issues;

         (g) promotes or endorses the concept of "equity," defined as treating different individuals or groups unequally to achieve equal or similar outcomes, as this concept violates nondiscriminatory statutes and is contrary to America's foundational underpinnings of equality, equality before the law, and the role of equality in the United States Constitution; or

         (h) promotes or endorses narratives that:

            (i)    the United States was founded for the purpose of oppression, that the American Revolution was fought for the purpose of protecting oppression, or that United States history is a story defined by oppression; or

            (ii) with respect to their relationship to American values, slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the authentic founding principles of the United States, which include liberty and equality; or

      (5) subjects minors under the age of eighteen to instruction, presentations, displays, performances, discussions, assignments, questionnaires, surveys, or materials in any medium made available in any format or setting, including making access available through online services, school or class libraries, book fairs, or catalogs that violate students' privacy or that involve or contain the following age-inappropriate content, which is reserved for parents and legal custodians to discuss with, and explain to, their children in accordance with their family values and, if they elect to, with health professionals of their choosing:

         (a) sexually explicit or obscene materials in accordance with Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16, or materials using obscene or profane language in accordance with Chapter 17, Title 16, in particular Section 16-17-530. For purposes of this section, materials shall be considered age-inappropriate and harmful to minors if sexually explicit and obscene content or profane language is present in any portion of the materials; and, claims that when taken as a whole the content has serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value shall not apply and shall not exempt the materials from being considered harmful to minors;

         (b) concepts or instruction on sexual activity, sexual orientation, gender theory, gender identity, gender multiplicity, or gender expression, except as may be needed for exclusively teaching the public health model of sexual risk avoidance education and human biological reproduction as part of a larger unit of study in grades 9 through 12; or

         (c) curricula, initiatives, programs, or activities that:

            (i) undermine, denigrate, question, or minimize the abilities, rights, or role of parents, legal custodians, or family as the primary educators and caregivers of their children;

            (ii) engage in, prompt, suggest, or encourage minors to reveal or discuss personal information in the presence of other students or staff, whether as part of a lesson, discussion, written assignment, club, survey, questionnaire, or any other format or setting. The collection, retention, disclosure, or dissemination of such information about students is strictly prohibited. For purposes of this section, personal information shall mean the student's or student family's:

               (1) political beliefs or affiliations;

               (2) mental, physical, or emotional health or well-being;

               (3) behavior, attitudes, beliefs, observations, or associations about race, ethnicity, skin color, biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation;

               (4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;

               (5) legally recognized or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;

               (6) religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs; or

           &