Teacher authority bill

South Carolina lawmakers are moving a bill that would give teachers clearer power to remove violent or seriously disruptive students from class. (scstatehouse.gov) The Senate version, S. 1060, was filed on March 26, 2026, by Sen. Michael Johnson and 13 other senators. The House companion, H. 5483, was introduced on April 1, 2026, by Reps. Shannon Erickson, Bradley, McGinnis, Hartnett, Teeple and Vaughan. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov) Both bills say they would create procedures for student referral, removal and administrative response, add protections for educators, administrators and staff, and require the State Board of Education and local school boards to update conduct codes. The Senate bill says districts would have one year after enactment to bring student and staff codes into line. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov) The proposal focuses on classroom authority, not schoolwide policing. Its text centers on who can remove a student, what follow-up administrators must provide, and what legal or job protections apply to school employees who act under the policy. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov) That puts the bill inside a broader South Carolina push on school safety. In 2025, the state enacted the “Guardians of Our Schools Act,” which lets public K-12 schools designate trained employees as armed school guardians. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov) This new measure is narrower and more procedural than that 2025 law. Instead of adding armed personnel, it would rewrite discipline rules and administrative timelines inside ordinary classrooms. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov) The bill language released by the Legislature does not spell out every threshold in the search summary alone, but the official captions say it would define key terms tied to educator safety and classroom authority. WRHI reported on April 18 that lawmakers were reviewing the measure as a response to classroom violence and major disruptions. (scstatehouse.gov; wrhi.com) As of April 18, 2026, the state’s acts log did not list S. 1060 or H. 5483 as enacted law. H. 5483 was shown as referred to the House Education and Public Works Committee after its April 1 introduction. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov) What happens next is in committee rooms, where lawmakers can add the definitions, deadlines and appeal steps that will decide how much authority teachers actually gain. (scstatehouse.gov; scstatehouse.gov)