SOUTH CAROLINA REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE
S
TATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT
WWW.RFA.SC.GOV • (803)734-3793
This fiscal impact statement is produced in compliance with the South Carolina Code of Laws and House and Senate rules. The focus of
the analysis is on governmental expenditure and revenue impacts and may not provide a comprehensive summary of the legislation.
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S. 0078
Fiscal Impact Summary
This bill allows an individual’s prior years of work experience to be awarded on an educator
certificate if the prior experience is in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which
the individual qualifies. One year of experience credit may be awarded for every two years of
full-time relevant work experience. If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible
individual is entitled to a pay adjustment for the current school year to reflect the new experience
step on the employing district’s salary schedule.
This bill will increase General Fund expenses of the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) by
$191,160 in FY 2025-26. Of this amount, $67,160 is for recurring salary and fringe benefits for
1.0 FTE to evaluate and process certification requests, $4,000 is for initial equipment costs, and
$120,000 is for one-time reprogramming of the SC Educator system to distinguish between
teaching experience credit and non-teaching or related experience. Expenses will decrease to
$67,160 beginning in FY 2026-27 for the 1.0 FTE. SCDE will request a General Fund
appropriation increase to fund these expenses.
The impact on state agency schools will vary. The Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de
la Howe, the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, and the Wil Lou Gray
Opportunity School indicate that the bill will have no expenditure impact since they can manage
any additional costs with existing appropriations. The School for the Deaf and Blind reports that
provisions of bill allowing individuals to receive credit for prior work experience would have an
expenditure impact on the agency, but the cost is undetermined. Further, the Governor’s School
for the Arts and Humanities previously indicated that similar legislation would have no
expenditure impact since the agency currently hires teachers with a minimum of three years of
experience and already accounts for additional work history in its budgeted expenses.
The cost to local school districts to provide additional compensation to eligible teachers will vary
depending upon the number of teachers entitled to additional credit, the additional years of
experience to which each teacher is entitled, and where each teacher falls on the salary schedule.
SCDE estimates that at least 9,405 educators are likely to be eligible to receive credit for prior
work experience. Using the FY 2024-25 State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule as a guide,
RFA estimates that the cost of one year of experience credit averages $500 for teachers with a
bachelor’s degree, $563 for a teacher with a master’s degree, and $786 for a teacher with a
doctorate.
Bill Number: S. 0078 Introduced on Januar
y 14, 2025
Subject: Work Experience Credit for Educators
Requestor: Senate Education
RFA Analyst(s): Wren
Impact Date: January 17, 2025
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S. 0078
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Introduced on January 14, 2025
State Expenditure
This bill allows an individual’s prior years of work experience to be awarded on an educator
certificate if the prior experience is in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which
the individual qualifies. One year of experience credit may be awarded for every two years of
full-time relevant work experience. If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible
individual is entitled to a pay adjustment for the current school year to reflect the new experience
step on the employing district’s salary schedule.
S.C. Department of Education. SCDE indicates that this bill will increase General Fund
expenses by $191,160 in FY 2025-26. Of this amount, $67,160 is for salary and fringe benefits
for 1.0 FTE to evaluate and process certification requests, $4,000 is for equipment costs, and
$120,000 is for reprogramming the SC Educator system to distinguish between teaching
experience credit and non-teaching or related experience. Expenses will decrease to $67,160
beginning in FY 2026-27 for the 1.0 FTE. SCDE will request a General Fund appropriation
increase to fund these expenses.
State Agency Schools. The impact on state agency schools will vary. The Governor’s School for
Agriculture at John de la Howe and the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School indicate that the bill
will have no expenditure impact since they can manage any additional costs with existing
appropriations. The Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics indicates that this bill will
have no expenditure impact since many of its instructors are non-certified and the agency
currently gives its instructors credit for prior work experience in a related field. The School for
the Deaf and Blind reports that provisions of bill allowing individuals to receive credit for prior
work experience would have an expenditure impact on the agency, but the cost is undetermined.
The Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities previously indicated that similar legislation
would have no expenditure impact since the agency currently hires teachers with a minimum of
three years of experience and already accounts for additional work history in its budgeted
expenses.
State Revenue
N/A
Local Expenditure
This bill allows an individual’s prior years of work experience to be awarded on an educator
certificate if the prior experience is in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which
the individual qualifies. One year of experience credit may be awarded for every two years of
full-time relevant work experience. If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible
individual is entitled to a pay adjustment for the current school year to reflect the new experience
step on the employing district’s salary schedule.
SCDE indicates that of the 77,832 educators who hold a current educator certificate based on an
undergraduate or graduate program or based on reciprocity, the department does not have data to
__________________________________
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
DISCLAIMER: THIS FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT REPRESENTS THE OPINION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
AGENCY OFFICIAL WHO APPROVED AND SIGNED THIS DOCUMENT. IT IS PROVIDED AS INFORMATION TO
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN EXPRESSION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
Page 3 of 3
S. 0078
determine how many of these educators may have qualifying work experience and would be
eligible for additional experience credit. However, SCDE indicates that current CTE work-based
and alternative route teachers and career changers now holding a professional certificate based
on their successful completion of a traditional (e.g., MAT) or alternative route program (e.g.,
PACE, Teachers of Tomorrow, Advanced Fine Arts, etc.) are likely to have qualifying prior
work experience. SCDE reports that 1,414 educators hold a current CTE work-based certificate,
while 2,155 educators hold a current alternative route certificate and are pursuing a professional
certificate. Additionally, 5,836 educators hold a current valid professional certificate based on
their successful completion of an alternative route program. In total, SCDE estimates that at least
9,405 educators are likely to be eligible to receive credit for prior work experience.
The additional cost per teacher per year of work experience credit will vary depending on the
teacher’s degree and years of teaching experience and ranges from $250 to $1,500. For
reference, using the FY 2024-25 State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule as a guide, RFA
estimates that the cost of one year of experience credit averages $500 for teachers with a
bachelor’s degree, $563 for a teacher with a master’s degree, and $786 for a teacher with a
doctorate. We estimate the cost of five years of additional experience credit for teachers at
various places on the FY 2024-25 proposed State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule as follows:
Type of Degree
Years of Teaching
Experience
Years of Prior Work
Experience Credit
Estimated Cost Per
Teache
r
Bachelor’s Degree 0 5 $2,000
Master’s Degree 0 5 $2,000
Doctorate Degree 0 5 $2,500
Bachelor’s Degree 5 5 $3,000
Master’s Degree 5 5 $3,000
Doctorate Degree 5 5 $5,750
Bachelor’s Degree 10 5 $2,500
Master’s Degree 10 5 $3,500
Doctorate Degree 10 5 $6,250
The cost to the local school districts to provide additional compensation to eligible teachers will
vary depending upon the number of teachers entitled to additional credit, the additional years of
experience to which each teacher is entitled, and where each teacher falls on the salary schedule.
Local Revenue
N/A