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. 0269
Fiscal Impact Summary
This bill specifies that a public school district with more than 15,000 students may use security
personnel who are armed or have been delegated arrest authority on the school premises if the
district obtains a propriety security business license from the State Law Enforcement Division
(SLED). The bill also requires SLED to implement certain training requirements for security
personnel on school premises and specifies that school district security officers must be
recertified every two years. The bill further specifies that school districts are not exempt from
certain private security and investigative agency license requirements.
This bill will have no expenditure impact on the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE). The
department indicates that it can manage the provisions of the bill with existing appropriations.
This bill will have no expenditure impact on state agency schools. The Governor’s School for
Agriculture at John de la Howe, the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the
Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, the School for the Deaf and the Blind, and the
Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School indicate that they can manage the provisions of the bill with
existing appropriations.
SLED indicates that the bill will increase the agency’s expenses by $132,320 in FY 2025-26. Of
this amount, $124,320 is for 2.0 additional FTEs to manage the increase in applications for
proprietary security business licenses from qualifying school districts, and $2,000 is for training
and travel costs. The remaining $6,000 is for one-time equipment costs for the new FTEs.
Expenses will decrease to $126,320 each year thereafter for the FTEs and training and travel
costs. SLED reports that the agency will request a General Fund appropriation increase to fund
the expenses.
This bill may increase Other Funds revenue of SLED by an undetermined amount due to the
potential increase in propriety security business license fees collected by the agency. Based on
information from SLED, the cost of a propriety security business license fee is $350. The total
amount will depend upon the number of districts that obtain a proprietary security business
license.
The overall expenditure impact of this bill on the local school districts will vary. SCDE surveyed
the seventy-two regular school districts and three charter school districts and received responses
Bill Number: S. 0269 Introduced on Januar
y 28, 2025
Subject: Private Security Services in Public Schools
Requestor: Senate Education
RFA Analyst(s): Bryant
Impact Date: March 25, 2025
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from twenty-two districts. Twenty of the responding districts indicate that the bill will have no
expenditure impact. The remaining two districts indicate that if they choose to use security
personnel who are armed or have been delegated arrest authority on the school premises, this will
increase expenses by an amount ranging from $2,735 to $20,000 to obtain a propriety security
business license, hire security officers, provide for SLED training and recertification, and
purchase equipment.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Introduced on January 28, 2025
State Expenditure
This bill specifies that a public school district with more than 15,000 students may use security
personnel who are armed or have been delegated arrest authority on the school premises if the
district obtains a proprietary security business license from SLED. School districts remain
obligated to use school resource officers as otherwise provided by law. This bill also requires
SLED to implement certain training requirements for security personnel on school premises and
specifies that school district security officers must be recertified every two years. The bill further
specifies that school districts are not exempt from certain private security and investigative
agency license requirements specified in Title 40, Chapter 18.
S.C. Department of Education. This bill will have no expenditure impact on SCDE. The
department indicates that it can manage the provisions of the bill with existing appropriations.
State Agency Schools. This bill will have no expenditure impact on state agency schools. The
Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe, the Governor’s School for the Arts and
Humanities, the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, the School for the Deaf and
the Blind, and the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School indicate that they can manage the
provisions of the bill with existing appropriations.
State Law Enforcement Division. SLED indicates that the bill will increase the agency’s
expenses by $132,320 in FY 2025-26. Of this amount, $124,320 is for 2.0 additional FTEs to
manage the increase in applications for proprietary security business licenses from qualifying
school districts, and $2,000 is for training and travel costs. The remaining $6,000 is for one-time
equipment costs for the new FTEs. Expenses will decrease to $126,320 each year thereafter for
the FTEs and training and travel costs. SLED reports that the agency will request a General Fund
appropriation increase to fund the expenses.
State Revenue
This bill specifies that a public school district with more than 15,000 students may use certain
security personnel on the school premises if the district obtains a propriety security business
license from SLED. The bill also requires school district security officers to be recertified by
SLED every two years.
This bill may increase Other Funds revenue of SLED by an undetermined amount due to the
potential increase in propriety security business license fees and security officer registration
__________________________________
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.
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certificate fees collected by the agency. Based on information from SLED, the cost of a propriety
security business license fee is $350. The total amount will depend upon the number of districts
that obtain a proprietary security business license and the number of security officers requiring
recertification each year.
Local Expenditure
This bill specifies that a public school district with more than 15,000 students may use security
personnel who are armed or have been delegated arrest authority on the school premises if the
district obtains a proprietary security business license from SLED. For reference, sixteen regular
school districts and two charter school districts have more than 15,000 students in FY 2024-25.
The overall expenditure impact of this bill on the local school districts will vary. SCDE surveyed
the seventy-two regular school districts and three charter school districts and received responses
from twenty-two districts. Twenty of the responding districts indicate that the bill will have no
expenditure impact. The remaining two districts indicate that if they choose to use security
personnel who are armed or have been delegated arrest authority on the school premises, this will
increase expenses by an amount ranging from $2,735 to $20,000 for obtaining a propriety
security business license, hiring security officers, SLED training and recertification, and
equipment costs.
Local Revenue
N/A