2015-2016 Bill 3462: Domestic Violence Awareness Education Act - South Carolina Legislature

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 121st Session, 2015-2016 3 4 H. 3462 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Rep. Crosby 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\18499ab15.docx 11 12 Introduced in the House on January 29, 2015 13 Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary 14 15 Summary: Domestic Violence Awareness Education Act 16 17 18 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 19 20 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 21 1/29/2015 House Introduced and read first time ( House Journalpage 8) 22 1/29/2015 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary ( House Journalpage 8) 23 24 View the latest legislative information at the website 25 26 27 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 28 29 1/29/2015 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, SO AS TO ENACT THE “DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 13 AWARENESS EDUCATION ACT” BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 14 TO CHAPTER 29, TITLE 59 SO AS TO DEFINE NECESSARY 15 TERMS, TO PROVIDE BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2016, THE 16 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHALL DEVELOP A 17 MODEL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS 18 CURRICULUM TO ASSIST SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN 19 DELIVERING AGEAPPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION ON THE 20 SUBJECT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO ALL PUBLIC 21 SCHOOL STUDENTS AND TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF 22 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TO 23 PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT ALSO SHALL DEVELOP A 24 MODEL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE POLICY TO ASSIST 25 SCHOOLS IN DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING 26 POLICIES FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH STUDENTS AND 27 EMPLOYEES MAY REPORT A SUSPECTED INCIDENT OF 28 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND TO PROVIDE THE 29 DEPARTMENT ALSO SHALL DEVELOP GUIDELINES AND 30 MATERIALS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION 31 CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FOR SCHOOL 32 FACULTIES AND ADMINISTRATORS; TO PROVIDE THAT 33 BEFORE JULY 1, 2016, ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL 34 IMPLEMENT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS 35 CURRICULUMS, POLICIES, AND CONTINUING 36 EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 37 BASED ON THE CURRICULUM AND POLICIES 38 DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENT; TO PROVIDE THAT 39 BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2017, AT LEAST ONE CREDIT OF 40 CONTINUING EDUCATION IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 41 DEVELOPED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION ANNUALLY 42 MUST BE COMPLETED BY TEACHERS AND

[3462] 2 1 APPROPRIATE STAFF, AND TO PROVIDE THAT AN 2 EDUCATOR WHO HOLDS A PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE 3 MAY USE THESE CREDITS TO SATISFY CREDENTIAL 4 RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 637370, 5 RELATING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OPTIONAL 6 REPORTING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE 7 CHILDREN’S CODE, SO AS TO MAKE REPORTING 8 MANDATORY, TO EXPAND THE PERSONS REQUIRED TO 9 REPORT, AND TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF 10 SOCIAL SERVICES SHALL TREAT THE CASE AS A 11 SUSPECTED REPORT OF ABUSE AND SHALL 12 INVESTIGATE THE CASE AS IN OTHER ALLEGATIONS OF 13 ABUSE IN ORDER TO DETERMINE IF THE CHILD HAS 14 BEEN ABUSED PHYSICALLY OR PSYCHOLOGICALLY; 15 AND TO REPEAL SECTION 591475 RELATING TO 16 EXISTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONTINUING 17 EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2016. 18 19 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 20 Carolina: 21 22 SECTION 1. This act must be known and may be cited as the 23 “Domestic Violence Awareness Education Act”. 24 25 SECTION 2. Chapter 29, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended 26 by adding: 27 28 “Article 5 29 30 Domestic Violence Awareness Education 31 32 Section 5929610. (A) As used in this chapter: 33 (1) ‘Domestic violence’ means the criminal offense provided 34 in Section 162520, which provides, among other things, that it is 35 unlawful to: 36 (a) cause physical harm or injury to a person’s own 37 household member; or 38 (b) offer or attempt to cause physical harm or injury to a 39 person’s own household member with apparent present ability 40 under circumstances reasonably creating fear of imminent peril. 41 (2) ‘Department’ means the South Carolina Department of 42 Education.

[3462] 3 1 (3) ‘Household member’, within the context of criminal 2 domestic violence, has the same meaning as Section 162510, 3 which includes: 4 (a) a spouse; 5 (b) a former spouse; 6 (c) persons who have a child in common; or 7 (d) a male and female who are cohabiting or formerly 8 have cohabited. 9 10 Section 5929620. (A)(1) Before January 1, 2016, the 11 department shall develop a model domestic violence awareness 12 curriculum to assist school districts in delivering ageappropriate 13 instruction on the subject of domestic violence to all students in 14 kindergarten through twelfth grade concerning: 15 (a) the nature, extent, and causes of domestic and family 16 violence; 17 (b) issues of domestic and family violence concerning 18 children, with particular emphasis on the psychological impact of 19 experiencing or witnessing domestic violence and the impact of 20 the diminished ability of an abused household member to provide 21 proper care for a child; 22 (c) prevention of the use of violence by children; 23 (d) sensitivity to gender bias and cultural, racial, and 24 sexual issues; 25 (e) the lethality of domestic and family violence; 26 (f) legal issues relating to domestic violence and child 27 custody; 28 (g) appropriate responses to reports or other indications of 29 domestic violence, including the importance of identifying and 30 reporting incidents of domestic violence to law enforcement and 31 appropriate school officials, including an administrator and 32 counselor, and situations in which making this report is required 33 by law; and 34 (h) the intersection of domestic violence and dating 35 violence and the impact of violence in a dating relationship 36 resembling domestic violence. 37 (2) Before January 1, 2016, the department shall develop a 38 model domestic violence policy to assist schools in developing and 39 implementing policies for the manner in which students and 40 employees of the district may report a suspected incident of 41 domestic violence. The policy shall make district employees aware 42 of their legal obligations to report such incidents, and shall 43 encourage students to report such incidents. A policy should

[3462] 4 1 include the prominent display throughout the school of contact 2 information and an assurance that the identity of a person who 3 makes a report be kept confidential. 4 (B)(1) Before July 1, 2016, each school shall adopt for 5 implementation beginning with the 20162017 school year, a: 6 (a) curriculum for domestic violence awareness 7 instruction for all students based on the curriculum developed by 8 the department in item (A)(1); and 9 (b) policy for responding to domestic violence based on 10 the model policy developed by the department in item (A)(2). 11 (2) To ensure notice of the school district’s domestic 12 violence awareness policy, the policy must be published in school 13 and school district handbooks or any publications on the school or 14 district website that provide the rules, procedures, or standards of 15 conduct for students at school. 16 (C) Each school district shall inform the students’ parents or 17 legal guardians of the school district’s domestic violence 18 awareness policy. Upon request, the school district shall provide 19 parents or legal guardians with a copy of the school district’s 20 domestic violence awareness policy and relevant information, 21 including the contact information for making reports. 22 (D) This section does not prevent a victim from seeking redress 23 under any other available law, either civil or criminal. 24 25 Section 5929630. (A) Before January 1, 2016, the department 26 shall develop guidelines and materials for continuing education 27 concerning domestic violence that covers the criteria in Section 28 5929620(A)(1)(a) through (h). 29 (B) Before July 1, 2016, each school district shall adopt a 30 curriculum for continuing education on domestic and family 31 violence for teachers and appropriate staff based on the guidelines 32 and materials developed by the department pursuant to subsection 33 (A) which must be submitted to the department for approval. 34 Online classes developed or approved by the South Carolina 35 Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault or a 36 similar organization may be used as part of this curriculum, subject 37 to approval by the department. 38 (C) Beginning January 1, 2017, at least one credit of continuing 39 education in domestic violence developed pursuant to this section 40 annually must be completed by teachers and appropriate staff. An 41 educator who holds a professional certificate may use these credits 42 to satisfy credential renewal requirements.” 43

[3462] 5 1 SECTION 3. Section 637370 of the 1976 Code is amended to 2 read: 3 4 “Section 637370. The law enforcement officer upon receipt of 5 a report of domestic violence may report this information to the 6 Department of Social Services. A physician, nurse, dentist, 7 optometrist, medical examiner or coroner, or an employee of a 8 county medical examiner’s or coroner’s office, or any other 9 medical, emergency medical services, mental health, or allied 10 health professional, member of the clergy including a Christian 11 Science Practitioner or religious healer, school teacher, counselor, 12 principal, assistant principal, school attendance officer, social or 13 public assistance worker, substance abuse treatment staff, or 14 childcare worker in a childcare center or foster care facility, foster 15 parent, police or law enforcement officer, juvenile justice worker, 16 undertaker, funeral home director or employee of a funeral home, 17 persons responsible for processing films, computer technician, 18 judge, or a volunteer nonattorney guardian ad litem serving on 19 behalf of the South Carolina Guardian Ad Litem Program or on 20 behalf of Richland County CASA shall report in accordance with 21 this article when in the person’s professional capacity the person 22 has received information which gives the person reason to believe 23 that a child has been or may have been subject to domestic 24 violence, including living in a household in which domestic 25 violence occurs. Law enforcement and the department may shall 26 treat the case of domestic violence as a suspected report of abuse 27 and may shall investigate the case as it would in other allegations 28 of abuse in order to determine if the child has been harmed 29 physically or psychologically abused.” 30 31 SECTION 4. Section 591475 of the 1976 Code is repealed 32 effective July 1, 2016. 33 34 SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the 35 Governor. 36 XX 37

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