NEWS BRIEFS: Schools in state haven’t heard from 16,085 students

By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | South Carolina public schools have been unable to communicate with 16,085 students since mid-March, when children began remote learning in the pandemic, according to data released this week.

Last week, Statehouse Report was the first news outlet in the state to spotlight the preliminary number of missing children. Read that story here.

The new numbers released by the S.C. Department of Education include all but three schools and reveal that 2 percent of students have not touched base with their teacher or school for months.

State lawmakers and child advocates say they are concerned about the numbers of missing students, especially those in low-income households, because they could lose learning or could be in abusive or neglect situations . 

These three school districts have the largest percentage of students missing:

• Hampton County School District 2 reported 76 of 680 students, or 11.2 percent, were unaccounted for;
• Jasper County School District reported 297 of 2,697 students, or 11 percent; and,
• Spartanburg County School District 7 reported 789 of 7,476 students, or 10.6 percent.

Here are the school districts with an excess of 500 unaccounted-for children:

• Aiken County School District with 629 missing students;
• Anderson County School District 5 with 656;
• Berkeley County School District with 622;
• Horry County School District with 1,120;
• Orangeburg County School District with 586;
• Sumter County School District with 638; and,
• York County School District 3 with 550.

Dillon County School District 3, Florence County School District 2, Florence County School District 5 and Saluda County School District reported that all students have been reached. . 

Students in ninth grade accounted for 1,776 of unaccounted-for children statewide, followed by 1,415 10th grade students. Pre-K and Kindergarten had the fewest number of students unaccounted-for statewide at 539.

Last week, Felder and Lexington Republican Sen. Katrina Shealy told Statehouse Report that there should be more involvement from S.C. Department of Social Services in finding the students. 

In other news:

Masks ordinances grow around the state. As Gov. Henry McMaster continues to question enforceability of a statewide mask-use mandate that experts say would help slow the spread of the coronavirus, more local governments are enacting their own. Last week, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson issued an opinion saying mask mandates are constitutional. Here are some of the local governments with mask mandates:

• Dorchester County 
• Beaufort County
• Sullivan’s Island 
• Camden 
• Orangeburg 
• Chester 
• Kiawah 
• Mount Pleasant 
• Summerville 
• Folly Beach
• North Charleston 
• Spartanburg 
• Charleston County 
• Richland County
• Georgetown County
• Sumter
• Aiken
• Myrtle Beach
• See more here.

Related: Masks gain popularity. Many in the Charleston area appear to agree that mask use, whether mandated or not, will help others during this time. Read more.

Pair accused of trying to blow up Tillman statue. Amid calls for racial justice in the United States, some memorials and statues to racist or white supremacist icons have been the targets of vigilantes. That trend came close to the Statehouse this week when police charged two people with arson and use of a destructive device after something containing thermite was found near the “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman statue on Statehouse grounds. Tillman gained notoriety when federal troops pulled out of South Carolina and he worked to undo gains achieved by Black South Carolinians during Reconstruction. Read more. 

S.C. gas rose 2 cents July 1. South Carolina’s state gas tax increases 2 cents for the fourth time, bringing the total tax per gallon to 24 cents. Two more increases will happen in the coming years. Read more. 

S.C. now one of 3 without hate crimes legislation. Georgia’s Republican-led General Assembly and Republican governor approved a hate crimes law last week, leaving South Carolina as one of just three remaining states without laws enacting stiffer penalties for hate-motivated crimes against its citizens. Read more.

S.C. now one of 13 without expanded Medicaid. This week, Oklahoma voters passed Medicaid expansion, making South Carolina now one of 13 states without expanded Medicaid coverage for its residents unable to afford insurance. Read about Oklahoma’s constitutional change. 

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