Philip Seese, director of governmental affairs for the South Carolina Department of Education, told the House Education and Public Works Committee that the department’s strategic plan centers on evidence‑based instruction for early reading, expansion of a Palmetto Math pilot and targeted investments in instructional materials, teacher pay and school safety.

Seese read the department’s updated mission: "The mission of South Carolina Department of Education is to serve students, support teachers, empower parents, engage the community so that every student graduates prepared to reach their full potential." He said the department’s strategic framework includes a long‑term “moonshot” goal to raise the share of students at or above grade level and a set of three‑year objectives supported by one‑year and 90‑day goals.

What the department highlighted

- Science of Reading/LETRS: Seese said the legislature provided nearly $40 million to fund high‑quality professional learning for K‑3 teachers in the science of reading. He told the committee that LETRS training is being deployed and that roughly 20,000 teachers are in the pipeline or have completed the training; the department offers a completion stipend.

- Read to Succeed retention exposure and summer supports: Seese said Read to Succeed 2 raises retention thresholds. He told committee members that, under the current statutory standard, 16,238 third graders would have been eligible for retention this past school year and that the department is expanding summer reading camps and supports.

- Palmetto Math Project: building on the Palmetto Literacy Project, the department is piloting the Palmetto Math Project to identify underperforming schools and provide targeted supports with the goal of raising math proficiency.

- Cell phone proviso and model policy (“Free to Focus”): Seese described a proviso in the current appropriations bill requiring the State Board of Education to adopt a model cell phone policy; local school districts must adopt a policy or risk losing classroom state aid. The model policy defines "access" (viewing, holding, wearing or otherwise using a device) and permits local exceptions (medical devices, first responders, IEP/504 accommodations); consequences are locally determined.

- Budget requests: Seese summarized a multi‑part budget request the department plans to present to the legislature: $200 million recurring to raise starting teacher salary to $50,000 (plus $2 million for special schools), $20 million recurring and $95 million nonrecurring for high‑quality instructional materials (math in particular), $13 million for a CTE Rural Renaissance program, and $100 million recurring proposed for a rural infrastructure bank and safe‑schools initiatives (facility upgrades, vehicle replacement, cell‑phone storage as an eligible expense). He said the department has seen roughly $1.6 billion in new state investment since 2018‑19 and that teacher salaries have risen about 47 percent in that period.

Committee response and next steps

Committee members asked for examples of districts using AI for individualized tutoring and for follow‑up on teacher pay, recruitment and retention. Seese acknowledged the department has received innovation grant reports and offered to connect members with districts piloting AI tutoring.

Seese emphasized that the department will share slides and that the budget request will be heard in the coming appropriations hearings. The department asked the legislature to let the cell phone proviso run for a year to collect implementation data before codifying or changing it.