Philip Cease, director of governmental affairs for the South Carolina Department of Education, told the House Education and Public Works Committee the department’s strategic plan — “one‑four‑one‑four” — aims to raise student proficiency and listed four three‑year objectives that lead to a “moonshot” goal: at least 75 percent of students at or above grade level by 2030.

Cease described the department’s push on literacy through the Science of Reading and LETRS training, which he said was funded with roughly $40 million to provide high‑quality professional learning for K–3 teachers. He said about 20,000 teachers were “in the pipeline or have completed” LETRS and that the department expects every K–3 teacher to have received LETRS training by the end of the 2025–26 school year. “You learn to read in grades 1 through 3, and in grades 4 on, you read to learn,” Cease said.

Cease said the Palmetto Math Project — modeled after the literacy work — is running as a statewide expansion of a pilot that targets underperforming schools with concentrated supports. He said the department has requested classroom funding for high‑quality instructional materials for math; the request includes $20 million recurring and $95 million nonrecurring for materials.

On student safety and classroom culture, Cease outlined the “Free to Focus” cell phone policy framework that the 2025 appropriations proviso directed the State Board of Education to produce. Under the model policy, the board required local school districts to adopt a policy governing students’ access to electronic devices during the school day or risk losing classroom funding; local districts decide the specific consequences and permitted exceptions. Cease said many districts are storing phones in backpacks, pouches or lockers and that exceptions may be made for medical needs or first responders.

Budget priorities Cease listed to the committee included a request for $200 million to raise starting teacher pay to $50,000 (a proposed $3,000 across pay scales), $100 million recurring for a rural infrastructure bank and safe‑schools investments, $20 million recurring and $95 million nonrecurring for instructional materials, summer reading camps and CTE/Rural Renaissance investments. Cease also cited the Read to Succeed framework and said 16,238 third graders would have been eligible for retention under the statutory rollout if standards had been applied last June; the department is funding summer reading camps and other interventions tied to those retention rules.

Committee members asked about use of AI for tutoring and about how the statewide cell phone policy is being implemented and communicated. Cease said the department had heard both teacher‑side and parent‑side concerns but that anecdotal reports from teachers included positive classroom experiences after implementation. He said the proviso will remain in front of the legislature this session for possible changes, and the department has asked legislators to allow a full year to collect implementation data before statutory changes.

Cease concluded by urging members to review departmental materials and attend budget hearings; the chair asked the department to supply the exact proviso language to committee members to help local districts and staff communicate with teachers and parents.