Some districts aren’t following state laws designed to improve teachers’ working conditions
By Patrick Kelly
It may still be the dog days of August, but lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about December.
Specifically, I’ve been reflecting on one scene from the holiday classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
Toward the end of the movie, the final descent into chaos for the Griswold family Christmas occurs when Clark Griswold learns that his boss secretly decided to replace the annual employee Christmas bonus check with a year-long membership in the Jelly of the Month Club.
While Clark’s cousin memorably described that membership as the “gift that keeps on giving,” the ensuing meltdown from Clark is relatable to anyone who has ever received less than what was expected or promised — a situation far too many educators are navigating across South Carolina as schools return to session.
Back-to-school has been phenomenal in numerous classrooms statewide, including mine.
Like many of my teaching colleagues, I am blessed to have a remarkable school leadership team that worked diligently to ensure I had the resources and support necessary for a successful start to the year.
For a smaller, but not insignificant, number of teachers, the experience has been closer to the disappointment of the unfulfilled Griswold bonus check.
Expectations entering the year were elevated after the Legislature unanimously passed — and the governor signed — the Educator Assistance Act, a transformative piece of legislation to improve educator working conditions.
Among other things, the law provides teachers two “self-directed” work days to prepare for the arrival of students. Another provision requires schools to inform teachers of their “tentative assignment” no later than 14 days prior to the first day of classes.
The July 1, 2025, effective date of the new law admittedly created a tight window for implementation. However, according to a recent survey of Palmetto State Teachers Association (PSTA) members, roughly 10% of teachers statewide did not receive the required notice and approximately 1 in 5 did not receive the two start-of-year work days.
Policy implementation falling short of its promise has played out in similar fashion for other recently signed pro-educator laws.
For example, a 2022 law requires that elementary teachers receive at least 30 minutes of daily “unencumbered” time to address basic needs like eating and going to the restroom.
PSTA survey data to start this school year shows progress toward consistent implementation of the law, but instances persist across the state of non-compliance, or of compliance that falls well short of the spirit of the law (i.e. identifying the 30 minutes prior to student arrival as the required time).
Failures of policy implementation, which most directly impact affected teachers, should matter to anyone who cares about the caliber of educational opportunities and outcomes in our state.
Far too many students continue to attend schools with vacant teaching positions, and while policy actions like increased salaries are making a positive difference, research indicates that personnel is as important — if not more important — than policy in reducing teacher turnover.
A recent report from “SC TEACHER” found school and district leadership plays an outsized role when teachers decide to leave their schools.
For the 2023-24 school year, 37% of teacher departures were the result of teachers leaving their school, not the profession, a decision “SC TEACHER” attributes in part to a “lack (of) resources like administrative support.” Further research found “administrative support” as having “the strongest positive association with (teacher) job satisfaction.”
The work of “SC TEACHER” strongly indicates quality school leadership is likely the most important influence on teacher recruitment and retention. Other research consistently shows a quality classroom teacher to be the number one in-school influence on student achievement, making strong school leadership central to helping every student reach their full academic potential.
School and district leaders can take positive steps in this area through their own initiative by prioritizing educator wellness and support.
I have worked with and for numerous school administrators that have demonstrated how a “whatever-it-takes” approach to educator support can help teachers thrive, even in the face of poor policies.
South Carolina can expand the number of these educator-elevating school leaders through thoughtful policy actions.
Part of that work has to focus on leadership preparation, a process that the Department of Education is streamlining and strengthening through actions such as an in-progress update to the requirements for administrative certification.
Policymakers — and school personnel — also must find ways to reduce and eliminate non-essential demands on administrator time and energy in order to free school leaders to focus on working with and supporting educators and students.
One of the most accomplished school leaders in our state recently shared with me his frustration at not being able to do what he considers his core function — getting into classrooms to support the work of teachers and students — due to the deluge of bureaucratic paperwork and processes that keep him confined to his office.
After the Christmas bonus fiasco, Clark Griswold emphatically reminded his family that they were “all in this together.”
Elevating educator working conditions in South Carolina requires a similar all-hands-on-deck commitment.
But in this instance, the payoff in improved student outcomes truly is the gift that will keep on giving well into the future.
Patrick Kelly is the director of governmental affairs for the Palmetto State Teachers Association. He has taught in Richland School District 2 since 2005, and he served on the 2023 South Carolina Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force.
