Outline of the state of South Carolina
State
South Carolina
Addressed

Category
Health Education K-12 Curriculum—Alcohol and Drug Use or Abuse—HS

Category
Health Education K-12 Curriculum—Alcohol and Drug Use or Abuse—HS

State law addresses alcohol and Drug-use/abuse.

South Carolina Code of Laws 59-29-30. Required subjects; Alcohol and Narcotics Education Week.

Each public school of the State shall designate one week during the school year for the observance of Alcohol and Narcotics Education Week. During this week, each district board of trustees shall require the school principal or other designated person to have each class from the sixth grade upward instructed for at least thirty minutes on three days concerning the risks and dangers involved in the use of alcoholic beverages and narcotics. The principal, or such other designated person, shall also have at least one assembly session during the week of not less than forty-five minutes, at which time the subject of the dangerous effect of alcohol and narcotics shall be presented.

Policy Type
Statute

South Carolina Code of Laws 59-32-20. Selection or adoption of instruction units by state board required.

(C) Before August 1, 2018, and through the cyclical review process, if deemed necessary, the board shall include instruction on prescription opioid abuse prevention, with an emphasis on the prescription drug epidemic and the connection between opioid abuse and addiction to other drugs, such as heroin, in the health Standard. In addition, the board shall make available to districts a list of instructional materials that meet state Standard. Districts shall continue to adopt or develop curriculum locally.

Policy Type
Statute

South Carolina Code of State Regulations 43–234. Defined Program Grades 9–12 and Graduation Requirements

  1. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs: Schools must provide age-appropriate instruction regarding the dangers in the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Instruction must emphasize the negative effects that the use of such substances can have on the total community.
Policy Type
Regulation

South Carolina Code of State Regulations 43–238. Health Education Requirements

The Comprehensive Health Education (CHE) Act of 1988 (59–32–5) requires that public school health instruction be planned, age-appropriate, and sequential. The CHE Act further requires that, at least one time during the four years of grades 9–12, each student shall receive a program of instruction in comprehensive health education to include the following subjects:

  • community health
  • consumer health
  • environmental health
  • growth and development
  • nutritional health
  • personal health
  • prevention and control of diseases and disorders
  • safety and accident prevention
  • substance use and abuse
  • dental health
  • mental and emotional health
  • reproductive health**
  • pregnancy prevention**
  • sexually transmitted diseases** ***
  • family life (option in grades 9–12)

** a minimum of 750 minutes of instruction is required for these three together. *** Instruction in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) includes AIDS education and must be taught within the reproductive health, family life, or pregnancy prevention education components or it must be presented as a separate component (59–32–30(E)).

Policy Type
Regulation