"S" is for South Carolina Department of Education

"S" is for South Carolina Department of Education. The South Carolina Department of Education is the administrative arm of the State Board of Education. The elected Superintendent of Education is secretary to the State Board of Education, a body of seventeen members appointed by legislators and the governor, which acts as the policy-making body for public elementary and secondary education. The department promulgates and oversees state educational policies for the state’s schools, as well as providing services, technical assistance, and assessment. Throughout the twentieth century, the department increasingly sought uniformity and equality of standards in the state. Increased public policy focus on education saw implementation of significant new legislation administered statewide by the South Carolina Department of Education including the Education Finance Act (1977), the Education Improvement Act (1984), and the Education Accountability Act (1998).