Fiscal Responsibility in K-12 Technology Planning Act

2025-2026 Bill 5156: Fiscal Responsibility in K-12 Technology Planning Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5156
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Erickson, Bradley, M.M. Smith, Alexander, Hartnett, Vaughan, D. Mitchell, Davis, Huff, Duncan, Whitmire and Sanders
Document Path: LC-0606WAB26.docx
Introduced in the House on February 11, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Education and Public Works
Summary: Fiscal Responsibility in K-12 Technology Planning Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/11/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 41
)

2/11/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Education and Public Works
(
House Journal-page 41
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/11/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE
"FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY IN K-12 TECHNOLOGY PLANNING ACT" BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO
CHAPTER 23, TITLE 59 so as TO REQUIRE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES TO EVALUATE AND
CONSIDER TOTAL OWNERSHIP COSTS AND FLEXIBILITY FOR INNOVATION AND ACCESSIBILITY
WHEN ACQUIRING TECHNOLOGY, TO MANDATE ANNUAL REPORTING OF SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY
DEVICE BREAK/FIX RATES AND RELATED DATA, AND TO DIRECT THE STATE BOARD OF
EDUCATION TO COMPILE AND REPORT STATEWIDE FINDINGS, PROMULGATE RELATED
REGULATIONS, AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
This act may be cited as the "Fiscal Responsibility in K-12 Technology
Planning Act."

S
ECTION 2.
C
hapter 23, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:

A
rticle 5

F
iscal Responsibility in K-12 Technology Planning

S
ection
59-23-510
.
F
or the purposes of this article:

(
1)
"Break/fix rate" means the percentage obtained by dividing the number of school
technology devices reported as malfunctioning or needing repair due to physical
damage, hardware failure, or other breakage incidents prior to the stated life
cycle period, not covered by insurance or a policy plan period, by the total
number of school technology devices in operation during that period.

(
2)
"School technology device" means any electronic or computerized equipment
provided for educational purposes in a public school, including computers,
tablets, interactive whiteboards, and similar devices or anything considered a
digital device for purposes of a K-12 technology report by the State Board of
Education required in Section
59-23-520
(C).

(
3)
"Total cost of ownership assessment" means an assessment that, for the expected
performance period or useful life of the school technology device being
assessed, considers all of the following, as applicable:

(
a)
the cost of acquisition, including purchase price or lease payments;

(
b)
the cost of deployment and configuration, including device setup, imaging,
enrollment, and integration with existing systems;

(
c)
the cost of operation and management, including licensing, subscriptions,
device management, security, and connectivity;

(
d)
the cost of maintenance, support, damage repair, and warranties or protection
plans;

(
e)
the cost of necessary training for staff to use and support the technology;

(
f)
any anticipated downtime or disruption to instruction or operations reasonably
associated with the use or failure of the technology;

(
g)
any anticipated residual, resale, or salvage value at the end of the
technology's expected performance period, including value realized through a
trade-in or buyback program, and net of reasonable transaction costs; and

(
h)
any other factors the State Board of Education determines to be relevant to
achieving best value over the life of the technology.

S
ection
59-23-520
.
(
A) All local education
agencies, including charter authorizers, to evaluate the following when
acquiring technology, computer hardware and software:

(
1)
the total cost of ownership assessment;

(
2)
any flexibility for innovation and accessibility during the life of the
technology, computer hardware or software;

(
3)
any anticipated resale or salvage value at the end of the target life cycle for
the technology, computer hardware or software based on the average resale or
salvage value of similar technology, computer hardware or software as a
percentage of the initial cost of purchase; and

(
4)
the security of the technology, including protection of pupil and employee data
and the ability to maintain timely security updates.

(
B)
By August 15, 2027 and annually before every August fifteenth thereafter, each
local education agency, to include charter school authorizers, shall submit a
report to the State Board of Education. The initial report must include data
from the 2026-2027 School Year and contain the following information:

(
1)
the break/fix rate of the school technology devices in the local education
agency for the previous school year;

(
2)
the total number of school technology devices currently in operation in the
local education agency;

(
3)
the total number of school technology devices in the local education agency
requiring repair that underwent repair or were no longer in service during the
previous school year;

(
4)
the total amount of funds spent to repair or replace school technology devices
during the previous school year; and

(
5)
the above items disaggregated to include individual schools operating under the
authority of the local education agency.

(
C)
By November 15, 2027, and annually before every November fifteenth thereafter,
the State Board of Education shall report on the break/fix rate of school
technology devices across all local education agencies based on the reports
submitted by the agencies in accordance with this section. This K-12 technology
report must:

(
1)
include a summary of the data reported by each local education agency and
contain recommendations to reduce break/fix rates in the future; and

(
2)
be submitted to the House Education and Public Works Committee and the Senate
Education Committee.

S
ection
59-23-530
.
T
he State Board of Education shall:

(
1)
promulgate regulations to effectuate the provisions of this act to ensure the
regulations may take effect before July 1, 2027; and

(
2)
provide guidance and support to school districts in the implementation of the
provisions of this act.

S
ECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval
of the Governor and is applicable beginning with the 2027-2028 School Year.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on February 11, 2026 at 1:39 PM