State & Regional Interest	Tuesday, May 27, 2003
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House passes education reform bills (Published May 22‚ 2003) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The House this week passed education reform bills that were pushed by Gov. Mark Sanford. House members on Thursday approved the Streamlined Management and Accountable Resources for Teaching, or SMART, Funding bill that would reform how education is funded. Under the bill, all state funding for public schools would be consolidated into six categories: quality teaching, instruction, technical assistance, operations and infrastructure, work force education and special needs. The bill would give school districts flexibility to spend funds as they see fit. On Wednesday, the House approved a bill that would add a conduct grade on a student's report card. Supporters say the bill would improve classroom discipline and expand character education in schools. "These reforms will go a long way toward fixing two serious problems in our public schools - a lack of flexibility in being able to spend state dollars where they're needed most and a lack of discipline in our classrooms," Sanford said.

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