S.C. Code Ann. § 59-30-15 – Testing arrangements for students with learning disabilities

(A) The State Board of Education shall provide testing arrangements for students with documented learning disabilities who take the exit examination provided for in Section 59-30-10 to minimize the effects of the learning disabilities on test performance.
(B) A documented learning disability in reading is evidenced only by special education placement, consistent with State Board of Education regulations, in a program for learning disabled students.
(C) The reading test may be administered orally to students who cannot read the test because of a documented learning disability if all of the following conditions are met:
1. (1) The decision to administer the test orally must be determined by the committee responsible for the preparation of the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) as required by Public Law 94-142.
2. (2) The school district or other public agency responsible for the student's education maintains written documentation that pertinent parts of printed textbooks, tests, and other instructional materials used during daily instruction are normally presented orally rather than read by the student. Oral presentation may include, but is not limited to, audio cassettes, video cassettes, oral reading of tests by test administrators, or any combination of these approaches.
3. (3) The student's permanent record and any other school documents which contain exit examination scores must state clearly that the reading test was a measure of the student's ability to process information read to him and the obtained score is not a measure of ability to decode printed symbols. This statement must be expunged from the student's permanent record and other documents if the student subsequently takes and passes the test under standard conditions.
(D) The State Board of Education shall develop regulations which provide for appropriate methods of oral administration of the reading portion of the exit examination. Oral administrations may include, but are not limited to, audio cassettes, video cassettes, oral reading of the test by a test administrator, or any combination of these approaches. If the student qualifies for an oral administration of the reading test under the provisions of this section, the committee responsible for the preparation of the student's IEP shall select the most appropriate method of administration from among those provided for in the regulations of the State Board of Education.
(E) The parents or legal guardians of a student with documented learning disabilities whose Individualized Education Program does not provide for oral administration of the reading portion of the exit exam may appeal that decision to the State Department of Education within thirty days of receipt of notification of the decision of the IEP Committee. The Department of Education shall within twenty days convene a hearing panel composed of five members, one of whom must be a certified psychologist or specialist in learning disabilities from the State Department of Education, one of whom must be a certified psychologist from the involved local school district, one of whom must be a certified psychologist from another local school district, one of whom must be a teacher of students with learning disabilities from the involved local school district, and one of whom must be an administrator of special education programs from another local school district. The hearing panel shall conduct its proceedings in the involved school district. Documentation of the need for the oral administration may be presented in writing or in person to the panel. The panel shall review the request for an oral administration of the exam and notify the parents or legal guardians and the student's school of their decision in writing within ten days of the hearing. The decision of the review panel is binding on all parties, subject to decisions through the due process procedures set forth in Public Law 94-142.
(F) Nothing in this section precludes the State Board of Education from issuing additional regulations or guidelines governing special testing arrangements.
(G) Students with dyscalculia, and with other documented learning disabilities in mathematics as stipulated by guidelines or regulation of the State Board of Education, may use a calculator on the math portions of the exit examination.