South Carolina § 59-149-15 - Additional LIFE Scholarship stipend.

§ 59-149-15. Additional LIFE Scholarship stipend.

(A) A resident student who is at least a sophomore attending a four-year public or private institution of higher learning in this State, who is majoring in education, science, or mathematics as defined below, and who is receiving a LIFE Scholarship for the current year, shall receive an additional LIFE Scholarship stipend equal to the cost of attendance after applying all other scholarships or grants, not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars each year for no more than three additional years of instruction, including his sophomore year, if enrolled in a four-year degree program, or for not more than four additional years of instruction, including his sophomore year, if enrolled in a five-year degree program or a 3 plus 2 program. In addition, during his freshman year, the student majoring in science or mathematics must have successfully completed a total of at least fourteen credit hours of instruction in mathematics courses, or life and physical science courses, or a combination of both. A year is defined as thirty credit hours of instruction or its equivalent each year. To receive the additional LIFE Scholarship stipend each year, the student must receive the underlying LIFE Scholarship for that year and must be making acceptable progress each year toward receiving a degree in his education, science, or mathematics major. For purposes of meeting the required minimum level of instruction in mathematics and life and physical science courses during a student's freshman year, advanced placement courses in mathematics and life and physical sciences taken in high school on which the student scored high enough on the advanced placement test to receive credit at his institution and for which he received credit, count toward the fulfillment of this minimum requirement.

(B) The Commission on Higher Education by regulation shall define what constitutes a science or mathematics major, applicable beginning with the 2024-2025 School Year to persons who did not receive a LIFE Scholarship stipend before the 2024-2025 School Year. This definition of a science or mathematics major must include, at a minimum, majors in science or mathematics disciplines, computer science or informational technology, engineering, accounting, and healthcare and related disciplines including medicine and dentistry; provided, that nothing herein prevents a student from changing majors within acceptable science or mathematics disciplines. For purposes of determining stipend eligibility of accounting majors, courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business statistics completed by an accounting major in his freshman year must count towards the requirement in subsection (A) that the student shall complete at least fourteen credit hours of instruction in mathematics and science courses during the student's freshman year, and these provisions apply beginning with students who took microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business statistics courses as freshman accounting majors during the 2024-2025 School Year so as to enable them to have those courses count toward the fourteen-hour coursework requirement in subsection (A) for purposes of attaining LIFE Scholarship stipend eligibility.

(C) The Commission on Higher Education shall by regulation define what constitutes an education major for purposes of this section, applicable beginning with the 2024-2025 School Year to persons who did not receive a LIFE Scholarship stipend before the 2024-2025 School Year. This definition of an education major must include, in addition to other subjects considered appropriate by the commission, (1) mathematics education majors, (2) science education majors, and (3) students who major in mathematics, science, or another subject and obtain teacher certification in a subject area related to their major prior to completion of their undergraduate degree. Additionally, the commission shall set forth eligibility criteria that the student shall meet to receive a LIFE Scholarship stipend, which must include a contractual requirement, including a default provision, that the stipend recipient shall upon graduation work in a South Carolina public school for at least one school year for every year the stipend is received.

(D) A person who qualified for the LIFE Scholarship stipend before the 2024-2025 School Year:

(1) shall remain so qualified and eligible for the LIFE Scholarship stipend on that basis, notwithstanding revisions in eligibility criteria applicable beginning with the 2024-2025 School Year; and

(2) is exempt from the contractual work requirement of education majors in subsection (C).

(E) The Commission on Higher Education annually shall communicate with high school guidance counselors regarding the list of qualifying majors in this section.

HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 115, SECTION 7.B, eff June 29, 2007; 2008 Act No. 235, SECTION 2, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on May 22, 2008); 2024 Act No. 156 (S.125), SECTION 1, eff July 1, 2024; 2025 Act No. 44 (H.3632), SECTION 1, eff May 12, 2025.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment in the second sentence of subsection (A) substituted "mathematics courses, or life and physical science courses, or a combination of both" for "mathematics and life science courses with a minimum of six hours in mathematics and a minimum of six hours in science including one laboratory course".

2024 Act No. 156, SECTION 1, in (A), in the first and fourth sentences, substituted "education, science, or mathematics" for "science or mathematics", and in the second sentence, inserted "majoring in science or mathematics" following "the student"; rewrote (B) and (C); and added (D) and (E).

2025 Act No. 44, SECTION 1, in (B), added the last sentence and made a nonsubstantive change.