COLUMBIA, S.C. — As a state teaching group is asking teachers to consider leaving the classroom on May 1st to show their displeasure with the legislative process, state lawmakers appear split on if it's a needed move.
The group, SC for Ed, is calling it '#ALLOutMay1st: A Day of Reflection for SC Educators.'
"After nearly a year of engaging with policy makers, we have reached a point where educator voices have fallen on deaf ears," SC for Ed's press release wrote.
"We know it is a sacrifice for educators to be out of their classrooms; however, not participating in this event will only allow the cycle of detrimental educational policy to continue in our state," the statement continues.
In a separate Tweet, SC for Ed says they're organizing an event at the Statehouse on May 1st from 9:30am to 3pm.
"March with us for real reform," the flyer said.
In the press release, the group says teachers are frustrated with proposals that did not gain approval in the General Assembly that they said would have helped address perceived issues with class size, free lunches, additional school counselors and social workers.
"I think they want, there was some discussion last week about smaller class sizes, when the reality is are student-teacher ratio in South Carolina is 21st in the nation. So, it's not-- Many of the metrics in our education system are 40th, 45th, 50th, very low, but that metric we're above the national average," said Senator Greg Hembree, (R) Horry County.
Hembree serves as the Chairman on the Senate Education Committee, which has had 15-meetings pertaining to the Senate version of the education reform bill.
The bill, officially titled the 'South Carolina Career Opportunity and Access for All Act," addresses some of educators' concerns like salary raises and relaxing of standardized testing.
But, even after the House version passed, educators still had questions about the bill and how its reforms were actually going to impact education in the state.
In budget efforts, the House and Senate provided four percent raises to teachers and raised the starting salary by more than a thousand dollars.
The Senate also provided more money for base student costs.
"We're not where we need to be with the legislation yet. They have been willing to participate with us throughout the entire process, but unfortunately it doesn't look like we're going to get actual legislation that really takes public education where it needs to be for this year," said Rep. Russell Ott, (D) Calhoun County.
Ott said he supported the group's plan for May 1st.
Other lawmakers were split.
"There's a lot of testing that's going to take place at the end of the year, you know, it's a wrap up time. It's hard for me to understand how leaving their students, abandoning their students, at this kind of important time of the year is helping the students, that's got me scratching my head," said Hembree on Tuesday.
"I don't look at it as a walk out, I look at it as saying we're firmly standing behind what we believe. You've heard our voice, but we're not going away, we're going to continue to press for this. I'm 100 percent behind the fact that we need to take care of the people that take care of us," said Rep. Chris Wooten, (R) Lexington County.
It is not clear if the education reform bill will pass the Senate this year.