School Community Information from the Principal

In the year of 2014, the State of South Carolina passed Act 293 known as “Erin’s Law,” as part of health and safety education for its public schools.  The purpose of the law is to ensure all students, pre-kindergarten through high school, receive this prevention instruction during the academic school year.  The intent of Erin’s Law is to give students skills in knowing how to stay safe from sexual assault and how to report any incidents of sexual assault. 

The South Carolina Department of Education created Erin’s Law instructional units in support of the new legislation that amended the Comprehensive Health Education Act.  South Carolina Code of Law Section 59-32-20 (B) was amended to read that the State Board of Education through the South Carolina Department of Education “shall select or develop instructional units in sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention, with separate units appropriate for each age level from four-year-old kindergarten through twelfth grade.”

Parental notification is being done by Horry County Schools for the purpose of keeping you informed on this very important State Department of Education initiative and the requirement under South Carolina law for local school districts to implement comprehensive health education programs, and provide annually age-appropriate instruction in sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention to all students in four-year-old kindergarten through twelfth grade.

If you are interested in learning more about Erin’s Law or the instructional materials associated with it, please contact Tammy Trulove, District Director of Health and Safety Services, by telephone at 843-488-6805 or by email trulove@horrycountyschools.net. This letter is also posted on my webpage under the “School Community Information from the Principal” link entitled “Erin’s Law Parent Letter, Nov. 2016.”