Skip to Main Content


The Department of Education's Administration of the Comprehensive Health Education Act
November 2001

FOLLOW-UP (PDF)     REPORT (PDF)     SUMMARY (PDF)

Members of the General Assembly requested that we review the State Department of Education’s (SDE’s) administration of the Comprehensive Health Education Act. Enacted by the General Assembly in 1988, this law governs the provision of health education in South Carolina’s schools. We reviewed the sources and uses of funds for health education and the department’s role in ensuring compliance with the law. Our findings are summarized below.

  • Funding for comprehensive health education has been limited; SDE has relied primarily on federal funds to operate the state’s healthy schools program. The department has received funds from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) annually since 1992.
  • While many school districts do not receive outside funding for health education, some districts do receive funds from other government sources, particularly federal abstinence education and pregnancy prevention funds.
  • SDE has generally met the requirements for use of the CDC funds; however, the department has not met several of its program goals and has not always maintained appropriate documentation or measures of program results.
  • SDE has not exercised adequate oversight in administration of its grants for the healthy schools program. Program staff have not sufficiently monitored grants awarded and have not maintained appropriate fiscal accountability. In addition, SDE has paid excessive indirect costs for grant administration.
  • SDE has not adequately ensured that school districts comply with the Comprehensive Health Education Act. Many districts have not complied with various provisions of the law. Districts have not complied with provisions requiring advisory committees, parental opt-out procedures, and specified programs of instruction.
  • There has been controversy as to whether some materials used by school districts comply with the law. Issues surrounding the compliance of instructional materials include differing interpretations of the law held by the Attorney General and SDE, and whether the materials cover all the required topics.