South Carolina Excused Absence for a Military Student
Any institution of higher education receiving state funding, directly or indirectly, must excuse a student called to military service, duty, training or disaster relief, may not penalize the absence, and must allow missed tests and assignments to be made up.
Also called: 25-1-2270, excused absence, disaster relief, make up exams, liberally construed, Act 165 of 2012.
Section 25-1-2270 is short, and it is stronger than the equivalent provision in most states in this catalog for three reasons.
The duty it covers is wider than drill. "Military service, duty, training, or disaster relief efforts." Disaster relief is named expressly, which matters in a coastal state where a Guard member is activated for hurricane response inside a semester rather than on a training calendar.
The institutions it binds are wider than the public system. It reaches "an institution of higher education which receives state funding, either directly or indirectly, including but not limited to state scholarships or grants". A private college whose students carry LIFE, HOPE or Palmetto Fellows scholarship money is receiving state funding indirectly and is inside the section.
And it names the remedy rather than just the obligation. On notice from the student, the institution "shall excuse the student from attending classes or engaging in other mandatory activities, including tests or examinations, in order for the student to fulfill his military obligations and associated military travel requirements." A student whose absence is excused "may not be penalized for his absence and must be allowed to complete all missed assignments or take missed tests or examinations within a reasonable time of his return".
The institution determines what a reasonable time is, case by case, "taking into account the individual student's schedule and academic responsibilities". That is the discretion the section leaves, and it is the place a dispute will land.
The last sentence closes the component argument before it starts: the provisions "must be liberally construed and shall apply in the same manner and without distinction to a student's status as a member of the active component, reserve component, or National Guard."
Travel time is inside the excused period, which is a detail most states omit and which matters for a member whose unit trains out of state.
The section carries no enforcement mechanism, no private right of action and no agency to complain to, so in practice it is a provision to cite to a registrar or a dean rather than a right to litigate.
Thresholds
Thresholds for South Carolina Excused Absence for a Military Student
Gate
Rule
Military service, duty, training or disaster relief, in any component
Section 25-1-2270 applies without distinction to the active component, reserve component and National Guard, and names disaster relief efforts alongside service, duty and training.
Any institution receiving state funding directly or indirectly
The section reaches institutions receiving state funding "either directly or indirectly, including but not limited to state scholarships or grants", so a private institution whose students carry state scholarship money is covered.
Notice from the student triggers it, and no remedy is named
The obligation arises "upon notice from a student". The section creates no private right of action and names no enforcing agency, and leaves the institution to decide what a reasonable make-up period is.
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Disclaimer
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