A bill signed into law that gives teachers a much needed break won’t be in effect for the new school year.
Senate Bill 946 was passed in May and it guarantees 30 minutes of personal break time for all teachers.
Steve Nuzum with SC For ED a teacher organization says some teachers work the entire day without a break.
" When you're, when you're on the go all day, you don't even get a lunch. It's very hard to plan," said Nuzum.
A bill described as being unencumbered time for teachers will give teachers some much needed relief.
"Especially at the elementary level and in special ed, those are two areas where a lot of times teachers are literally working from the time, they get there till the time somebody picks up the kids and they're never getting a break"
South Carolina representative Annie McDaniel says the bill came about after teachers voiced concerns about needing that time during their workday.
"This particular concern spoke volumes because there are teachers in the state that did not have time to take care of things that they needed to take care of during the day," said McDaniel.
The bill guarantees 30 minutes of personal time for teachers uninterrupted by meetings and other demands but it has yet to be adopted by The State Department of Education.
WACH FOX reached out and they sent a statement saying in part it will likely be taken up in the next few months and is not required until July 1, 2023.
"The State Board of Education has not yet adopted the statewide policy for teachers to have 30 minutes of unencumbered time each regular school day as it is not required to be completely implemented until July 1, 2023.
While Nuzum says the bill is a step in the right direction, it still raises many concerns for teachers.
"There are a lot of teachers who are worried that maybe an unencumbered time is going to be the time before students come, which you know, is already essentially unencumbered for a lot of people," explained Nuzum