Following a downgrade of Brookland-Cayce High School’s accreditation status, Lexington County School District 2 has announced a corrective action plan to rectify issues with the school.

According to a July 25 release from the district, it has submitted this plan to the state Department of Education.

The school’s accreditation was downgraded by the department last month following an audit that revealed some students were allowed to graduate without completing required course work.

“Recently, district officials met with SCDOE representatives who oversee high school accreditation to discuss the corrective actions the district has taken and will continue to take," the release states. "Based on those discussions, Superintendent Dr. Brenda Hafner believes it is likely SCDOE will restore Brookland-Cayce High School’s accreditation to an ‘all clear’ status following the next SCDOE review.”

The department confirms that it has met with Lexington 2 and reviewed its corrective action plan.

"The district is on-track to have full accreditation restored by the end of the 2022-23 school year if the plan is followed," Derek Phillips, director of communications for DOE, told the Chronicle.

The announcement of the district's plan comes a week after Barry Bolen, former Brookland-Cayce principal and District 2 superintendent, was named the school’s interim principal after finishing up a stint as the district’s interim superintendent.

The Lexington 2 release recounts the timeline of the department’s audit from the district’s point of view.

“In November 2021, SCDOE notified Lexington School District Two that it would begin auditing a random sampling of transcripts after questions arose about an individual Brookland-Cayce student’s transcript,” the release states. “The district’s Board of Trustees was given a copy of the November 2021 letter at its November board meeting and heard nothing further about the matter until Barry Bolen was appointed Acting Superintendent in May 2022.”

Bolen was appointed interim superintendent following the sudden resignation of Nicolas Wade from the post. Hafner was hired as the district’s permanent leader in June.

“Because the board had not received any information about the pending audit, the board immediately asked Mr. Bolen to follow up with SCDOE regarding the November 21 letter,” the release continues.

“On June 13, 2022, the district received a follow-up letter from SCDOE setting forth its findings from the audit and specifying the corrective actions the district needed to take in response.”

The district says it has been working “diligently” on plans to address DOE’s concerns since receiving the letter.

“As part of the district’s corrective action plan, SCDOE conducted intensive training this past week for all middle and high school counselors, as well as registrars, building administrators, and district staff. Lexington Two is launching a new process for annual transcript monitoring for high school students to closely track and address any potential problems," the release states.

"The district also is revising its board policies and administrative rules to provide specific guidance on when a student will be allowed to enroll in credit recovery and to outline expectations for students who need to make up seat time due to attendance issues.”

The school is set to operate under Bolen’s leadership for the 2022-23 school year, with a permanent replacement to take over entering the following year. Brookland-Cayce is one of two high schools in District 2, which serves West Columbia, Cayce and Springdale.

“The board is pleased with the progress the district has made over these past few weeks to correct the concerns cited by SCDOE and will continue to support district and building administrators in successfully implementing the corrective action plan that has been submitted to SCDOE,” the release states.