For Immediate Release – November 19, 2019

Rep. Neal Collins appointed to serve on EOC

Columbia, SC – The Honorable Neal Collins, a state representative serving Pickens County residents in House District 5, has been appointed to serve as the newest member of the SC Education Oversight Committee (EOC). Collins was appointed by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means and Committee Rep. Murrell Smith, Jr., to serve as his designee to the committee. His term will begin immediately.

A native of Easley, Collins graduated from Furman University with a B.A. in Political Science and French. He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Collins is an attorney at The Hendricks Firm in Easley, SC licensed to practice law in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Collins was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2014, when he was elected freshman caucus chairman. 

Collins currently serves on the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees. On House Oversight, he serves on the Education and Cultural Affairs Subcommittee. He is the current chairman of the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children and serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA). He previously served on the House Education and Public Works Committee’s K-12 subcommittee and chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Competency Based Education and Education Reform.

In 2018, Collins participated in a delegation of education leaders organized by Public Education Partners and Furman University who visited Finland to study the country’s education system. 

“The mission of the EOC is to affect the dramatic, results-based, and continuous improvement of South Carolina's educational system,” stated Collins. “I’m looking forward to advancing this mission in whatever way that I can.”

The SC Education Oversight Committee is an independent, non-partisan group made up of 18 educators, business persons, and elected leaders. Created in 1998, the committee is dedicated to reporting facts, measuring change, and promoting progress within South Carolina’s education system. 

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