The South Carolina Senate is set to vote on a budget amendment next week regarding the contentious issue of school choice. The amendment, if passed, will allow parents to take state tax deductions of up to $4,000 a year for tuition paid to send their children to private schools, $2,000 a year if they homeschool their children, and $1,000 a [...]
Federal Choice
U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Indiana) is unveiling school choice legislation at the federal level in the coming days. So yeah … go ahead and cue the chorus of wails and moans from left-leaning unions, legacy media and bureaucrats (and from U.S. President Barack Obama, an ardent opponent of choice).
Rokita’s bill – the Educational Opportunities Act [...]
School Choice: A Tongue-In-Cheek Reality Check
By Nancy Yates || Only a liberal or “Republican in Name Only” would introduce a school choice bill favoring the poor over the rich, right? After all when did it become the role of government to offer tax breaks to the poor and the middle class? Why is it our job to educate those too dumb [...]
Sic Willie: “Extremist”
FITS’ PROPOSAL TO PRIVATIZE HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA DRAWS JEERS
Last week this website reiterated its belief that the Palmetto State’s costly, duplicative system of higher education should be privatized.
“It’s past time that all of our government-funded institutions of higher learning pursue their destinies as private institutions,” we wrote.
This strikes us as an eminently sensible reform, unless [...]
SC Government-Run Schools: “For The Children?”
BUREAUCRATIC FUNDING INCREASES TELL A DIFFERENT STORY
Our friends over at The Voice have a great post up this week highlighting a fundamental disconnect in the debate over education funding in South Carolina.
It’s obviously no secret that the tax burden associated with the Palmetto State’s worst-in-the-nation government-run schools keeps escalating (as our students’ academic performance keeps [...]
SC Senate Stalling On Choice
By The Voice || A S.C. Senate staffer sent this email to the entire Senate on Monday:
“Tuesday will likely be a long but enjoyable day for everyone. The Senate will gather Tuesday June 5th at 11:15 AM for the group photo. Then at noon we will convene to give out the service pins for members [...]
SC School Choice: One Step Away
Dear Will,
On Tuesday, South Carolina’s Senate Finance Committee voted YES on H.4894, moving school choice to a final vote on the Senate floor.
We’re one step away from finally putting South Carolina students and parents in control of education!
By helping families send children to the school of their choice, H.4894 will create competition between schools and [...]
SC Senate Moves School Choice Bill Forward
(Columbia) A plan to help low-income and disabled students attend the school of their family’s choosing moved closer to becoming law today, emerging from the Senate Finance Committee by a voice vote.
The proposal passed the House early this year and offers tax credit-funded scholarships to low-income and disabled students whose parents elect to send them [...]
Mitt Romney Inches Toward Choice
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney – the presumptive GOP presidential nominee – has a pretty messed up view of the relationship between the public and private sectors. For example, Romney recently blasted U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s aggressive deficit reduction plans because, according to him, slashing government would “cause the economy to shrink.”
Um … really?
Oh … [...]
Time Running Out For South Carolina
Dear Will,
With only seven days left in the legislative session South Carolina school choice hangs in the balance. For the past six months FreedomWorks activists and local groups have been working tirelessly to pass H.4894, a meaningful education reform bill that will help to improve South Carolina’s failing schools.
After much hard work school choice passed [...]
Loftis: Expand The Boundaries Of School Choice
SOUTH CAROLINA’S BUDGET, ECONOMY DEPEND ON IT
By Curtis Loftis || Across the state, I meet people worried about their local schools.
Parents worry about dropout rates, job placement, and college admission. Employers worry about workforce qualification and training. Local officials worry about the costs of services required by those who’ve slipped through the cracks. Faith and [...]
DeMint: SC Senate Must Be “Champions Of Change”
SENATOR URGES LEGISLATORS TO “ALLOW PARENTS ACCESS TO OPTIONS”
By Jim DeMint || Recently, it was an honor to welcome former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to South Carolina for the Empower Education Reform Summit (click HERE to see video of Gov. Bush’s talk).
The event was an uplifting opportunity to hear the story of Florida’s hard-won public education renaissance and exciting, [...]
