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It’s been a little over a month since South Carolina’s supreme court – or rather a former iteration of it – ruled decisively against a fledgling school choice program in the Palmetto State.
As I reported at the time, the court (as formerly configured) struck down broad sections of the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) – a program created by the S.C. General Assembly and administered by the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE).
This program provided roughly 5,000 academic scholarships totaling $6,000 apiece to eligible K-12 students – or approximately $30 million worth of choice out of a total “education” budget of $14 billion. Justice Garrison Hill – recently appointed to the bench by “Republican” lawmakers – joined a liberal majority in determining these scholarships to be unconstitutional, referring to the program as “an attempt to deploy a trust to avoid constitutional limits on the use of public funds.”
The court’s controversial ruling – which legislative leaders declined to challenge – came at the worst possible time for students availing themselves of these scholarships.
“The Supreme Court waited over 180 days after oral arguments to deliver a decision that has been devastating to families who had every reason to believe that their ESTF school choice scholarships would be funded for the entire 2024-25 school year,” said Wendy Damron. “Over the last few weeks, our hearts have been broken by the stories of the low-income families who had settled into new schools that better fit their children only to have their scholarships ripped away in the middle of the school year.”
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Damron is the leader of Palmetto Promise, a conservative South Carolina advocacy organization which has pushed ESTF legislation – and supported the expansion of the program.
This week, Damron announced “good news” in the case.
“A generous donor has stepped forward to offer funding for private school students who were impacted by the recent decision,” Damron said in a news release
According to Damron, Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass – whom she described as “a businessman and philanthropist who is a strong believer in the power of school choice options to change lives” – has pledged enough money to allow Palmetto Promise to “fund ESTF scholarships for school tuition though the end of the calendar year.”
“We know the next quarter’s school tuition is soon due, and we are moving quickly to provide funds to schools as soon as logistics allow,” Damron added in the release.
Thanks to Yass, funding is available for any student currently attending a private school in the Palmetto State as part of the ESTF program.
In touting Yass’ gift, Damron encouraged South Carolinians who support school choice to similarly step up to the plate.
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“If you would like to support ESTF families through the entire 2024-25 school year, we are continuing to accept donations, 100 percent of which go to pay ESTF families’ school tuition,” she said. “You can sponsor an ESTF student for the spring for $3,000.”
Those wishing to support the program can click here. While efforts continue to assist students who were participating in this particular choice program, a debate is already underway as to which choice program should be advanced by lawmakers in 2025.
S.C. Senate president Thomas Alexander and S.C. House speaker Murrell Smith have claimed school choice will be their “highest priority” in the coming legislative session – which convenes in January. While we are still several weeks away from bills being introduced ahead of that session, several pieces of legislation proposed in the previous (2023-2024) session are expected to resurface.
One bill – H. 4645 – would cut the state out as a middleman and simply give the money directly to parents in the form of a refundable tax credit. Such an approach would avoid constitutional entanglements by keeping the cash out of the government coffers in the first place. The tax credit proposal – submitted by state representative Jordan Pace – would provide more money than the scholarship, $7,000 per child, with unlimited eligibility.
Pace confirmed to this media outlet his plans to reintroduce his bill during the 2025-2026 legislative session, which begins in January.
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Another previous bill – S. 285 – would provide “an income tax credit for contributions to a scholarship-funding organization that provides grants for students to attend certain independent and home schools.” Introduced by senator Tom Davis, the legislation is backed by many school choice advocates because it is privately administered.
Davis has also confirmed to this media outlet his plans to reintroduce his bill during the upcoming session.
Davis’ bill is favored by Olga Lisinska, a longtime choice supporter and South Carolina Republican activist.
Lisinska said the legislation could be “quickly passed” and signed into law by governor Henry McMaster “without the need of Mr. Yass’ $4.2 million donation.”
Lisinska criticized Damron’s group and its founder – former U.S. senator Jim DeMint – as well as state superintendent Ellen Weaver for backing the wrong school choice proposal.
“We would remind Mr. Yass, our South Carolina legislators, families, school officials and governor McMaster that it was Palmetto Promise Institute itself, under the leadership of Jim DeMint and Ellen Weaver, that created this debacle in the first place as they were warned each time that the ESA was unconstitutional and would fail all legal challenges,” Lisinska noted.
My media outlet has consistently advocated on behalf of expanded school choice – for more than a decade, in fact. As I have often noted, choice is the “silver bullet” in education – the key to “unlocking academic achievement, stimulating innovation and creating the only accountability that’s worth a damn, the accountability of the marketplace.”
What form should school choice take in South Carolina? Count on this media outlet to dig deep on each of the proposals offered in the upcoming legislative session – and commend to our audience our thoughts on each proposal. Also, count on us to hold House and Senate leaders to their word when they say this issue will be their “highest priority” come January.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
“One bill – H. 4645 – would cut the state out as a middleman and simply give the money directly to parents in the form of a refundable tax credit. Such an approach would avoid constitutional entanglements by keeping the cash out of the government coffers in the first place. The tax credit proposal – submitted by state representative Jordan Pace – would provide more money than the scholarship, $7,000 per child, with unlimited eligibility.”
So my favorite grift is back again. Make people who do not have school-age children pay higher taxes so that people who want to send their kids to private schools can get their hands on state money. Your tax cut is my tax increase. And a tax credit. What a joke. Only people who are well above the median income for SC would benefit from that. So we are all going to be helping rich parents send their kids to exclusive schools. WHAT A TOTAL RIP OFF.