South Carolina Charter War: Rogue Lawmaker’s Vendetta Imperils Reform

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by WILL FOLKS

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Having tried and failed to embarrass one of South Carolina’s largest charter school authorizers – and cripple its funding streams – a rogue Palmetto State lawmaker is now trying to completely upend the charter school sector and undo years of work aimed at stabilizing it.

State representative Shannon Erickson‘s ongoing jihad against the charter school sector escalated this week when she sought to amend a S.C. Senate bill aimed at enhancing accountability over these K-12 institutions.

Erickson has gummed up the works previously, spearheading budget provisod that allowed failing and underperforming schools to transfer to other charter authorizers rather than be held accountable for their lack of progress. She also spearheaded provisos that would have allowed schools to continue operating despite three consecutive years of unsatisfactory performance – although negative media coverage later compelled her to backtrack.

Now Erickson is seeking to shift the charter school oversight burden to the S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) – a move which could conceivably stall growth in the sector in the event a superintendent unsympathetic to charter schools were ever elected.

In a bright red state – where parents are clearly pushing for expanded school choice – it is curious why Erickson continues to act contrary to her own party and constituents’ best interests and wishes.

It is also curious why she continues to draw a bead on one authorizer in particular… 

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Established in 2017, the Charter Institute at Erskine sponsors 29 charter schools across South Carolina – serving 30,000 students. It is projected to add nearly a dozen additional schools – and approximately 10,000 more students – during the next fiscal year, which will allow it to maintain its role as the largest authorizer in the state. Since its inception, the Institute has consistently drawn praise for its innovative approaches to elevating academic achievement – including a recent $1.7 million investment in improved academic outcomes for children in the Interstate 95 corridor (also known as the “Corridor of Shame”).

The Erskine Institute’s expansion plans could be in jeopardy, however, due to a sustained campaign of legislative harassment by Erickson.

As FITSNews has previously reported, Erickson has been hostile toward Erskine for years – dating back to the spring of 2021. That’s when the Institute uncovered and reported alleged issues involving a trio of charter schools managed by Pinnacle – a Florida-based company with ties to some of Erickson’s closest allies.

According to the S.C. Office of Inspector General (SCOIG), which reviewed the allegations, at least one of the Pinnacle schools was referred to the S.C. Department of Revenue (SCDOR) at the time for “further review and investigation.”

That wasn’t the only investigatory referral made, however.

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In at least one case, investigators uncovered evidence of “possible abuse” of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) EB-5 “immigrant investor program.” This alleged abuse involved $2 million in funding ostensibly intended for Oceanside Academy in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The money was provided by four foreign nationals from the People’s Republic of China.

SCOIG investigators referred this alleged abuse to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency for further investigation.

Another issue uncovered by the SCOIG was a dubious “retainer agreement” between one of the charter schools and the Southern Group, a regional lobbying firm. This $3,666 monthly appropriation does not appear to have been properly reported to the S.C. State Ethics Commission (SCSEC).

“The lobbying relationship identified… appeared to be inconsistent with publicly available ethics commission records,” the SCOIG determined.

As of 2025, Pinnacle continued to pay Southern lobbyist Andy Patrick – who served alongside Erickson in the S.C. House of Representatives from 2010-2014 – as one of its contract lobbyists.

That’s a telling connection…

“During Andy’s time in the State House, he served on the House Education and Education Oversight Committees and chaired the K-12 Education Subcommittee, where he worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunity for each student,” Patrick’s Southern Group biography noted.

Erickson is the chairwoman of the House education committee and is known to work closely with Southern Group on K-12 policy. Since 2021, many of these policies have targeted the Erskine Institute – apparent payback for the charter authorizer having questioned the practices of schools managed by Pinnacle.

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This morning, some of the Institute's Charter School Student Ambassadors had the honor of attending the South Carolina Prayer Breakfast. In addition to assisting with setup and seating, they had the opportunity to meet with elected officials, including the event's Keynote… pic.twitter.com/IUgOXF9X9Z

— Charter Institute at Erskine (@ErskineCharters) April 8, 2026

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Last fall, Erickson was the driving force behind a budget amendment that stripped millions of dollars from Erskine students in the current (fiscal year 2025-2026) state budget. Specifically, the amendment took away $338 from each child in Erskine’s virtual system – for a total of $4.8 million in lost funding.

As FITSNews previously reported, Erickson also requested an audit of the Institute by the S.C. Legislative Audit Commission (SCLAC). That inquiry – which cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars – ultimately cleared the Institute of each one of the unfounded conflict of interest allegations raised by Erickson.

Perhaps Erickson ought to be the one investigated for such conflicts? After all, one of her repeat campaign donors, Jane P. Miller, currently serves as vice chair of the SCLAC.

The same week the costly state audit was published, SCDE announced the Institute had received another “all clear” rating – with “no instances of non-compliance.”

“The district’s programs are robust and implemented with fidelity,” the letter (.pdf) noted.

Neither of these clean bills of health received by Erskine is stopping Erickson from seeking to destroy the Institute, however. Last week, her committee marked up S. 454 – a charter school reform bill sponsored by S.C. senator Greg Hembree – to effectively disallow nonprofit affiliates of private colleges to serve as charter school authorizers.

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“The practical effect of the amended bill is that only one active charter school authorizer would remain,” one legislative observer told FITSNews, referring to the results-challenged S.C. Public Charter School District (SCPCSD).

South Carolina has been here before – and seen the poor results from having SCPCSD operate as a monopoly in the charter space. National best practice supports multiple authorizers, and Erskine’s innovative work in the sector helped resurrect the charter school movement in the Palmetto State. 

Erickson’s amendments would also effectively shut down virtual charter schools in South Carolina by mandating that no more than 20% of virtual instruction be asynchronous – i.e. delivered to students on self-paced, flexible schedules.  

Other provisions contained in Erickson’s amendments appear to explicitly target the Erskine Institute, prompting concern on the part of the bill’s author.

“I haven’t read the proposed House amendments and of course don’t have any idea what might come back to us,” Hembree told FITSNews. “Hopefully the House will acknowledge the years of work that went into this version of the bill – it truly is a significantly better bill than where we started.”

And if they don’t?

“If there are material differences that change the purpose of the bill we will either work them out or the bill will die,” Hembree said bluntly. “There are a lot of clichés around the State House. One is: it’s better to let a good bill die than let a bad bill live, and two: if it’s a good bill in 2026 it will be a good bill in 2027.”

Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track this debate moving forward… and continue to dig into the reasons underlying Erickson’s escalating vendetta.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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