South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down education scholarship program

(The Center Square) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has found the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund violates the South Carolina Constitution’s “prohibition against the use of public funds for the direct benefit of private educational institutions.”

With the 3-2 ruling, the court enjoined the South Carolina Department of Education from disbursing program scholarships for the 2024-25 school year.

“No matter how sound or popular a given legislative policy choice may be, it cannot remain law if it is prohibited by the plain words of the higher law — the Constitution,” Associate Justice D. Garrison Hill wrote in the majority opinion.

In May 2023, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed Senate Bill 39 to create the program. Under the program, the state would award up to 5,000 scholarships — $6,000 each — for the 2024-25 school year, and state officials previously expressed interest in expanding the program.

“The Supreme Court’s decision may have devastating consequences for thousands of low-income families who relied on these scholarships for their child’s enrollment in school last month,” McMaster said in a statement.

“It may also jeopardize the future enrollment of tens of thousands of students in state-funded four-year-old kindergarten programs and state-funded scholarships utilized by students at private colleges and HBCUs,” the governor added. “For these reasons, and more, we will request the Court to expeditiously reconsider this decision – so that the children of low-income families may have the opportunity to attend the school that best suits their needs.”

According to the Palmetto Promise Institute’s South Carolina School Choice Alliance, 2,880 students were approved for scholarships.

Under the program, recipients could use the money for educational expenses, including tuition, textbooks, tutoring, online courses, inter-district transfer fees at traditional public schools, and educational therapies. In March, Palmetto State education officials said more than 5,000 families from all 46 South Carolina counties submitted applications for the state’s program.

“Today, a court overturned a duly passed piece of legislation on the basis of an indefensible misreading of the words of our State Constitution,” Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron said in a statement.

“Prekindergarten students and college students enjoy state programs that allow them to attend private and religious schools. How is a program for K-12 students any different?” Damron added. “It is unconscionable that the Supreme Court would rip away these scholarships from children and families counting on the funds for their education this year.”