In a 3-2 vote, the South Carolina Supreme Court nullified the education savings account program on the basis public funds can’t benefit private education. The ruling comes after the state legislature approved the Educations Savings Trust Fund Act, which set aside a $6,000 scholarship for up to 5,000 eligible low-income students.
Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill into law in 2023 but it was challenged in court by a teachers’ union and the NAACP, and a group of parents.
After the legal setback, state lawmakers are considering a refundable tax credit to help families affected by the court decision.
Education reporter Elizabeth Mitchell, who has followed the lawsuit for The Daily Signal, tells AFN approximately 2,000 students had signed up for the voucher program and are now forced to give up their classroom seat in a private school.
“The funding that they currently have from the vouchers runs out October 31st,” she advises, “and they could be forced to go back to public school in the middle of the semester."
The education voucher program benefitted mostly low-income families, Mitchell reported in a Daily Signal story. Eligible families must have a household income less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of four, for example, the poverty threshold is $31,200.
In her story, Mitchell points out South Carolina is ranked 42 out of 51 school systems across the nation, including the District of Columbia. A state lawmaker told Mitchell the state is “at the bottom of the scale” where students can’t do basic math and reading.
