Supreme Court has yet to respond to whether it will directly take the case
By Seanna Adcox
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — South Carolina parents can start applying for $6,000 in taxpayer-paid scholarships toward private K-12 tuition, tutoring and other school expenses in January, unless the state Supreme Court decides to block them.
The voucher sign-up process must open to parents no later than Jan. 30. Applications may be taken as early as Jan. 15, according to the law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in May that created South Carolina’s first broad K-12 private school choice program.
“The actual timeline, of course, will be dictated by the court schedule,” state Education Department spokeswoman Laura Bayne told the S.C. Daily Gazette last month.
She was referring to a lawsuit filed in October by the South Carolina Education Association, state conference of the NAACP and half a dozen parents. They argue the taxpayer-funded payments violate the state constitution’s ban against public funds directly benefiting a private school. The expected challenge asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly and quickly settle the matter.
“There is no question that a serious and substantial constitutional question exists here that will require guidance from this court,” reads their Oct. 26 request to justices.
A prompt resolution is needed, the petition continued, to “provide guidance to parents, students, schools and state officials as to the validity of the voucher program and the availability of voucher funds before any decisions must be made to apply for or approve participation.”
But as of Dec. 1, more than a month later, the court has provided no response at all. It’s unknown whether justices will even take the case — much less settle it — before the program must launch by law.
Preparing to launch
Meanwhile, the state Department of Education is moving ahead as if there is no lawsuit. Notably, challengers did not ask the court to suspend the law pending a final verdict. So, unless the high court actually throws out the law as unconstitutional, millions will be awarded — potentially starting in the coming days.
Under the law, pushed through the Republican-controlled Legislature after two decades of GOP infighting, $6,000 will be awarded to the parents of up to 5,000 students for the school year starting in August 2024. To be eligible for the first year of private school aid, students must be attending a public school in South Carolina now and qualify for Medicaid.
The money will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. There’s no waiting until the end of the application process — March 15, by law — to decide who gets the money. Each $6,000 scholarship, or taxpayer-funded voucher, must be awarded once an application checks out as meeting the criteria. The money will be put into an account accessible online by parents, who can then spend it starting next school year on a variety of allowed expenses. Beyond private tuition, those include tutoring services, textbooks, and computers.
But before anyone can apply, the online portal to be used by parents, participating schools and businesses must be ready.
It will look much like an online health savings account, with one main difference, Bayne said. Parents will be able to dole money to the school and/or vendor of their choice and monitor their balance online. But there will be no online reimbursements or cash paid out. All transactions will be handled and approved through the site.
The education agency is currently evaluating proposals from companies looking to create and run the portal. Bids were due by Nov. 21, Bayne said Thursday.
The winner could get up to $2 million that legislators allowed the agency to spend to set up the voucher program, though some of that could be reserved for marketing, she said.
She didn’t specify when a contract might be signed, but the agency hopes to open applications as close to Jan. 15 as possible, she said. And that’s just over six weeks away.
‘Families need clarity’
Patrick Kelly with the Palmetto State Teachers Association said he can’t fault the agency for moving forward.
That includes asking legislators to pay for the program. The agency’s budget request for 2024-25 includes a request for $30 million to fund the scholarships for next school year.
“Whether I agree with the policy or not, I can’t disagree with the department for implementing the law,” said Kelly, who’s also a Blythewood High School history teacher. “The department is doing exactly what they’re required to under the law until the court says otherwise.”
He added that he hopes the court resolves the issue quickly.
“Every day that goes by without resolution, the department will continue to invest human resources and actual dollars into the process of standing up this program,” Kelly said.
Beyond that, he said, the delay could be unfair to parents.
“There are families who will apply in January and start to make educational plans for their children,” he said. “Those families need clarity on what the 2024-25 school year will look like.”
It wouldn’t be the first time South Carolina’s high court directly settled a voucher question.
In 2020, justices blocked a one-year K-12 voucher program that Gov. Henry McMaster tried to create unilaterally with federal COVID aid. They ruled the attempted temporary program flouted the constitutional ban on public funds directly benefiting private schools. That program was stopped before it started.
In their petition, challengers to the law McMaster signed argue justices should rule the same way for a program that’s “even more sweeping in scope and duration than the program this court struck down.” Republican lawmakers counter the law was crafted in a way to get around the direct benefit prohibition, with parents deciding how money in their account is spent.
If the law stands, both the number of eligible students and the income cap will rise in future years. For next school year, eligibility ends once the income of a family of four tops $60,000.
In 2025-26, 10,000 students can participate, and their household income can be up to 300% of the federal poverty level, or $90,000 for a family of four.
Once fully phased in the following year, up to 15,000 students in a household earning 400% of the poverty level can participate. That’s currently $120,000 for a family of four but the cap will be higher in 2026-27 and beyond, since federal poverty guidelines are adjusted annually. If 15,000 students participate, that’s $90 million worth of vouchers.
Statewide, about 790,000 students attend K-12 public schools. On average, the state spends $8,100 per pupil this school year. Adding local and federal taxes brings the total spent per student in South Carolina to about $17,500, according to the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.
Seanna Adcox is a South Carolina native with three decades of reporting experience. She joined States Newsroom in September 2023 after covering the S.C. Legislature and state politics for 18 years. Her previous employers include The Post and Courier and The Associated Press.
