2025 LEGISLATIVE SESSIONOn Tuesday Jan. 14, the legislative session kicked off. Both houses of the legislature came together to begin their important work of writing, debating and passing laws for the good of their constituents. The Senate hit the ground running to find a solution to the school choice crisis.The South Carolina Catholic Conference is excited to continue to fight for the common good in South Carolina this session and to bring about the Kingship of Christ in the hearts of all those in the Palmetto State.See more details on this week's highlights below!
Jan 15First - On the second day of the legislative session, debate began on S. 62, the K-12 Education Lottery Scholarship program, the new school choice program that is poised to replace the previous law that was partially struck down in Sept. of 2024.The new bill changes the funding source so that public funds could not be construed to benefit nonpublic schools. The bill includes other improvements, such as expanding the number of families that would qualify for the scholarship. Click HERE to learn more about S. 62.Debate is expected to continue the last week of January, as the Senate is focusing on committee work and will not meet on the floor.The legislature’s prompt action on this bill gives the Catholic Conference hope that this crisis will be remedied quickly. We thank the bill sponsors, including the primary sponsor Senator Greg Hembree, who defended the need for the new program for multiple hours on Wednesday during debate.Please help support school choice in South Carolina by sending a message to your Senator. Use the pre-written message as a guide, but feel free to personalize it and share your own story.
Second - On Wednesday, a press conference was held to support the Student Physical Privacy Act, Senate bill 199 and House bill 3262. Numerous legislators and others, including the Attorney General Alan Wilson, spoke about the need for the privacy of school children to be protected. These bills aim to codify the budget that was in the 2024-2025 budget, which requires people to use the bathrooms and changing facilities that align with their biological sex.It is unconscionable that children would be forced to share a bathroom with a person of the opposite sex. Restrooms, locker rooms and other changing areas are spaces that should be private. However, in our South Carolina schools, there have numerous instances of males being permitted to use female restrooms and locker rooms.Men and women were created by God. We cannot ignore sexual difference because “When God created human beings, he made them in the likeness of God; He created them male and female” (Gn. 5:1-2).We must protect young girls from having to share these spaces with men. The Catholic Conference thanks the sponsors of both bills: Senators Wes Climer, Josh Kimbrell and Matt Leber as well as Representatives Tommy Pope, Chris Wooten, and Fawn Pedalino. We encourage the legislature to protect the privacy of our students as soon as possible.