After the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling in September that the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) could no longer be used to fund nonpublic school tuition, hundreds of families were left scrambling to keep their children in their school of choice. The program that had brought hope for education to Palmetto State families was ripped away just a few weeks into the school year.

The state legislature has made it clear that it intends to bring back school choice to South Carolina as soon as the 2025-2026 session starts. The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a subcommittee hearing in December to discuss the best path for restoring the program.

We need you to be an advocate for school choice and attend the hearing to support families that have been affected by the court’s unjust ruling.

If you or your family are ESTF recipients and were impacted, the subcommittee would be very grateful to hear your story. If you represent a school that was affected, please submit a letter about what your school experienced and how it benefits from the restoration of ESTF to nonpublic schools.

The subcommittee is only taking written testimony for this hearing. The deadline to submit is Dec. 6 at 12:00 p.m. Please send your remarks by email to [email protected] or by mail to: 

SC Senate Education Committee 

PO Box 142 

402 Gressette Building  

Columbia, SC 29202 

 

Also, the public is invited to sit in on the hearing. Please join us Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. at the State House in the Gressette Building room 308 to show your support!

 

If you were not personally affected but you are passionate about school choice, please contact the members of the subcommittee and show your support below.