Education

  • Impact: ESA expansion bill puts us on path to universal school choice

    Update 3/21/24: The House on Wednesday gave the bill second reading by a vote of 69-32. We encourage a swift passage through the Senate so it may become law this year.  On Wednesday, the S.C. House introduced a bill that would significantly expand South Carolina’s Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which passed...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    March 01, 2024

  • Universal school choice: a roadmap for South Carolina

    Update 10/27/23: School choice opponents on Thursday launched a legal challenge against South Carolina’s ESA program, seeking to deny students access to life-changing educational scholarships. Legislators crafted the program specifically to comply with the S.C. Constitution, which puts parents in charge of the scholarships, and provides funding entirely to student needs. We encourage a speedy court decision to uphold...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    October 24, 2023

  • Keep an eye on these educational reforms in 2024

    Recently, we published an overview of South Carolina's national rankings across different performance indicators in education. We found that South Carolina lags behind other states when it comes to test scores, graduation rates, and reading proficiency for eighth-grade students.  The good news is that major educational reforms are finally making progress,...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    August 18, 2023

  • South Carolina's educational shortcomings (and a brighter future ahead)

    It's no secret that South Carolina ranks behind other states when it comes to education. With school starting back up this month, let’s look at some recent education figures and talk about what can be done to turn things around.
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    August 04, 2023

  • Why SC should pass both school choice proposals

    Update 3/16/23: After adopting the Finance Committee’s amendment and adding several other amendments on the floor, the full Senate passed S.285 by a vote of 28-9. One new amendment sets a family income limit of 400% of the federal poverty guidelines on the bill’s “general child” category. Accordingly, some of the details...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    February 23, 2023

  • SC’s special-needs scholarship program needs reform

    TWO LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS HAVE BIG POTENTIAL By Sam Aaron and Bryce Fiedler Despite good intentions, South Carolina’s special-needs scholarship program is failing to meet its goals, and major change is needed to ensure the state’s roughly 100,000 children with disabilities are getting the education services they need. Our state needs a better...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    February 07, 2023

  • Analysis: Blurring the line between education and job training

    Update as of 2/12/22: H.4766, which would add more seats and give more power to the Coordinating Council for Workforce Development, passed the S.C. House on Feb. 8. The bill now heads to the Senate. For more information on why we oppose the bill, see below for our analysis. *** Two...
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    February 15, 2022