South Carolina again faces showdown over spending public money on private school tuition

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House approved its own version of a bill Wednesday that would let parents spend taxpayer money on private school tuition.

After a routine final vote Thursday, the bill will go back to the state Senate, which can either accept the House version or work on a compromise. The version passed by the Senate would fund the vouchers through state lottery profits, whereas the House version would allocate money from the regular budget.

If the two chambers can solve their differences, a bigger showdown looms. The General Assembly passed a similar bill in 2023 that the state Supreme Court struck down. The justices pointed out in their 3-2 decision that the state constitution bans public funds from being used for the direct benefit of private or religious schools.

The state Senate hopes that using lottery proceeds to fund the private school funding might sway the court. The House version would put the money in the hands of a trustee in the state Education Department to dole out, which supporters believe would not run afoul of the constitutional limits, since the money would go through someone’s hands before getting to parents.

“That trustee somehow magically makes those public funds not public any more,” said state Rep. Neal Collins, an Easley Republican who was one of five members of his party to oppose the bill because he said public money doesn’t need to go to private schools.

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“You really have to do some mental gymnastics to think this public money is not public money,” Collins said.

The state House voted 79-38 in favor of the bill.

South Carolina is trying to join about 15 other states that allow public money to be used on private school tuitions. Several other states offer tax credits for private school expenses.

Allowing parents to spend public money on private schools in South Carolina has been a two-decade effort running through three governors, four House speakers and five education superintendents in a state where Republicans have been consolidating and expanding their power.

The House bill passed Wednesday would set aside $30 million for what the proposal calls education scholarships.

Scholarships of up to $6,000 would be offered per school year, with the amount rising as the amount the state spends per pupil increases. Eligibly would be limited to families making 300% or less of the federal poverty level, meaning the cutoff would be about $100,000 for a family of four. Money could be spent on tuition, tutoring or equipment.

Republicans knocked down a proposed change to the bill by Democrats that would have required private schools that accept public money to have open enrollment policies including accepting students with disabilities and not barring students based on race, religion or sexual orientation.

Another killed proposal would have mandated transportation for poor students who want to go to a private school more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from their home.

“This isn’t about giving everybody choice. This bill isn’t about being fair to everybody in the state,” Democratic state Rep. Justin Bamberg said. “This bill is about excluding certain people. This bill is about looking out for a small segment of folks in this state at the expense of everyone else.”

There is one solution that wouldn’t require a nervous wait for a state Supreme Court ruling. The Republican supermajority in the General Assembly could get two-thirds support for a proposed constitutional amendment to be put before voters. But supporters don’t seem confident they could get a majority vote with the public.

Republican state Rep. David Martin suggested creating a workaround instead of an amendment was not the right solution and that allowing parents with six-figure salaries to get money for private education was not the way to try and help students from poor families.

“This is only going to be free money for rich people,” Martin said.

Tennessee expanded voucher access earlier this month while Texas is considering starting its own program. Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order telling federal officials to use discretionary money to prioritize school choice programs.