The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state's school choice system is unconstitutional, affecting the status of 2,880 education scholarships that have already been partially awarded.
The court ruled 3-2 The verdict was given The Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) Program issued The payments, which low- and moderate-income families can use to send their children to better public and private schools, violate the state constitution's prohibition on providing funds for the “direct benefit” of private schools. The decision comes just weeks after a one-time payment of $1,500 has already been given to eligible families and students returned to school for the current school year. According to From a press release from the Palmetto Promise Institute, a South Carolina nonprofit organization.
“The dissents argue that our decision 'pulls the rug out from under the Legislature's feet' and 'ultimately pulls the rug out from under the students this law was meant to serve,'” Justice D. Garrison Hill wrote in the majority opinion. “Our duty is to serve our nation's supreme policy, the Constitution. Our duty, therefore, is not to allow a rug to be pulled over clearly articulated constitutional rationale, no matter how inconvenient that rationale may be to an otherwise arguably beneficial policy.”
Head Start program advocates and lawmakers rally in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 2, 2013, calling for an end to the partial federal government shutdown and funding for comprehensive education, health and nutrition services for low-income children and their families. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Chief Justice John W. Kittridge, in his dissent, argued that the program was valid and that the majority had misinterpreted the Constitution. (Related article: Democratic state judge sided with Democratic attorney general, ruling schools can hide gender identity from parents)
“While the South Carolina Constitution does not permit the use of public funds for the direct benefit of private schools, it is entirely permissible for public funds to be used for the indirect benefit of private schools,” Kittridge wrote. “I firmly believe that the ESTF Act provides an indirect benefit and is constitutional on its face.”
“Today the Court overturned a duly passed law based on an inexcusable misreading of the language of the State Constitution. Kindergarten and college students enjoy state programs that allow them to attend private and religious schools. What should be different about a program for K-12 students?” said Wendy Damron, president of Palmetto Promise. statement“It is outrageous that the Supreme Court would strip scholarships away from children and families who are counting on these funds for their education this year.”
Several states, including Florida, Georgia and Missouri, have successfully implemented school choice programs that benefit thousands of people, and while these programs have gained widespread support, many still face pushback in states such as Ohio and Tennessee.
South Carolina's Republican Governor Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson and the state Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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