S.C. lawmakers looking to reinstate school voucher programs
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Republican leaders at the South Carolina State House say one of their top priorities for the year ahead is reinstating a controversial school voucher program.
It follows a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year against lawmakers’ plan to give certain families public money to pay for tuition at private schools.
The General Assembly will gavel back into session here in January, and Republican leaders in the Senate say their first major order of business will likely be this education bill.
On Tuesday, we got our first look at what this new legislation could entail in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“That is consistent with their opinion and at the same time, achieves the objective, so that’s the work that has gone into this bill,” said Sen. Greg Hembree, Education Committee chairman.
Kids at dozens of CSRA schools can seek Ga. tuition vouchers
Dozens of CSRA schools are on a list allowing their students to apply for vouchers for private tuition.
In a 3-2 decision, the state Supreme Court ruled the key provision of South Carolina’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund program – also known as the school voucher program – was unconstitutional.
It said the program violated a constitutional ban on state money directly benefiting private schools.
Senators plan to take up a bill to change the funding source to lottery revenues instead of the state’s general fund.
“We believe that if we take it out of the court’s legal definition of public funds, which they seem to have implied the lottery scholarships are not, are separate from public funds, then we already cut the constitutional challenges off,” said Donna Barton, Senate Education Committee staff member.
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Meanwhile, a bill in the House of Representatives would try to reinstate the program by changing the part of the state constitution with which it has run afoul – via a statewide ballot referendum.
That would require not just voters’ approval but also need to clear a higher threshold in the legislature to be put on the ballot.
“We may look at doing that if we need to, but I’m not yet convinced that we have to,” said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.
Lawmakers anticipate that no matter what their solution is, it’ll face a legal challenge.
But the state Supreme Court that would take it up is different from the one that issued the earlier ruling – with a new justice and a new chief justice on its five-person bench.
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