A bill that would expand school choice options for parents has been introduced into the South Carolina House of Representatives.
H 5164 would expand the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund program for parents who wish to choose which schools their children attend. The bill will also add new application processes to make applying easier for students.
The bill will also “require that the State Department of Education to submit an annual budget request based on certain scholarship demand and use information, and to remove obsolete review requirements,” according to its text, and provides for universal eligibility for all South Carolina families by the 2026-27 school year.
The South Carolina branch of Americans for Prosperity (AFP-SC) celebrated the bill’s introduction.
“We are grateful for Speaker Smith’s continued leadership and commitment to expanding education opportunities for all students in the Palmetto State. We also thank Chairwoman Shannon Erickson for her important work on this legislation and look forward to working with her Committee as this bill moves forward,” said AFP-SC Chairwoman Candace Carroll.
“Making education savings accounts universally available is a vital step forward in advancing education freedom and ensuring all families, regardless of their family’s zip code or resources, can succeed,” she said.
Education savings accounts are publicly funded, government-authorized savings accounts with multiple uses for educational purposes. South Carolina calls those accounts an Education Scholarship Trust Fund.
“By empowering families with choice, we empower the students of our state with increased access to educational success,” Speaker of the House Murrell Smith reportedly said upon the bill’s introduction. “This legislation is critical in continuing our innovative approach to unlocking the full potential of our education system and meeting the needs of many more children. I look forward to this proposal’s consideration by the House in the coming weeks.
Thirteen states have adopted such savings plans for parents.
Tennessee is one of those states and has been expanding its Education Savings Account programs across different counties for years.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
