Data Matters. Families Matter More: Addressing Criticisms of the ESTF Program
This article by Ryan Dellinger, MPA, Director of Education Policy at Palmetto Promise Institute first appeared on palmettopromise.org. The South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC) recently released a report titled “Education Scholarship Trust Fund, Year One (School Year 2024-25): A Formative Review of Data Quality and Transparency.” What followed was a barrage of criticisms looking […]
ESTF Unbundling Will Continue for the 2026–2027 School Year
Families approved to unbundle their child’s education can move forward with their plans for the coming school year. South Carolina families who have been waiting for an update on the future of “unbundling” in the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program have received good news. The South Carolina Budget Conference Committee rejected a proposed budget […]
How Traditional Public and Public Charter Students Can Use ESTF
The school choice environment in South Carolina is evolving rapidly. Just a few short years ago, families were forced to attend their residentially zoned traditional public school, drive their children to a local public charter school (if they were able), or pay for private school tuition out of their own pocket – effectively trapping lower income […]
Aren’t independent schools FULL and EXPENSIVE?
The South Carolina ESA is worth $6,000 per year for tuition and books with up to $750 in additional funds for transportation. Isn’t that woefully inadequate? Isn’t private (independent) school tuition north of $20,000? What about available seats? Aren’t most private schools running at capacity? EdChoice conducted a survey of South Carolina private schools in 2018 to get at some of these questions. Here […]
Are ESAs constitutional?
Yes. Even as the U.S. Supreme Court has overwhelmingly upheld school choice programs of all stripes, state Constitutional questions born of bigoted anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments have routinely plagued voucher programs. However, Education Savings Accounts have withstood Blaine Amendment challenges precisely because of their legal differences from vouchers. Arizona, home of the nation’s oldest ESA program, provides the framework. […]
Coverdell ESA vs. South Carolina ESA
When the South Carolina Education Scholarship Account (ESA) legislation was being written, there was the option of naming it an Education Savings Account (ESA). South Carolina legislators chose not to do this because of the confusion it might create with federal Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. The key difference aside from state versus federal law is whose money funds the Account. Coverdell […]