South Carolina families fight back after ruling stops school choice program

They’re fighting back – and fighting back tears.

Families affected by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to shut down a school choice program aren’t taking things lying down.

Following the surprising decision last week, which effects nearly 3,000 students who have already started school, parents and school choice advocates are telling their stories in hopes of swaying state lawmakers to make the changes necessary to save the school choice scholarships.

“We want the Senate in particular to realize these are real people, real families being affected,” says Wendy Damron, head of Palmetto Promise Institute, a strong proponent of the school choice bill which was signed into law last year. “The governor is willing; the House is willing; the Senate is dragging its feet.”

One reason for the urgency is that many of the 2,880 students enrolled in schools through the program will have to withdraw from their current schools unless financial provisions are made. The state had promised them $6,000 each, but the court’s decision came after the first $1,500 payment was made, effectively blocking the remaining payments, the next of which was due Oct. 15. 

“A lot of these families are 200% of the federal poverty line or below, which is $60,000 for a family of four,” Damron told The Lion. “Unless we can come up with the money, they’re going to have to return to the public school system which wasn’t serving them in the first place.” 

The institute is working with the American Federation for Children to compile letters and video testimonies from families affected by the ruling. 

“Mommy has failed you, because you have to say goodbye to the only classroom you’ve known, the teacher that (built) your trust and the school you feel safe in … because I laid trust in our governing state of South Carolina, that I pay taxes in, to continue to fulfill the promise of your awarded grant,” writes Sarah, the mother of Jazlyn, who just started kindergarten at Calvary Christian Bible School. 

“The joy we felt when we received the grant award for Jazlyn was indescribable,” she continues, addressing legislators. “After years of struggling to pay for private education for our eldest daughter, we saw this grant as a divine blessing, especially given the financial strain we’ve endured due to health issues and the economy. We had made significant sacrifices to keep our daughter in the school, and the grant seemed like the answer to our prayers. 

“Now, with the revocation of the grant, we face the daunting prospect of uprooting Jazlyn from the only classroom and teacher she knows, just weeks into her kindergarten experience.  

“I can only imagine the confusion and fear this will cause her as we navigate this unforeseen change. Public school is not a viable option for Jazlyn due to her unique needs, and had we known the grant would be revoked, we would have pursued a homeschool co-op to provide her with the individualized attention she requires. However, we were not given the time or opportunity to prepare for this sudden change.” 

Damron questioned why the court, which heard oral arguments the first week of March, took six months to release its decision, right after school started. 

“We were absolutely sure that once the kids started school, there was no way the court was going to come back at that time and say it’s unconstitutional, because that would just be too cruel,” she says. “Yet here we are.” 

Damron says the senate could call a special session at any time. If it doesn’t, the governor, who signed the school choice bill, could call one in November, or wait until the Legislature reconvenes in January. 

That may be more advantageous politically, she says, because some lawmakers who were hesitant on or against school choice got primaried and could be gone by then, but the longer the delay, the more students and families could suffer. 

“Many of them didn’t even realize that this was a possibility, that this could happen,” she says. “They were really blindsided by this, to all of a sudden get a notification from the Department of Education saying ‘your child is losing their scholarship.’ 

“[Parents are] already saying, ‘I’ve already seen improvement in my child from last year.’ It’s just devastating. We’re told that while the videos were being recorded, people were really trying hard to keep themselves together, but as soon as they went out in the hall, they cried.” 

Some schools are offering emergency financial aid to keep students enrolled, but Damron says she knows of one school with 30 kids using the scholarship so “there’s no way they can absorb that cost.” 

It would take $2 million to cover the scholarships through the end of 2024 and $6 million to pay through the end of the school year.  

Damron isn’t waiting on the Legislature but plans to start raising money immediately. 

If the Legislature does act, the law stands a good chance of passing because two justices that voted against the measure are no longer on the court and the author of the dissenting opinion is now chief justice. “We’re pretty confident it would go through 4-1 or 3-2 next time,” Damron says. 

In the meantime, she’s hoping families that took the scholarship will maintain trust in a system that’s already failed them once. 

“We did a whole campaign. We sent out 100,000 mailers,” she says. “We did social media ads, text messages and radio ads to get families signed up for this program, and then ‘boom,’ it’s gone, so why would they trust us again? Why would they trust the Legislature again? I probably wouldn’t if I were in their shoes, but if we step up and help them stay, then they will understand that we do have their best interests at heart.”