Palmetto Promise Institute Internship Program

Our program is designed to provide young individuals with the opportunity to learn about state policy development and to gain hands-on experience working on policy research, legislative analysis, and communications.

2023-2024 Palmetto Freedom Agenda

Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) Signed Into Law

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, five thousand scholarships will be awarded to children from low and moderate income families (<$60,000 for a family of 4). Scholarships may be used not just for private school tuition but for a host of education providers. It is the ultimate customizable education. There are other restrictions. Children must have previously attended public school or be entering kindergarten. The portal for applying for these scholarships will open in March 2024. Schools are holding Open House events now. Get the ESA details here!

Hope · Opportunity · Promise

Explore The Issues

Latest News

October 4, 2024

Time to junk the ESA? Not so fast, my friend.

Yesterday evening, the lame duck South Carolina Supreme Court surprised no one with the announcement that they weren’t interested in rehearing Eidson et al. v. South Carolina Department of Education et al., the legal proceeding also known as “the ESTF case” or the “the school choice case” (or, incorrectly, the “school voucher case”). To some,

September 30, 2024

How you can help victims of Hurricane Helene

I’ve been glued to social media the past few days looking at the destruction and heartbreak wrought by Hurricane Helene in our state and North Carolina. I’m sure many of you have too. I am from Travelers Rest. The Blue Ridge Mountains have always been my mountains. As a kid, I knew that when we got to

September 30, 2024

Zip Code=Destiny? Not with Open Enrollment.

Imagine if you will, a world where the price of the houses in a neighborhood determines the quality of the education the children in that neighborhood receive. Sound familiar? It should. Unfortunately, this is the real world of education in much of South Carolina. Zip code equals destiny. Zip code school assignments can be a

September 27, 2024

Listen to these parents.

Our team has been flooded with emails, phone calls, and testimonials from families received who are scared and confused about the implications of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the state’s fledgling ESA program, the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program. For many, the impact is that these low-income families will no longer

September 24, 2024

A Roadmap for Energy Reform

South Carolina is facing an energy crisis. In 2016, the average energy bill was higher for South Carolinians than for energy customers in any other state. We are still in the top five both nationally and in the Southeast. And it looks like power giant Santee Cooper is set to raise rates even higher. On

September 13, 2024

COMMENTARY: Kamala Harris’ housing plan is bad for South Carolina as state AG Alan Wilson has shown

This op-ed by President Wendy Damron was originally published in The State. The old saying goes, “I’d rather have a workhorse than a showhorse.” South Carolina is fortunate to have a workhorse in Attorney General Alan Wilson. Since taking office in 2011, he has worked tirelessly to rein in the federal government’s overreach and reinvigorate

September 12, 2024

Reactions to SC Supreme Court ESA Ruling

In the wake of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program weeks into the school year, South Carolina’s leaders have strongly spoken out against the decision, one which we believe is faulty and incorrectly decided based on a fundamental misreading of the state constitution and case

September 11, 2024

South Carolina’s top education leader vows to defend ESA program after state high court strikes it down

This article by Lisa Buie was originally published on the Next Steps Blog. In it, she quotes Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron. The big story: Nearly 3,000 low-income students and their families now find themselves scrambling for education options a month into the new school year after the South Carolina Supreme Court tossed out

September 11, 2024

Release: SC Supreme Court Finds Education Scholarships Unconstitutional

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SC Supreme Court Finds Education Scholarships Unconstitutional 2,880 students see their scholarships cancelled weeks into the school year COLUMBIA — In a ruling handed down today, the South Carolina Supreme Court found in favor of the plaintiffs in Eidson et al. v. SC Department of Education et al. The 3-2 decision, written

September 9, 2024

Civil Asset Forfeiture: Explanatory Stories and Essential Sources

Mikee Albin was a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran. He was living in an RV in the parking lot of the restaurant he ran, hoping to build up the business and achieve the American dream of entrepreneurship and homeownership. But his dream was sidetracked…badly sidetracked. Following an undercover investigation at his restaurant, where it was determined that

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