Charleston County School District has created quite the stir in the charter school sector over the last couple of days – first by suggesting amendments to a piece of legislation that reforms and strengthens how charter school authorizers function in South Carolina (amendments that would create different requirements and oversight mechanisms for local and statewide
The South Carolina Senate Finance Committee is currently debating this year’s budget. On Tuesday, April 7, Senator Greg Hembree (R – Horry) introduced a budget proviso that would: Prohibit “unbundlers” in the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program; Grandfather “unbundlers” from this school year into the program, but treats them like Option 1 (district-approved and
Palmetto Promise Director of Education Policy Ryan Dellinger recently joined WIS10 reporter Stephen Biddix virtually to discuss a bill that would opt South Carolina in to the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. To watch their video coverage, check out the original article here. Columbia, S.C. (WIS10): As school districts across South Carolina continue to grapple with
Palmetto Promise Director of Education Policy Ryan Dellinger is quoted in this article, originally published in the South Carolina Daily Gazette, discussing a bill that would opt South Carolina in to the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. We submitted written testimony on this bill as well, which you can read here. Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina Daily
Earlier today, I submitted the below written testimony on H. 5309, which would opt South Carolina in to the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. The testimony was submitted in advance of the bill’s hearing before the House Education and Public Works Committee on March 31, 2026. Dear Representative Erickson, Palmetto Promise Institute appreciates the opportunity to
COLUMBIA, SC — Palmetto Promise Institute announced today that a new statewide effort, the South Carolina Universal School Choice Coalition, has officially launched. The Coalition and its individual signatories will focus on advancing a universal school choice framework—one that expands access to high-quality educational opportunities for every student across the state. “Members of this coalition
In this OpEd, originally published in The Daily Signal, Jonathan Butcher discusses the ongoing battle over parental rights in South Carolina. It happened again: A parent, this one in South Carolina, has accused teachers at her child’s school of hiding information about him from his family. Fortunately, state lawmakers are considering a proposal to protect parents from educators who
On March 18, 2026, I appeared before the Senate Education Subcommittee to testify on Senator Rex Rice’s S.708, which would create a limited regulatory sandbox and offer some much-needed regulatory and statutory flexibility to school districts who successfully applied for a waiver. However, time constraints limited my testimony significantly – below are my full prepared
This op-ed, originally published in FITSNews, highlights the need for a shift in how we think about the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF). Rather than debating whether we should fund 10,000 seats or 20,000, we should be looking at funding every application that came in during the priority window – supporting families who need this
In the midst of the ongoing school choice debate over “unbundlers” in the ESTF program, three school choice champions rose above the rest: Senator Jason Elliott (R-Greenville), Senator Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley), and Representative Steven Long (R-Spartanburg). All three took the opportunity to defend the ESTF program – Senators Elliott and Grooms during a Senate Education
