The First Step to Save SC School Choice

Education
Blog · December 12, 2024

“I’ve been asked, ‘Why are you in such a rush? Why are you in such a hurry? What’s the urgency on this?’ And I’ll be really clear about that. You’ve got a couple thousand students out there that are right in the middle of the school year. They have made that transition to an independent

SC’s New Chief Justice Shuts Down Magistrate Court Conflicts of Interest

Quality of Life
Blog · December 9, 2024

This morning, South Carolina’s new Chief Justice John Kittredge released a new administrative order that brings long-awaited reform to South Carolina’s magistrate court system and shuts down potential for conflict of interest in magistrates’ rulings on cases involving lawyer-legislators. Palmetto Promise has written extensively over the last few years about the need for reform in

Holding Labor Unions Accountable: Secret Ballots Only!

Quality of Life
Blog · December 3, 2024

South Carolina is recognized nationwide as a state that emphasizes the importance of free enterprise. Businesses are attracted by our competitive tax incentives, the ability of our technical colleges to provide a skilled workforce, and our strong right-to-work culture. But economic development incentives used to lure businesses into the state—often tax breaks—are not open-ended. It

RELEASE: Ravenel B. Curry III Donates $500,000 to Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund

Education
Blog · November 12, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ravenel B. Curry III Donates $500,000 to Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund COLUMBIA — Palmetto Promise Institute today announced a generous $500,000 donation from South Carolina native Ravenel B. Curry III to the ESTF Families Rescue Fund, a fund established to support families impacted by the recent SC Supreme Court

School Choice Is Still Alive In South Carolina Despite Recent Setback

Education
Blog · October 23, 2024

This article by Patrick Gleason originally ran in Forbes. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) and other opponents of expanded school choice celebrated the South Carolina Supreme Court’s September decision in Eidson et al. v. SC Department of Education et al, a ruling which blocked implementation of the state’s new Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF), an education

The History and Future of Curriculum Transparency in South Carolina

Education
Blog · October 21, 2024

In 1988, after considerable and impassioned debate, the South Carolina General Assembly passed the Comprehensive Health Education Act. This law was a step forward in ensuring that all students across the Palmetto State receive health education that is both age-appropriate and comprehensive. Walking a legislative tightrope, the new statute created a standard to guide their

Conservative billionaire revives South Carolina’s school choice program rocked by sudden court decision

Education
Blog · October 18, 2024

This article by Jillian Schneider was originally published in The Lion. Just weeks after the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down school choice in the state, a conservative billionaire is coming to the rescue, at least through the end of this year. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF)

After court defeats SC school choice vouchers, conservative billionaire steps in to foot bill

Education
Blog · October 18, 2024
People wearing backpacks

This article by Nick Reynolds originally appeared in the Post and Courier. COLUMBIA — A conservative Pennsylvania billionaire will foot tuition costs for hundreds of private school students after South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled a new school choice voucher program is unconstitutional. Jeffrey Yass, a political megadonor and longtime school choice advocate, is donating approximately $900,000 to cover