To kick off the 2023-24 legislative session, Palmetto Promise Institute released the Palmetto Freedom Agenda, a handbook for South Carolina legislators detailing twenty-three extensively researched policies for building a better South Carolina. Now that the 125th General Assembly has adjourned sine die, it’s time to look back and see how they did. Did our Freedom Agenda
The General Assembly has a chance to bolster South Carolina’s fledgling ESA program in the 2024 Fiscal Year budget, currently being reviewed in Conference Committee. As you may recall, for the 2024-25 school year, the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program will allocate 5,000 $6,000 scholarships to low and moderate income families across the state to
[Last Updated 3:15 am Wednesday] South Carolina voters went to the polls on Tuesday to select hundreds of nominees for their Congressional and General Assembly representatives. Every single Statehouse seat (both Senate and House) is on the ballot in November, and many of these seats had primary contests this week. We’ve compiled a complete list
The 125th South Carolina General Assembly has made quite the impact in our state, from repealing CON to enacting our state’s first education scholarship account (ESA) program. Here at Palmetto Promise, we’ve talked a lot about the ESA bill and the tremendous impact it has for families across the state. More families than ever before
How has SC Superintendent Weaver’s “wait and see” statement on the Biden Administration’s rewrite of Title IX fared in the 38 days since she issued it?
South Carolina is behind the times on free speech protections, particularly regarding protections from SLAPP lawsuits, also known as strategic lawsuits against public participation. These predatory lawsuits arise when one party levels privacy, defamation, or libel charges at individuals or advocacy groups with the intention to financially cripple them and scare them away from public
One of the greatest honors we have here at Palmetto Promise Institute is getting the opportunity to work alongside talented young leaders through our internship program. Over the years, we have had an abundance of brilliant, hardworking interns, several of whom have gone on to full-time positions with Palmetto Promise, and all of whom are
Palmetto Promise Institute remains firm in our belief that when the Conference Committee working on the 2024-25 state budget faces the choice between cutting the state individual income tax rate and rebating a portion of the property tax, it should pick a permanent reduction in the individual income tax. This is looking more doable with
We are proud to share that Palmetto Promise Institute, along with our partners in North and South Carolina, have been awarded the Heritage Foundation’s 2024 Innovation Prize for our work on the Carolinas Academic Leadership Network (CALN). CALN aims to empower school board members throughout the Carolinas by honing their leadership skills in governance, professional development,
This column by Senior Fellow Dr. Oran Smith originally appeared in The Post and Courier May 19, 2024. Looking back over South Carolina’s civic life, most historians would agree that Carroll Campbell has been among our state’s most effective governors. It was Campbell, a Republican with a General Assembly that was 61% Democratic, who shepherded
