Restoring Hope for Low-Income Students — A Conversation about the Fight for School Choice in South Carolina with Wendy Damron

Education
Blog · March 12, 2025

Palmetto Promise President and CEO Wendy Damron is honored to have been featured on the State Policy Network’s Neighbors in the Network podcast this week. Read about her interview and check out the whole episode below! When the South Carolina Supreme Court unexpectedly ruled mid-school year against the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund, thousands of low-income students suddenly faced

South Carolina’s New School Choice Bill Lags Behind Tennessee and Texas

Education
Blog · February 11, 2025

We are grateful to the South Carolina Senate for its recent passage of S.62, a bill by Education Chairman Greg Hembree that aims to restore school choice in South Carolina following the SC Supreme Court’s Eidson decision that left thousands of SC families with their promised scholarships ripped away. The legislation passed after several weeks

South Carolina advocate wins ‘Doer’ award for efforts to fund school choice

Education
Blog · January 27, 2025

This article by Adam Whittenberg was published in The Lion about Palmetto Promise President & CEO Wendy Damron’s recent award. When the South Carolina Supreme Court abruptly ended South Carolina’s school choice program just weeks into the school year, Wendy Damron didn’t take things lying down. Damron, who heads the Palmetto Promise Institute think tank,

Our 2025-26 Palmetto Freedom Agenda

Blog · January 9, 2025

The 126th session of the South Carolina General Assembly kicks off next week, on January 14. This two-year session, South Carolina has a chance like never before to expand freedom and opportunity in our state. I and the Palmetto Promise team are so proud of all the achievements of the last legislative session, and we

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

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

Quality of Life
Blog · September 13, 2024

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

Palmetto Promise Named Finalist for National Award – Cast Your Vote!

Education
Blog · July 1, 2024

The Palmetto Promise team is pleased to announce that we have been named a finalist for a national Communications Excellence award for the work we did spreading the word about South Carolina’s Education Scholarship Accounts! Out of 63 State Policy Network (SPN) affiliates, we were selected as one of three finalists for the Communications Excellence:

The 2023-24 Palmetto Freedom Agenda: How Did the General Assembly Do?

Blog · June 17, 2024

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

Introducing our 2024 Summer Fellows

Blog · May 29, 2024

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