On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order calling for removal of cabinet status for the U.S. Department of Education (ED). This announcement has made waves in the media, and lots of disinformation has been going around about just what this order means.  So how does the Trump executive order on downgrading the U.S.

We are proud to share that Palmetto Promise Institute’s President & CEO Wendy Damron was appointed by the US Commission on Civil Rights to the advisory committee for the State of South Carolina.   Below is the press release from the US Commission on Civil Rights regarding Damron’s appointment: On Friday, March 21, 2025, the

Our friends at EdChoice have recently published the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index, which measures just how much K-12 education choice there is in each state. The 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index is a comprehensive and easy-to-understand measure of the availability of private K-12 educational choice across the United States. Inspired by Milton and Rose Friedman’s vision of universal

This article by Patrick Gleason originally appeared in Forbes. The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision last September to strike down the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF), upending a new education savings account (ESA)-style program enacted by South Carolina lawmakers the prior year. The ESTF program struck down by the South Carolina Supreme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DeVos Foundation Donates $250,000 to Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund COLUMBIA, SC — The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has made a generous $250,000 donation to the ESTF Families Fund, an initiative launched by Palmetto Promise Institute to assist low-income families impacted by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to

To justify its decision striking down Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) grants for low- and moderate-income K-12 students in September of last year (2024), the South Carolina Supreme Court presented a Palmetto State history lesson, but it was a perverse one. In the majority’s peculiar characterizations of South Carolina’s past, the words of arch-racist Ben

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

Jeb Bush writes that thousands of students “could finally afford the education of their dreams” with the state’s proposed Education Scholarship Trust Fund.

Below, you can find press releases and media coverage of Palmetto Promise Institute’s ESTF Families Rescue Fund, which helps pay the tuition of families in South Carolina’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund program whose scholarships were ripped away by the SC Supreme Court. To learn more or contribute, contact Wendy Damron at wendy@palmettopromise.org or donate here

This piece by Adam Whittenberg originally published in The Lion cites Palmetto Promise’s ESTF Family Rescue Fund work. South Carolina is one step closer to restoring school choice after the state House passed a school choice plan Wednesday. By a 79-38 vote, the Republican-controlled House approved a plan to fund private school scholarships from the general budget.