“SAFE Grants have created the opportunity for our family and families like ours to truly have school choice, give our children the chance to succeed and give us the ability to fully support their learning needs.” Columbia, SC “I have three children. My oldest is 23. She chose to commission into the army and she’s

“The public-school district was looking at four to six hours in front of a computer for virtual learning. Developmentally, that’s just not appropriate for a four-year-old with Down syndrome.” Janie Neeley has a four-year-old son with Down Syndrome. In late Spring, she decided to enroll her son in K4 at their local public elementary school

PPI President and CEO Ellen Weaver was quoted in the Associated Press regarding the overwhelming parent demand for SAFE Grants.  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Meeting in person for oral arguments for the first time since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Friday over whether Gov. Henry McMaster has the

Public policy work can never be ho-hum, when you realize that it’s all about making people’s lives better! That’s why we’ve dedicated ourselves to sharing the stories of real people and promoting policy solutions that provide real relief for our South Carolina neighbors. Amid the Coronavirus fallout, there is no better example of impactful, common sense policy than SAFE Grants, which would open up new education hope for struggling low- and moderate-income families. These grants would provide qualified families with the financial support they

PPI Policy Manager Lawson Mansell’s Op-Ed was featured in The Post & Courier.  Every day there’s a new headline about whether schools will reopen. For families all across our state, this is making what life will look like this fall extremely difficult to predict. You don’t know whether your kids will be in school buildings,

The reaction to Governor McMaster’s allocation of $32 million for SAFE Grants for low and moderate-income children to attend the private school of their choice has been met with shrieks from the public education lobby. As they tell it, the sky is falling, this is “a war on public schools,” civilization as we know it

Download this report. On July 20, 2020, Governor Henry McMaster announced SAFE Grants, a program designed to provide low- and moderate-income families who have been impacted by COVID an opportunity to remain in private school or attend a private school of their choice. According to the Governor’s Office, SAFE Grants has been awarded $32 million

Palmetto Promise is represented by national school choice attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center. COLUMBIA, S.C. (July 28, 2020) — Today, Palmetto Promise Institute asked an Orangeburg, S.C. judge to allow the governor’s new Safe Access to Flexible Education (SAFE) Grants program to move forward. If the judge sides with Palmetto Promise, thousands of students

View chart.  How does Governor McMaster’s $32 million SAFE Grants program compare to other education related COVID relief funding? Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund Total: $48.4 million From the CARES Act, flowed through the South Carolina Department of Administration SAFE Grants: $32 million  Funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): $2.4 million Total

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 20, 2020 Media Contact: Lawson Mansell Policy Content Manager 843-694-1540  Palmetto Promise Institute Hails New McMaster SAFE Grants Education Program Greenville, SC – In a news conference today at Hampton Park Christian School, Governor Henry McMaster unveiled a bold new education program designed to help meet the educational needs of working