Center Square's Ted O'Neil writes on PPI's recent report regarding school choice during the pandemic.

Over the last year, South Carolina’s traditional public school districts have lost nearly 30,000 students according to the most recent student counts released by the SC Department of Education. Where are those students going? Palmetto Promise collected and analyzed enrollment data across all forms of schooling in South Carolina and found significant increases in options outside of traditional public schools.

Proposals in the South Carolina Legislature to give families more opportunities to choose schools and educational settings for their children have come under fire, including in a recent newspaper column by College of Charleston professor Kendall Deas. Professor Deas was critical of Senator Tim Scott’s support of empowering families to make more educational decisions for their children. The actual evidence indicates that Senator Scott’s ideas are what will improve educational outcomes for all children, whereas Deas’ ideas have been tried for decades—and have failed.

The guiding principle of the choice movement is that parents – not bureaucracies — are most qualified to pick the right learning environment. Because of that belief, we celebrate all great schools and all great teachers.

Here's everything you need to know about Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs). Get the facts and hear from parents across The Palmetto State on the need for education choice.

Key leaders in the South Carolina General Assembly have filed legislation that, if passed, would create “Education Scholarship Accounts” (ESAs) for South Carolina students. ESAs are online-based accounts funded with state grants that can be used to pay a wide variety of educational expenses for a student who is eligible for the grants. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about ESAs.

Across the nation, an innovation known as Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) is enjoying strong, bipartisan, legislative, parental, and taxpayer support. Why? Because with ESAs, a basic principle of fairness and freedom is achieved: state-appropriated education dollars follow the child. With that aspiration fulfilled, every child, but especially the most vulnerable, can finally receive the customized education they need to reach their full potential.

Born in South Carolina in 1875, education pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune's understanding was limited to her life experience of being a daughter to former slaves and picking cotton with her family...until she picked up her first book and her life changed forever. Now, her legacy is inspiring the next generation in the fight to ensure that all South Carolina children—no matter what kind of house they live in or the color of their skin—have access to the education option that helps them reach their full, individual God-given potential.

PPI Senior Fellow Oran Smith appears in this news story from WSPA. COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) — As teachers and students continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic in South Carolina, many are wondering how the pandemic has impacted academic performance. Last year, South Carolina received a waiver from the federal government for standardized testing due to

Today, Palmetto Promise Institute unveiled South Carolina’s first-of-its-kind data tool to compare key education metrics across the entire state and by individual school district.