Tomorrow (April 18) at 9:00 AM the South Carolina Senate’s K-12 Education Subcommittee will meet to discuss S.622—the South Carolina Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Account Act (ESA’s). ESA’s are an education innovation that is sweeping the country and creating unprecedented flexibility for students and families. This idea would allow parents of eligible students to apply

Southerners know the wisecrack that comes up whenever talking about some less-than-stellar state statistic: “Thank goodness for Mississippi.” Sadly, South Carolina’s education system just lost that excuse. On April 10, the National Center for Education Statistics released its 2017 results for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. Also known as the “Nation’s Report

What is “competency-based education” and how would it impact South Carolina students? Issue at a Glance South Carolina lawmakers are currently considering a bill to allow schools to opt into a competency-based education model. Competency-based education – also called “personalized learning” – allows schools the option to innovate away from an old one-size-fits-all education model

This originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal on March 6, 2018. As a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserves and the most recently deployed member of Congress, I know firsthand that serving in the armed forces requires tremendous sacrifice. As a husband and father of three young daughters, I know the decision to serve

South Carolina’s K-12 education system suffers not despite its variety of revenue streams, but because of them. A tangled web of different revenue sources, costly mandates and new programs has pushed up administrative costs while perpetuating student underperformance. And worse, the current system diminishes transparency, insulating it from reform. Parents and taxpayers should demand better

South Carolina’s public schools are supported by a host of education funding sources that have seen healthy growth over the years. But are taxpayers getting their money’s worth? A new study by the Palmetto Promise Institute reveals the disconnect between revenue and results when it comes to educating South Carolina kids. South Carolina’s 81 public

This op-ed appeared in The State newspaper on January 22, 2018. Our nation will spend $623.5 billion on K-12 education this academic year — an average $12,300 per pupil. That per-pupil spending has increased by more than 35 percent over the past 25 years, even after taking inflation into account. Despite all the spending, S.C. test scores on

ExceptionalSC is unleashing hope for parents and students with exceptional needs. This week, it took a big step forward in the South Carolina House.

Learn how this one small provision of the federal tax reform law gives SC parents and students huge new flexibility.

Streamlining South Carolina's broken education funding formula would empower teachers, parents and students. Find out how in our groundbreaking study.