General Assembly Boosts Public School Choice in ESTF Legislation
Most legislative observers missed it, but buried deep in S.62—the bill whose primary purpose was to reestablish South Carolina’s private school choice program (the Education Scholarship Trust Fund)— was a glimmer of hope for public school choice. The encouraging provision, which introduced the idea of interdistrict transfers for all students, can be found in Section 12 of the bill, S.C. Code §59-8-165.
A New Section, a New Framework
S.C. Code §59-8-165, as rewritten by S.62, requires the SC Department of Education (SCDE) to lay out a framework for interdistrict enrollment (transfer between schools in different districts). These model guidelines are meant to establish a “baseline of expectations for all districts” and urge that every public school district adopt such a policy.
Our take? If this section were only meant to apply to students in the ESTF program, why deliberately exclude any mention of ESTF in Section 12, and why use such broad language?
The structure of Section 12 strongly suggests that this is a positive step toward a statewide system for interdistrict transfers, open to all families, not just those using these ESA scholarships.
The Law Doesn’t Say “Only ESTF Students” and That Matters
Some may argue that because §59-8-165 is part of the Education Scholarship Trust Fund statute, it must apply only to scholarship recipients seeking another public school. However, the law expands the language of this section to apply more broadly. In Section 12, it drops any reference to ESTF students and replaces it with requirements for all districts. If the legislature intended to restrict this pathway to open enrollment to ESTF participants, it could have stated that, but it did not.
Interpreting this section broadly matters. Families deserve public school options, regardless of whether they qualify for a private choice program like ExceptionalSC or ESTF.
It’s Not School Choice If Only Some Can Choose
Interpreting S. 62’s school choice provision as applicable to all students follows both the language and logic of the policymakers. School choice should not depend on a family’s bank account or zip code. If only the 10,000 ESTF scholarship students can transfer out of their resident districts, then the 700,000 students without access to ESTF funds are locked out of opportunity, effectively creating selective mobility.
In the absence of school choice, countless students are left without options, unable to get into the limited ESTF program. The fact is, South Carolina has capped the ESTF program to 10,000 students for the 2025-26 school year and 15,000 after that. All of those spots for 2025-26 were filled within the first six weeks after Governor McMaster signed S.62 into law. Clearly, there is an extremely high demand for the program, and South Carolina parents want options. Palmetto Promise has championed the ESTF program and encouraged its expansion for private school choice, but Section 12 of the bill could be life-changing for students who are ineligible or awaiting program expansion. It charts a course that could lead to public school choice for hundreds of thousands of students.
Public School Choice Empowers Families
Interpreting §59-8-165 as public school choice for all means uplifting low- and moderate-income families who cannot afford alternative education options. Public school choice provides many opportunities for students who wish to gain access to college preparatory programs, academies with a thematic focus, and schools with a specific instructional philosophy. Students can also use interdistrict transfer to move to a more convenient location or to escape social conflicts at their existing schools, like bullying. Most often, though, school choice traffic statistics show students primarily transfer to institutions with higher average test scores, opening the door to more rigorous academics and brighter futures.
Others Agree
Palmetto Promise is not alone in its interpretation of this provision as a broad interdistrict policy shift. Yes. Every Kid, a nonprofit organization focused on kids’ education, wrote on the policy, saying, “S.62 introduces an open enrollment policy that allows parents to apply for their children to attend public schools outside of their school district.”
Conclusion: A Step Toward Fairer School Choice
S.62 is not the ultimate solution for school choice or the end of the discussion on open enrollment. There will be questions as the new interdistrict transfer framework is created and implemented. Some districts may attempt to avoid the framework and stifle public school choice altogether. But one thing is clear: The new private school choice law moves South Carolina toward a more open system of public school choice.
