Listen to these parents.

From a parent in Goose Creek:

“My 13 year old was almost failing 6th grade in the public school we were zoned for (which is a great school, by the way). I reached out to the guidance counselor, principal and had conferences with the teachers. None of that helped; she was still coming home not soaking in any information, a ball of nerves going to school, too shy to ask questions, failing testd etc. The school was suggesting she get evaluated by their psychologist for ADD, though no one even contacted us to do that. The school year went by barely passing. That same year, I found a very small tutoring center in our area that she started going to after school, and the next school year her grades went from D’s in 6th grade to A’s in 7th grade. The tutoring center I found is also a small independent microschool, and we decided with the ESTF scholarship money we would put her there, since they accepted the scholarship money. She is thriving there! She has so much more confidence, she is able to get more individualized learning with the school being so small (only 4-6 students in her class,) making A’s, not nervous about tests anymore, and has made a total 360. All she needed was that smaller class size and that more one-on-one learning. The public school could not help with that. We will be affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling and don’t know what we will do now.”

From a family in Greenville:

“I am writing to share the emotional and financial impact that losing the state scholarship to our private Christian school will have on our family. This scholarship has not only allowed us to provide a quality education for our daughter but has also been a lifeline in ensuring that our son who has dyslexia would be able to attend Camperdown Academy with a large out of pocket expense.

Our daughter was enrolled at a public school for kindergarten. She was going to attend when we made the tough decision to enroll our son at Camperdown Academy. This scholarship was the deciding factor for us to leave her at Southside Christian.

For many families like ours, attending a private Christian school is more than just about academics. It’s about being part of a community that reinforces the principles of faith, integrity, and character development, which we work hard to cultivate at home. This setting has been instrumental in shaping our children’s worldview, helping them become not only intellectually capable but spiritually grounded. Our daughter attended Southside Christian for preschool, and this scholarship allowed her to stay.

Losing this scholarship presents a harsh reality. The tuition costs of a private institution and a specialty school are often well beyond what many middle-income families can afford without significant financial assistance. Without the support of this scholarship, we would be forced to make difficult decisions that could affect not only our children’s education but the overall financial stability of our household. This could mean cutting back on other essentials, sacrificing future savings, or even pulling our children out of a school that has become a second home for our daughter while her brother is at a different school for dyslexia. He is in the 5th grade.

But the impact goes beyond finances. For our children, this change would mean leaving behind friends, mentors, and a supportive learning environment that has become a vital part of their development. The thought of having to transition to a completely new school, with different values and expectations, is both daunting and disheartening.

In many ways, the scholarship has allowed us to give our children opportunities that we never had. It is incredibly difficult to face the possibility that we may no longer be able to provide this for them, simply because of financial constraints.

I hope that this letter sheds some light on the deeply personal and far-reaching effects of losing this scholarship. It is not just an academic issue but a family one, affecting our children’s futures and our ability to sustain the life we want for them.”

From the Warner family in Horry County (as interviewed and written by The Daily Signal and Next Steps Blog):

“Today definitely felt like a kick in the stomach,” Warner said.

The Warner family was using an education savings account to send their son to a private, Christian school this year. But after the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday decided on the school choice law that enabled low-income parents to use education savings accounts to send their children to private schools, the Warner family will have to send their son back to a public school in the middle of the first semester of the school year.

“I dread that conversation with my son, where I have to tell him, ‘We have to go back, and you’re going to leave all these new friends that you’ve met,’” Warner told The Daily Signal.

“I’m going to have to sit down and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t going to work out, and not because of anything else, but that Dad doesn’t have the money to pay for it,’” Warner added.

“This really insinuates that people who are low income don’t have the ability to make the best decision for their own families,” Warner said. “The court today basically said if you don’t make enough money, or if you’re lower income, sometimes for reasons that are not your own, then you are essentially not able to make good decisions for your own family.”

“He’s going to be devastated,” Warner said of his sixth-grader. “He absolutely loves his new school and his new teachers, and he was excited about this whole thing.”

“We had seen something we had never seen before,” the father continued, “and now it feels like that light’s about to go back out again.”

From a mother in Greenville:

“We received the ESTF scholarship this year for our daughter. She is in K5. She is on the autism spectrum. We wanted a smaller school and smaller classroom for her so that it would all be less overwhelming. We felt her chances of success would be higher this way. We can’t afford private school so we were ecstatic to receive the ESTF scholarship and have the opportunity to put her in a school where she is thriving. This news is very difficult to digest and we don’t know what will happen next.”

From a family in Greenville:

“We have two children. One is in 8th grade and is in his third year at the private school. The other is in 5th grade and this is his first year there. He is the recipient of the scholarship. Our intent was to enroll him next year when our oldest went to high school at a public school, but since we received the scholarship, we moved him a year earlier.  The reason we do it this way is because we cannot afford tuition for two kids in private school as I am a public school teacher and my wife stays home. I am not sure how we are going to make this work. Our only option without other financial assistance is to take money out of their college funds, something we really don’t want to do.

It is wrong that this decision would be made after school has already started. At a minimum, it should proceed as passed this year and any changes should take place at the end of the 24-25 academic year.”

From an anonymous family:

“When I first heard this scholarship advertised on the radio last winter, it was at just the right time. When I looked into it, I was filled with a lot of hope and a sense of possibility.  I’d been doing lots of research, but felt very lost about what to do for my oldest son’s Kindergarten placement. He’s a bright and sociable kid, but was dealing with a lot of anxiety as well as visual challenges.  It wasn’t my desire for him to be in a public school classroom, as I felt it would be too overwhelming for him and hinder his ability to learn. I say this in spite of teaching public school students the 12 years prior to becoming a mother, and having a love for the classroom and the students I taught.

My son had participated in a homeschool co-op the fall prior, but it was apparent he needed something more structured, as his attention and behavior were suffering. However, due to our family’s financial situation, we didn’t think a private school would work.  My husband had dealt with health challenges the last several years which disabled him from working. This put a big financial strain on our family.  An opening became available in a local preschool program I knew of, and we were able to enroll my oldest child. We had to work through his separation anxiety, but within a week, he was very comfortable and really thrived! With a very small teacher to student ratio, it was perfect for him.  It was a stretch for us financially, but we managed with some help from family and friends to send him two days a week during the spring. He was truly at home in that setting, and this was a major bright spot for us in the midst of our difficulties. His teachers adored him! And he made new friends and enjoyed learning new things.  This major milestone for him was something that positively impacted our whole family.

We were so pleased when his school announced their intentions to open up a 5K program for the fall! The pieces just seemed to fall into place. But it ended up being a very long three month waiting period over the summer before his school was approved as an ESTF service provider. There were some bumps along the way, but eventually they were accepted, just before the start of the school year. We were thrilled! My son had a fantastic beginning to his school year.  At the end of just his first week, however, is when we got the news that the scholarship would be abruptly ended as far as school tuition payments are concerned.

We had not even submitted the first month’s tuition payment yet, being that his school had a later start than some. So we were left scrambling about what to do. Thankfully, a relative of ours kindly offered to help with payments the remainder of this semester. But this is a major sacrifice for this person, who is single and lives off of social security. It’s incredibly disheartening when you expect the funds to be provided for your child’s entire school tuition, only to find out that you have to now somehow come up with that on your own. Especially when you have other life stressors weighing heavily on you.”

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Media: If you would like us to put you in contact with a family impacted by this court decision, please reach out to us at info@scschoolchoice.com.