New Budget boosts SC’s only Private Education Choice Program

The South Carolina General Assembly passed the 2017-2018 budget this week, and there is good news for South Carolina’s only private school choice program. The government cap, which limits the amount of contributions made to Exceptional SC was raised from $10 Million to $11 Million.

The increase in the cap means that more South Carolina students will benefit from harnessing the power of education choice. For example, this past year Exceptional SC raised all $10 Million allowed by the budget proviso, yet there were still 650 students on the official waiting list for a scholarship. The higher the cap, the more students who benefit.

This a good step forward for Exceptional SC and the entire Palmetto State. We are on the road of improvement toward education success for every student.

Despite this year’s success however, there is more to do. Both Rep. Garry Smith and Rep. Jason Elliot have introduced bills that codify and expand the program even further. They await the legislature’s January return.

More broadly speaking, the reality is that Exceptional SC is only available for a limited segment of the overall student population in South Carolina. Milestones on the road ahead include new education choice programs that bring opportunity to much larger swaths of the populous – from expanding Charter Schools, to adopting true Online Course Access and considering Education Scholarship Accounts.