RELEASE: Palmetto Promise Institute Announces ESA Family Rescue Fund for School Choice Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Palmetto Promise Institute Announces ESA Family Rescue Fund for School Choice Families
Donor will make ESTF families whole until December 31, 2024
COLUMBIA — Palmetto Promise Institute President & CEO Wendy Damron announced today that a generous donor has stepped forward to offer funding for private school students who were impacted by the recent decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court in Eidson et al. v. SC Department of Education et al, gutting the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program.
“The Supreme Court waited over 180 days after oral arguments to deliver a decision that has been devastating to families who had every reason to believe that their ESTF school choice scholarships would be funded for the entire 2024-25 school year.
Over the last few weeks, our hearts have been broken by the stories of the low-income families who had settled into new schools that better fit their children only to have their scholarships ripped away in the middle of the school year.
But we have good news. I am pleased to announce that Palmetto Promise Institute will be able to fund ESTF scholarships for school tuition though the end of the calendar year due to the generosity of Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania businessman and philanthropist who is a strong believer in the power of school choice options to change lives. We know the next quarter’s school tuition is soon due, and we are moving quickly to provide funds to schools as soon as logistics allow.”
Damron stated that more details will follow in the coming days. These funds will be available for students currently attending a private school under the ESTF program.
“If you would like to support ESTF families through the entire 2024-25 school year, we are continuing to accept donations, 100% of which go to pay ESTF families’ school tuition,” Damron said. “You can sponsor an ESTF student for the spring for $3,000.” To donate, please visit palmettopromise.org/donate and designate the donation for the ESA Families Rescue Fund.
Palmetto Promise Institute introduced the Education Scholarship Account (ESA) concept to South Carolina in 2015 and has long championed the flexibility it offers parents as they seek ways to customize an education for their children. S.39/Act 8 (2023) includes 15 different categories of expenses from which parents may choose including tutoring, therapy, and tuition—recognizing that each child is unique and requires education services tailored to those needs. Eidson disallowed the usage of ESTF funds only for tuition and fees at private schools.
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Palmetto Promise Institute (PPI) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational organization. Palmetto Promise conducts public policy research dedicated to advancing a free and flourishing South Carolina, where every individual has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.
Contact: Wendy Damron
wendy@palmettopromise.org
(803) 530-1974
