South Carolina Among Lowest in the Nation in Education Freedom – Come Learn Why
Our friends at EdChoice have recently published the 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index, which measures just how much K-12 education choice there is in each state. The 2025 EdChoice Friedman Index is a comprehensive and easy-to-understand measure of the availability of private K-12 educational choice across the United States. Inspired by Milton and Rose Friedman’s vision of universal school choice, the index assesses how well each state enables families to direct education funding toward the best options for their children, whether public or private.
Their scoring is based on three key factors: student eligibility–the percentage of children who can participate in taxpayer-funded private K–12 choice programs; flexible use of funds–assessing whether families can apply these funds not only to private school tuition but also to other educational expenses such as tutoring, textbooks, test fees, and special needs therapies; and funding parity–determining whether choice programs receive funding comparable to state and local per-student allocations for public schools.
The bad news? South Carolina’s education freedom score is a 1, putting us among the lowest in the nation.
We are pleased to share that EdChoice’s star researchers and authors of the Friedman Index will be joining Palmetto Promise for an interactive webinar on Friday, March 28, 2pm – 3pm, to discuss their findings and answer questions about how South Carolina can further embrace education freedom. We would love for any and all of our readers to join us for this amazing opportunity to chat with some of the nation’s foremost experts on all things school choice.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Benjamin (Ben) Scafidi, Ph.D.
Kennesaw State University, Director of The Education Economics Center
Ben Scafidi is a professor of economics and director of the Education Economics Center at Kennesaw State University. He is also a Friedman Fellow with EdChoice (the legacy foundation of Milton and Rose Friedman), a senior fellow with the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, and was appointed by Governor Brian Kemp to serve a second stint on the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. Previously, he served as the director of education policy for the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, the first chair of the state of Georgia’s Charter Schools Commission, a member of the Charter Advisory Committee, the Education Policy Advisor to Governor Sonny Perdue, a staff member to both of Governor Roy Barnes’ Education Reform Study Commissions, and as an expert witness for the state of Georgia in school funding litigation.
He received a BA in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and a PhD in Economics from the University of Virginia. Ben and his wife Lori reside in Kennesaw, Georgia and have four adult children.
Colyn Ritter
EdChoice, Senior Research Associate
Colyn G. Ritter is a Senior Research Associate at EdChoice, where he studies school choice, public opinion data, and other education related topics. As part of the Research team, he authors original research and writing, analyzes polling data, and designs statewide and national surveys of K-12 parents and school leaders. His research interests lie in school safety’s impact on the K-12 education landscape, the public’s awareness of private school choice programs, understanding the relationships between various stakeholders in K-12 education through public opinion data, and ongoing implementation efforts for private school choice programs.
Colyn’s work has featured on the EdChoice blog, as well as a variety of other opinion and education related outlets like The 74, RealClearEducation, Fox News, and The Hill. Before EdChoice, Colyn taught ACT crash courses to St. Louis area teens, surveyed development companies, as well as with the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University. He received a bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University in Accounting and Sports Business.
