The Hidden Advantages of the ESTF Program
The school choice environment in South Carolina is evolving rapidly. Just a few short years ago, families were forced to attend their residentially zoned traditional public school, drive their children to a local public charter school (if they were able), or pay for private school tuition out of their own pocket – effectively trapping lower income families in their local school. The Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) introduced school choice to thousands of low income families across the state – families who are now able to access these educational options that have long been denied them because of their income. As our choice ecosystem continues to develop and expand, we want to ensure that families understand and are taking full advantage of the choice programs available to them. Today, we will look at two lesser-known and lesser-utilized ways to use the Education Scholarship Trust Fund.
Public Charter School Basics
Let’s start with the basics. It is a common misconception that public charter schools are private schools – in fact, the exact opposite is true. Charter schools are public schools, and we take special care to refer to them as “public charter schools” to minimize confusion. Despite their status as public schools, public charter schools are not funded the same way as traditional public schools – they do not have bonding authority (and, therefore, no access to local funding streams) and do not receive state funding for student transportation. In an attempt to remedy this funding discrepancy, Budget Proviso 1.3(N) assigns a higher student weight to public charter school students – 1.25 versus 1.0 – which should, in theory, result in public charter students being funded approximately 25% higher than traditional public school students and makes up for the lack of local education funding streams. Despite this, South Carolina’s three statewide public charter school districts, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, the Limestone Charter Association, and the Charter Institute at Erskine, rank dead last in per-pupil revenue.
The Education Scholarship Trust Fund
Enter the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) – South Carolina’s education scholarship account (ESA) program. This program provides $7,500 per student (indexed to increase in later years by the proportional increase in the statewide average per pupil funding, unless manually adjusted during the budget process – in 2026-27, the funding amount is just over $7,600) to thousands of low-income students across the state to help them afford the school choice option that works best for them. In the 2025-26 school year, the program quickly reached its enrollment cap of 10,000 students. Next year, the cap will increase to 15,000 students, and we expect the program to “max out” again. Ostensibly, this program is designed to help students afford private school or at home education, but there are instances where funding can be spent by students attending a public charter school or an out-of-district public school.
ESTF and Charter Schools
Public charter schools may not charge their students tuition, so their students have significantly more flexibility in spending their ESTF dollars than their private school counterparts. S.C. Code Ann. § 59-8-110(14) outlines qualifying expenses under the ESTF program, some of which apply to public charter school students. For example, public charter school students are able to use ESTF dollars to pay for tutoring services, standardized testing for college admission, school uniforms (as applicable), laptops for school use, and much more. Most notably, public charter school students can use up to $3,000 of their ESTF to pay for transportation to and from school. Before the ESTF program, a family that had only one vehicle or that had both parents working was trapped in their residentially zoned public school district – there were not any other transportation options for their child to attend a different school. Now, these students have funding available to explore different ways to get to school even if their parents cannot take them. We hope that public charter schools will use this funding to create pilot programs to help more students secure safe, reliable transportation to and from school.
ESTF and Out-of-District Public Schools
S.C. Code Ann. § 59-8-165 requires the Department of Education to “…develop model guidelines for interdistrict transfers to assist local boards of trustees in establishing an interdistrict enrollment policy.” This policy will allow students to attend traditional public schools outside of their residentially zoned school district, expanding school choice options even further for those who are interested. The draft model guidelines were released for public comment on November 18, and will remain open until December 19. Section 10 of the draft guidelines allow districts who accept interdistrict transfer applications to charge a transfer fee that may not exceed their per pupil local tax revenue from the prior year. Depending on the district, this cost can be significant – sometimes reaching more than $10,000.
Fortunately, ESTF funds are allowed to be spent on interdistrict transfer fees without restriction, meaning a student could spend their entire $7,600 award on a transfer fee. Assuming every school district opts to charge the maximum permitted transfer fee, the $7,600 provided by the ESTF program would completely cover the transfer fee for nearly 2/3 of school districts, and cover more than half of the fee for all but the two most expensive districts in the state (Charleston and Fairfield Counties, respectively). Using ESTF funds for interdistrict transfer fees helps ensure that students are able to choose the school that works best for them, even if that is a nearby public school in a neighboring district.
Need help?
The rules and regulations surrounding the ESTF program can be confusing. To help minimize any confusion, we have created the South Carolina School Choice Alliance, which provides a dedicated website that helps address common questions about the program. The Frequently Asked Questions page addresses questions ranging from the most basic (what is an ESA?) to who is eligible, how to fill out the program application, the steps schools who wish to accept ESTF dollars must take to register with the state, and more. There is even a simple quiz that families can take to help determine whether they would qualify for the ESTF program.
Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you may have, and will keep you up to date with the latest and greatest developments in school choice on our blog.
