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Senate advances school-choice scholarship bill after heated debate over scope and administration
Summary
After hours of debate and multiple amendments, the South Carolina Senate gave S.62 a second reading, advancing an Education Scholarship Accounts (ESA) framework by a 32-12 vote. Lawmakers sparred over who should be eligible, whether the program should be universal and how administrative fees and vendor contracts should be handled.
The South Carolina Senate advanced S.62, a bill to create Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for k–12 students, after a contentious floor debate and several amendment battles. The chamber gave the bill a second reading by a 32-12 vote and sent it toward third reading with key provisions and procedural changes still unresolved.
Why it matters: The bill would route lottery-funded scholarship dollars to families for private tuition, transportation, tutoring and similar educational expenses. Lawmakers and witnesses disagreed sharply over eligibility, vendor administration fees and whether a universal, no‑income‑limit option should be allowed — issues that affect state budget exposure and the program’s legal risk.
Most immediately, the Senate rejected a push to make the scholarship universal. An amendment by Senator Leatherman Clymer to remove income and enrollment caps — which would have opened the program to all children statewide —…
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