Senate debates expansion, accountability and eligibility rules for school-choice scholarships; key amendment tabled 26-15

The South Carolina Senate debated changes to a proposed education scholarship program that would expand school‑choice options and set rules for who may receive scholarship funds.

Senators spent the bulk of the floor session on amendments addressing eligibility (residency and prior public‑school attendance), income thresholds, special‑education access (IEP students), transportation allowances, background checks for nonaccredited providers and academic accountability testing. The chamber carried several amendments for further consideration, adopted others on the floor and, by roll call, tabled an Edgefield amendment 26-15.

The proposal under consideration would resume or revise the scholarship program the Legislature previously enacted: senators argued over whether to limit initial eligibility to lower‑income students who had attended a South Carolina public school for a semester, or to open eligibility more broadly to existing private‑school students. The transcript shows repeated concern that a broader eligibility cutoff would “squeeze out” the low‑income students the program originally aimed to help.

Senator from Georgetown, speaking about a floor amendment…