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SC Senate GOP poised to tee up private school voucher bill to fast-track it to court

South Carolina Republican Sen. Greg Hembree speaks at a legislative preview in Columbia, S.C., Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Lawmakers are scheduled to return Tuesday, Jan. 9, for the 2024 session of the South Carolina General Assembly. (AP Photo/James Pollard)
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AP
South Carolina Republican Sen. Greg Hembree speaks at a legislative preview in Columbia, S.C., Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Lawmakers are scheduled to return Tuesday, Jan. 9, for the 2024 session of the South Carolina General Assembly. (AP Photo/James Pollard)

South Carolina Republican lawmakers are planning this year to use their commanding majorities in both the Senate and House to craft a new law that they hope will get around the S.C. Supreme Court's ruling over spending public money on private school tuition.

The South Carolina Senate will start the 126th General Assembly debating a long-discussed issue throughout the Capitol for years: school choice expansion.

Once again pending in the Senate, the bill — S. 62 — would allow some parents to use money provided by the state to send children to private or religious schools.

A program to allow lower- and middle-income parents to apply to the state for educational scholarships for their children to attend a private school was enacted in 2023.

But, in September, the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that most of the plan was unconstitutional, saying it violated the state Constitution's prohibition of using public money for the direct benefit of private schools.

Republicans plan to use their commanding majorities in both the Senate and House this year to craft a new law that they hope will get around the court’s most recent ruling.

The current bill calls for the scholarship, or voucher, to be funded by proceeds from the state’s Education Lottery, and not directly from tax dollars in the state budget.

Senate Education Committee Chair Gregg Hembree, R-Horry, said last week that there's many programs currently funded out of the Lottery that could be paid for out of taxpayer money in the state’s general fund.

"We’re really just seeing a shift,” Hembee said. “You’re moving this expense (scholarships) to the general fund to leave capacity in the Lottery fund to be used for this program."

Proceeds from the state Lottery currently pay for scholarships, such as the Palmetto, LIFE and HOPE scholarships at public and private colleges. That practice leads supporters of the bill to believe a new law using the Lottery would survive a court challenge.

Democratic South Carolina Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, left, speaks to Senate Clerk Jeffrey Gossett on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Jeffrey Collins/AP
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AP
Democratic South Carolina Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, left, speaks to Senate Clerk Jeffrey Gossett on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, an Orangeburg Democrat and bill opponent, is skeptical of that.

“This is lottery money we’re talking about. There’s no doubt that when that lottery money comes in, it’s deposited by the (state) treasurer in the treasury. It’s public funds,” Hutto said.

“We are clearly violating the Constitution in my opinion. But we could avoid this whole idea of whether we are violating the Constitution or not by changing the Constitution,” he added.

Changing the Constitution would require asking state voters to approve a referendum in the next general election to make such a change. And, before that, two-thirds of the General Assembly must approve putting the question on a ballot.

The prohibition of using public money for private schools was added to the state Constitution in 1895.

The so-called Blaine Amendment was originally aimed at banning public money for religious schools, at the time Catholic-run schools teaching Catholic immigrants.

With supermajorities in both the Senate and House, Republican leaders say there is an urgency to make another run at enacting a school-choice law.

Hembree and other leaders acknowledge that ultimately a change to the Constitution may be required to authorize a state-backed voucher system.

“Right now we have students in schools who don’t know where they’re going to end up,” Hembree said. “Our urgency is to address that right now. So our urgency is to address that first, and then swing back around in the cool of the day and deal with the Blaine Amendment."

A state-funded voucher program has been a priority of school-choice advocates and the Republican leadership for years.

With their supermajority in the Legislature, and the support of Gov. Henry McMaster, passage of a voucher bill is all but assured during this session.

As is the expected legal challenge to its constitutionality.

Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.