Dear Friends:

Americans want choices. Whether selecting their favorite breakfast cereal or distinctive clothing style or choosing a car, truck, or SUV from the 40 brands and more than 300 models available, choice is an essential part of the American way.

Shouldn’t parents have the right to choose the best educational fit for their children? Parents know every child learns differently, and public schools struggle to meet individual needs.

We experienced the need for choice decades ago when our son (an A.D.D. like me) had difficulty focusing on classroom work, where his learning was severely impacted because his public school couldn’t help him with individualized instruction. We enrolled him in a specialized school, which he said was no fun! He also says it saved him. He went on to finish high school and college, has two master’s degrees, and now leads a highly revered foster care facility to help children in need.

Choice is Vital

School choice was hotly debated this week by the SC House of Representatives. At issue was whether tax-paying parents could use tax money to choose the best education for their children. The answer was a resounding YES. The final vote was 80-32, with most Republicans voting in favor and most Democrats opposing Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).

Expanding ESAs underscores Republican’s dedication to providing families with unparalleled freedom in choosing the best educational pathways for their children.

The bill expanding SC’s fledgling ESA program, S.62, has been a top priority for Statehouse Republicans after the State Supreme Court decision overturning the ESA legislation passed in last year’s legislative session. The court decision left hundreds of low-income students who had enrolled in private schools suddenly without scholarships. Private donors came to their aid, so their school year wasn’t disrupted.

In the first few weeks of this year’s session, the Senate began debate on the new version, which was initially planned to be funded using lottery dollars to avoid violating a constitutional provision that bans the use of public dollars for the direct benefit of private schools. They sent the bill to the House, which nixed using lottery funds and instead further solidified a trust fund that would disperse directly to an account for qualified parents to access the $30 million in general fund dollars set aside for the program in its first year.

Wildly Popular

ESAs are wildly popular across the nation. State after state is embracing and expanding education choices. Twenty-one states are working to adopt or expand school choice. National polling shows that 76% of Americans and 84% of school parents support ESAs. A survey of 500 SC voters shows support for universal school choice is favored 3 to 1.

Here’s school choice news from just this week…

• Wyoming’s legislature passed its version of universal ESAs, making all Wyoming K-12 students eligible for scholarships up to $7,000 per child.

• North Dakota’s House passed a bill to establish education savings accounts (ESAs) for private students. Meanwhile, the North Dakota Senate passed its ESA bill and sent it to the House. That state has earmarked $43 million in its budget to support the scholarships.

• Idaho’s legislature culminated years of work by school choice champions in the legislature and parents by passing a $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit.
• Texas is appropriating $1 billion for ESAs. On Wednesday, 76 House members band together to sponsor the ESA legislation. With 76 votes needed for passage, this announcement represents a significant step forward in securing educational freedom for families in Texas. 

FACTOID: Only 2.2% of students nationwide utilize an educational choice program, while 87% attend public, charter, and magnet schools. Private schools account for 6.6% of school attendance, while 4.7% are home-schooled.

SC’s ESAs – How it Works

In the House amended bill, scholarship funds would be drawn from the state’s general fund, not lottery funding, as the Senate proposed. The House proposal requires the trust fund to be managed by a Superintendent-appointed Trustee. This is a constitutional way of allocating funds because trust funds money is no longer state dollars once it reaches the trust.

Eligibility: We prioritized students in greatest need — children of military families, foster children, low-income students, and those with disabilities — ensuring they have first access to scholarships before the general application window opens.

Eligibility for others will initially be limited to household income within 300% FPL in 2025-26 and 400% FPL in 2026-27. Then, starting with the 2027-28 school year, there will be no income limits, making the program universal. Again, priority application windows will remain for lower-income groups and other specified groups. Like the Senate bill, the prior public school attendance eligibility requirement is removed.

Scholarships: In the school year 2025-26, 10,000 scholarships will be awarded, rising to 15,000 in 2026-27. After that, the number of scholarships would have no cap, leaving it up to the General Assembly to set the amount based on budget availability each year. (Note: School choice won’t leave public schools empty. After two years, the 15,000 ESA scholarships equate to less than 2/10s of 1% of SC’s nearly 800,000 students.)

Scholarship Funds: The House amended bill would provide each student with an annual scholarship of $6,000. The Senate version was about $7,700. The House determined, however, that each year, the scholarship would rise by the percentage increase in state funding for local public school districts. The scholarships would cover education-related expenses, including tuition and fees, tutoring, transportation, and more 

The Opposition

Opponents of school choice contend that giving parents educational options is an “attack” on the state’s public schools and that it robs them of funding.  FALSE!

• Funding for the ESA scholarships comes from the general fund, not from dollars allocated for public schools. Claiming that ESAs rob public schools is akin to saying that the state’s $200 million spent annually to repair and replace dangerous bridges is robbing the schools of funding.
• Since the 2018-19 school year, the state portion of the average per-pupil spending has increased 44%, reaching $8,914. That brings the total average per pupil appropriation to a whopping $19,075, reflecting a 42% increase over the same years.

• Most SC school districts are not cash strapped. Each state school district uses a ‘reserve fund’ for cash-flow purposes. Statewide, local school districts currently have nearly $2 billion tucked away. Closer to home, the Aiken County Public School District has averaged almost $62 million in its reserve account during the last half of 2024. In 2011, I recall that the fund was around $6 million. In November, voters renewed the Aiken School District’s 1-cent sales tax for school renovation and construction. That tax is estimated to generate $398 million over 10 years.

Here’s a hard truth – if the significant increase in school funding in recent years had improved student achievement even modestly, we would all be pleased with the investment. Sadly, it has not. It’s time to augment public schools with more alternatives.

My support for public schools and dedicated teachers is not exclusive. My primary support is for students and their parents. I have always believed that education is not one-size-fits-all. Parents should decide what’s best for their children, not the tradition or the rules of government schools.

South Carolina can have it all – strong public schools and education freedom.

This bill delivers on that promise, expanding educational opportunity while ensuring strong oversight, financial accountability, and a program that will endure.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Protecting Children from Online Exploitation

While we worked to expand opportunities for children in the classroom, we also took action to protect them from the dangers of online exploitation. This week, the House Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to H.3046, a bill that strengthens SC’s laws against child predators by closing dangerous loopholes in our sexual exploitation statutes.

As technology evolves, so do the threats that predators use to target children. This bill ensures that AI-generated and digitally altered images of minors are treated the same as any other form of child exploitation. It strengthens penalties for those who create, distribute, or possess these materials and requires that offenders be added to the Sex Offender Registry to ensure law enforcement and communities are aware of their crimes.

Pinball Bill Strikes Close to Home

You may not think this is important, but Erin Edwards does. She and her husband own the Radioactive Pinball Arcade in downtown Aiken. They have pushed for the passage of H.3020, which abolishes an archaic state law that bans those under 18 from playing pinball. SC is the only state with that law, which has been a hassle for Erin’s business.

Last March, we passed the bill unanimously and sent it to the Senate, where it was not considered. So, we’re trying again. We passed the new legislation unanimously and sent it to the Senate. Let’s hope they quickly approve it and send it to the Governor for his signature.

Cracking Down on Organized Retail Crime

The House of Representatives voted unanimously to agree with Senate amendments to (H.3523) which cracks down on organized retail crime. That sent the legislation to Gov. Henry McMaster for his signature. This legislation ensures that those who steal thousands in merchandise face felony charges, increased penalties, and real consequences.

Without a hands-free driving law, SC could lose upwards of $40M in federal road funding

For more than two decades, South Carolina’s Legislature has resisted efforts to outlaw holding or scrolling on a cellphone while driving.

But now the state stands to lose $40 million to $80 million in annual federal highway funding. That threat could be what finally pushes a “hands-free” measure to passage.

Rep. Bill Taylor began leading the effort in 2018. The Aiken Republican, an avid motorcyclist, had just spent the summer of 2017 on a 3,000-mile road trip with his wife to Canada. On the road, he was hyperaware that many of the drivers around him were distracted by cellphones.

When he returned to South Carolina, he sold the motorcycle and pre-filed his bill, which he dubbed DUI-E: “Driving under the influence of electronics.” He and other advocates warned the distraction was even more dangerous than drunken driving.

“This is not an end-all-be-all, but it is one major distraction we can minimize,” Taylor told the SC Daily Gazette on Wednesday. (Click here to continue reading the article)

Senate Passes Fentanyl Killer Bill

This week, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to help get drugs laced with fentanyl and other fatal cocktails off the street. Under the legislation, anyone who provides illegal drugs that cause a fatal overdose can be charged with homicide and sent to prison for up to 30 years. The pair of bills that were approved would create felony charges of “fentanyl-induced homicide” and “drug-induced homicide.” The two proposals are nearly identical, with the difference being that one is specifically about fentanyl, and the other covers all illicit drugs. The bills have been sent to the House. Hopefully, they will be swiftly reviewed and win passage.

Applause for SC State

SC State, SC’s only public HBCU (Historic Black College & University), has achieved the second-highest research designation under the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education’s ranking system.

“This is a defining moment in our university’s history, reflecting our steadfast commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and impactful research,” said SC State President Alexander Conyers.

To attain this status, the university must spend at least $5 million on research and award at least 20 doctoral degrees annually. SC State becomes the only college in SC in tier two, while the much larger USC, Clemson, and MUSC are in Carnegie’s top tier.

The Orangeburg university has a presence in Aiken County where it partners with the Savannah River National Laboratory, IBM, Duke Energy, and BMW. SC State’s partnership with the national laboratory, in conjunction with USC, Clemson, the University of Georgia, and Georgia Tech — known as the Battelle Alliance — was also recognized as part of the Carnegie designation.

SC Port is an Economic Driver

SC Ports announced that the state’s 2024 export sales totaled $38 billion, the highest volume since 2019. That’s a 2% increase year-over-year. The automotive industry led SC’s exported goods. In 2024, South Carolina was the top U.S. state in export sales of completed passenger vehicles, with $10.9 billion representing 18.4% of the total U.S. market share. The state is also the nation’s top exporter of tires. Germany solidified its position as the number one export market for SC-made products and services, accounting for nearly $5 billion.

PICTURE NEWS

Burning the Mortgage

On Friday evening, Aiken’s historic Gaston Livery Stable supporters burned the mortgage. The event was monumental. Saving the historic structure was sparked in 2011 when four women, including my wife, Donna, decided to pursue a loan to purchase the rundown 1893 structure, which was a full-service livery stable serving the city’s turn-of-the-century transportation industry. The Friends of the Gaston Livery Stable was soon formed, and the non-profit’s volunteers have worked thousands of hours restoring the structure, which is now used as an event center. Much credit goes to Coleen Reed, who spearheaded the restoration. With the loan paid off, everyone was delighted to burn the mortgage.

State Champions

This week, the Aiken Legislative Delegation led the celebration at the State House for South Aiken HS’s Boys Swim Team for winning the 2024 Class AAAA State Championship. They finished the season with a perfect record – an unbeaten regular season – to pass by all other teams to win the state championship this past October. The Thoroughbreds eleven swimmers excelled under Head Coach Susie Adams to bring home the championship medals. Exuberant South Aiken fans are encouraged about next season because a majority of the T-Breds swimmers are returning next fall to defend their title.

Young Boxers

The young and talented athletes from the Hankinson Boxing Gym in Aiken visited the State House this week. These teenagers are learning boxing and life skills to make them productive citizens. The gym boasts a number of ranked national champions over the past decade. I am so proud of the leadership of James and Brittany Hankinson and the determination of their boxing students. SC needs to score more of these programs across the state.

Hurricane Help Thank You

Leaders of the LDS churches in SC visited the State House this week, where I was able to thank them for the hurricane help they provided Aiken County. They provided immense services to Aiken and nearby counties after Hurricane Helene. More than 6,200 LDS church members from GA, TN, NC, and SC donated more than 94,000 hours with chainsaw crews clearing downed trees and debris from 3,200 job sites. Their selfless service brought an army of help and hope to those in desperate need.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Aiken County’s Candi Mitchum and her family visited the State House as members of the Bleeding Disorders Association of SC. They were there to advocate for passage of legislation to help them afford expensive life-saving medications essential for all those with rare and/or chronic diseases. I have cosponsored their legislation, H.3934.