In May 2023, the South Carolina Legislature passed Senate Bill 39 a law creating the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, an education savings account (ESA) voucher, which would devote millions of dollars in state tax revenue to pay for private school tuition and other private education expenses.

In October 2023, six public school parents, along with the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and The South Carolina Education Association, filed a lawsuit asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to strike down the voucher law, asserting that the program violated the state constitution.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs contended that the voucher program violated numerous provisions of the South Carolina Constitution, including:

• Article XI, § 4, which prohibits the use of public funds for the direct benefit of private schools;

• Article XI, § 3, which requires that the State provide for the education of its children through a “system of free public schools open to all children” or other public educational institutions; and

• Article X, because the program uses public funds without a sufficient public purpose, as the private schools funded by the program are not required to provide clear educational benefits in exchange for receiving public funds and may discriminate in their operations.

The plaintiffs also note that Senate Bill 39 impermissibly expands the authority of the office of the state Superintendent of Education beyond its sole, constitutionally defined role as head of the public education system.

In September 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the private school voucher program. In its decision in favor of the plaintiffs, the Supreme Court ruled that Senate Bill 39 unconstitutionally funneled public funds to the direct benefit of private schools and forbade the use of voucher funds to pay for tuition and fees for private schools.

The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers from Education Law Center, the National Education Association; the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP; and the South Carolina firms Nickles Law Firm, LLC, and Tinkler Law Firm, LLC.

Subsequent to this decision, in Spring 2025, South Carolina enacted a new voucher law allowing private schools to access public funds for tuition.

Read More:

Public School Parents and Civil Rights and Educator Organizations Sue to Stop Unconstitutional Private School Voucher Program

South Carolina Supreme Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional Private School Vouchers

Eidson v. South Carolina Department of Education, Petition for Original Jurisdiction and Declaratory and Injunction Relief

Eidson v. South Carolina Department of Education, Complaint

Eidson v. South Carolina Department of Education, Supreme Court Decision