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COLUMBIA — The state will award taxpayer-funded scholarships to 2,880 K-12 students for 2024-25, meaning just under half of the available slots could go unused for the program’s inaugural year, according to data the state Department of Education provided Wednesday to the SC Daily Gazette.

The total of awarded scholarships means 64% of the 7,907 students whose parents applied by the March deadline were denied. Most of those applications were rejected because they either came in after the deadline or they weren’t completely filled out, according to the agency.

The law creating the private school choice program provided $6,000 scholarships for a maximum of 5,000 students for the coming year — to be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to all eligible parents. In March, GOP legislators in the House touted the high number of applicants as a reason to greatly expand the program before it even starts. But the final numbers show that was unnecessary.

Both the House and Senate set aside $30 million in their spending plans for the fiscal year starting July 1, assuming that all 5,000 slots would be taken. An agreement between the chambers’ budget plans won’t be worked out until next month. Regardless, that money is locked in, since it’s the same amount in both versions. The 2,880 approved students will require less than 60% of that allocation.

By law, all awards had to be decided by mid-April, 30 days after the application deadline.

But denied parents can still correct errors or typos in their applications, which could result in a slight increase in approvals, according to the agency.

Plus, legislators may approve a clause in the budget overriding that deadline and allowing the state department to continue accepting applications and awarding eligible parents throughout the year.

Parents already notified will start having access to their $6,000 scholarships in July through an online portal that allows them to direct the money toward approved private schools, tutoring, and other school-related expenses.  private school tuition, tutoring, transportation or other K-12 school-related expenses.

That is, unless the South Carolina Supreme Court decides before then that the law violates the state constitution’s ban on public money directly benefiting private schools, as opponents argued to the justices in March. That lawsuit did not block the law’s implementation pending a ruling.

Supporters pointed to the 7,907 applications as proof that families are interested in the program. They suggested fewer students will be denied in the coming years as the agency works out the kinds, eligibility expands, and parents become more familiar with the application process.

“We expect as the program ages and stabilizes, the percentages for denials due to missed deadlines or incomplete documentation will go down,” the education agency said in a statement.

By the numbers

Of the 2,880 students accepted:

• 47.5% self-identified as Black

• 30% white

• 13.7% multiracial or did not answer

• 57.8% are entering kindergarten through 5th grade

• 22.3% entering 6th through 8th grade

• 19.7% entering 9th through 12th grade

Of the 5,027 students rejected:

• 65.5% missed the deadline or did not complete documentation

• 10.7% of parents made too much money

• 8.2% were either too young or too old

Source: S.C. Department of Education

“We are not discouraged by the rejected applications because they prove what we have been saying for months: South Carolinians crave flexibility and customization in their children’s education,” the Palmetto Promise Institute said in a statement to the Gazette.

For critics, however, the fact that the department approved less than 40% of the applicants suggests demand was exaggerated, particularly among the low-income families eligible for this first round.

“To me, this is indicative that South Carolinians are already happy with either their public schools or the choices we have available,” such as charter schools, said Patrick Kelly, a lobbyist with the Palmetto State Teachers Association and a high school teacher.

Applications rejected

The expansion approved by House Republicans would have lifted all income restrictions on who’s eligible. But less than 11% of the denials were due to parents’ incomes being above the limit.

In the inaugural year, students had to qualify for Medicaid to be eligible. In about 8% of cases, the students were either not yet old enough for kindergarten or too old for high school. Two students were denied because they don’t live in South Carolina.

House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson said the large number of denials could be explained by parents not understanding the process or not knowing about it in time to complete it. The two-month window for applications started in mid-January. The process could have been too confusing, she said.

“I understand a learning curve,” said the Beaufort Republican. “Perhaps we need to put a little more IT assistance into the process.”

Missed deadlines

Erickson proposed the budget clause allowing the empty slots to continue to be filled.

“That would stop the department from not letting students in because of an arbitrary date,” she said.

Kelly countered the date isn’t arbitrary: The March 15 deadline was put in the law to ensure public schools had complete class rosters with enough time to create class schedules, he said.

If students decide to use the money to transfer to private schools during the school year, schools could end up scrambling, he said.

“I understand and appreciate the heartbeat behind the rolling window, but it could cause logistical issues,” said Kelly, a teacher at Blythewood High School.

The Palmetto Promise Institute lauded Erickson’s proposed budget clause as a way of filling the remaining slots and ensuring the full $30 million set aside for the program goes to students. Even if it doesn’t, the state should celebrate the fact that many students got financial help, the conservative think tank said.

“We should not lose sight of the victory: Two thousand, eight hundred, and eighty South Carolina students are now able to choose the education that best fits them, an opportunity they likely could never have afforded otherwise,” the institute’s statement read. “That alone is worth celebrating.”

Income caps

For the coming school year, eligibility was limited to families making 200% of the federal poverty level, or $62,400 for a family of four. That number increases over the following two years, along with the number of students allowed to receive money. By the 2026-2027 school year, up to 15,000 students from families making up to 400% of the poverty level will be eligible.

Because the pool of eligible students was smaller this year, it made sense that fewer families would receive money, Erickson said.

“It was the least possible people” who could receive the money, she said.

An expansion, she said, would help families who earn just above the income limits but are still struggling. She pointed to the 530 students whose application were denied because their parents earned too much.

But Kelly pointed out that advocates for the program have touted it for decades as a way to help poor families stuck in failing schools afford another option for their children. The fact that fewer of those families took advantage of the program than expected suggests that, even if numbers increase in coming years, it will be difficult to know how many disadvantaged students are using the money, he said.

“I think it paints a really compelling argument that there is no need for something like (universal school choice) in the near future,” Kelly said.

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