More money and choice for education in South Carolina

By Jeff Bradley CONTRIBUTOR

March 2023 was one of the more significant months I have experienced during my time as your legislative representative in the South Carolina General Assembly.

I’m proud of the direction we are currently taking on many fronts in the House during this session – especially with education initiatives that I believe will have long-lasting benefits.

This House budget includes a $14 billion spending plan. The big takeaways came down to our emphasis on education, infrastructure and law enforcement. Many of our educational initiatives have been bolstered by the House with its new budget we passed during the week of March 20. I will have more to say about the entire budget in my next month’s column after we see how the Senate tinkers with the details of our proposal.

One significant feature was spending $69 million to freeze tuition rates increases for in-state students at our South Carolina colleges and universities. We also provided an additional $15 million for a tuition freeze at our technical colleges, plus another $100 million for workforce development (S.C. Wins Scholarships) through our state’s technical colleges.

If we are to improve our state’s overall educational system, I believe it is imperative we give flexibility to parents to make the best choice for their child’s education. We are now giving flexibility to parents who have been hamstrung for more than 100 years by a state constitutional amendment referred to as “the Blaine Amendment.”

The genesis of the Blaine Amendment reflects the unfortunate religious bigotry and prejudices that prevailed across parts