(RightIsRight.co) – BREAKING NEWS: The South Carolina Supreme Court has sparked massive outrage among conservatives as it struck down the state’s school choice program.
The state’s highest court ruled that the program was unconstitutional because it has impacted 2,880 education scholarships that had already been partially distributed.
In a 3-2 decision, the court declared that the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program, which paid lower—and moderate-income families to send their children to better public and private schools, violated the state constitution.
The constitution prohibits using funds for the “direct benefit” of private schools.
This decision comes shortly after students returned to school, and according to a press release from the South Carolina nonprofit Palmetto Promise Institute, one installment of $1,500 had already been given to eligible families.
Associate Justice D. Garrison Hill wrote in the majority opinion, “The dissent claims our decision ‘pulls the rug out’ from under the feet of the General Assembly and ‘ultimately, the feet of the students the law was designed to serve.’ Our duty is to serve the Constitution, the supreme policy of our land.”
He continued, “As such, our obligation is not to allow a rug to cover up well marked constitutional ground, no matter how inconvenient that ground may prove to be to otherwise arguably salutary policies.”
Similar to Hill, GOP Governor Henry McMaster said in a statement, “The Supreme Court’s decision may have devastating consequences for thousands of low-income families who relied on these scholarships for their child’s enrollment in school last month.”
“[W]e will request the Court to expeditiously reconsider this decision — so that the children of low-income families may have the opportunity to attend the school that best suits their needs,” he added.
In opposition, Chief Justice John W. Kittredge argued that the program was valid and that the majority had misinterpreted the Constitution.
“Under the South Carolina Constitution, the use of public funds for the direct benefit of a private school is impermissible; the use of public funds for the indirect benefit of a private school is entirely permissible,” Kittredge wrote. “I am firmly convinced the ESTF Act provides an indirect benefit and is facially constitutional.”
In addition, several states, including Florida, Georgia, and Missouri, have successfully introduced school choice scholarship programs benefiting thousands of families. Despite the broad support for these programs, they still face opposition in states like Ohio and Tennessee.
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