Conservative billionaire to fund SC voucher recipients after Supreme Court ruling

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS)— Palmetto Promise Institute President & CEO Wendy Damron announced Thursday that a donor has offered funding for private school students impacted by a recent decision of the S.C. Supreme Court.

According to the South Carolina Department of Education, as many as 1,500 students were affected by the ruling.

The Supreme Court determined South Carolina would not give the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) case a rehearing. It follows the court’s initial ruling last month, barring recipients of the ESTF program, also known as the school voucher program, from spending the $6,000 they would receive annually on private school tuition.

In a press release, the nonprofit announced Pennsylvania businessman Jeff Yass will be able to fund ESTF scholarships for school tuition through the end of the calendar year.

Yass, worth $44.4 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has been a proponent of school choice laws for Pennsylvania’s private and charter schools.

“The Supreme Court waited over 180 days after oral arguments to deliver a decision that has been devastating to families who had every reason to believe that their ESTF school choice scholarships would be funded for the entire 2024-25 school year,” Damron said.

“We know the next quarter’s school tuition is soon due, and we are moving quickly to provide funds to schools as soon as logistics allow.”

Damron said that more details will follow in the coming days. These funds will be available for students currently attending a private school under the ESTF program.

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