COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Supreme Court is holding firm on its decision last month to strike down school vouchers as unconstitutional.
Gov. Henry McMaster on Sept. 26 asked South Carolina's top court to reconsider its Sept. 11 ruling that nixed the vouchers portion of the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, which McMaster signed into law in May 2023.
Also on Sept. 26 state Superintendent Ellen Weaver asked the court to allow families to use their publicly funded vouchers for private school tuition at least through the end of the 2024-25 school year
The court's 44-word "no" response to the governor and superintendent was shared on the morning of Oct. 3 with the parties of the original case, Eidson v. S.C. Department of Education. The three-justice majority of Gary Hill and acting justices Don Beatty and James Lockemy wrote:
"After careful consideration of the petitions for rehearing, the Court is unable to discover that any material fact or principle of law has been either overlooked or disregarded, and hence, there is no basis for granting rehearing. Accordingly, the petitions for rehearing are denied."
A spokesman for McMaster said the court's decision was a "heartbreaking and devastating blow for thousands of low-income families and the children forced to leave their friends and classmates at school."
About 700 students have used the vouchers to pay private school tuition, according to the state Department of Education's petition, though it said the court's ruling could impact as many as 1,500 students as it continued to receive invoices.
In a statement, Weaver called the court’s ruling a “callous injustice” that leaves families “hanging by a thread in the middle of the school year,” and urged lawmakers to again take up the issue.
“The General Assembly must now urgently act to restore the opportunities that the Court majority has ripped away,” her statement read.
Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association, lauded the court's decision.
"We are grateful to the court for upholding the Constitution, and we look forward to strengthening our public schools, where 95 percent of our children attend," said East, whose organization was one of the Education Scholarship Trust Fund law's original challengers. "I wish we could focus on that rather than diverting money away from them."
Chief Justice John Kittredge and Justice John Few dissented with the majority ruling, writing that they wanted to hear the governor's appeal and accept Weaver's request. Kittredge and Few also disagreed with the three-judge majority's original ruling last month that held vouchers to be unconstitutional.
Reporter Ian Grenier in Columbia contributed to this report.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misnamed two of the justices in the court's majority. They are acting justices Don Beatty and James Lockemy.