Amicus Brief: Eidson v. South Carolina Dept. of Education

MI has joined the Liberty Justice Center, American Federation for Children, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, and Reason Foundation to defend school choice in South Carolina. In May 2023, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed into law an Education Scholarship Account (“ESA”) bill known as Act 8. Act 8 provides up to 5,000 ESAs for low-income students for the 2024–25 school year, growing to 15,000 ESAs in future years. The ESAs can be used for tuition at nonpublic schools, for costs like curriculum or computers, or for therapy or tutors.

With their monopoly on public-education funding under threat, the National Education Association (teachers union) and NAACP sued to block the program. Our brief helps the South Carolina supreme court understand the many situations in which school choice offers the best opportunity for student learning, and shares research on the benefits of a robust and competitive educational marketplace.

Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.

Tim Rosenberger is a legal fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

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