Bob Jones students now have more aid options

Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, gestures as he fields questions about Gov. Mark Sanford’s vetoes, Tuesday, June 14, 2005, as legislators returned to the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., to vote on the vetoes. Harrell resigned as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to become speaker of the House. Looking on is Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg. (MARY ANN CHASTAIN/AP Photo) e-mail this story print this story

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It's the first time in three years that the Legislature has come back in a special session.

Legislators bucked Gov. Mark Sanford's wishes concerning a change that would allow Bob Jones University students to be eligible for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships and restricting the sale of novelty contact lenses.

Although Bob Jones' students were eligible for Life Scholarships, they previously were ineligible for the $6,700 yearly Palmetto Fellows awards because the Christian fundamentalist school wasn't accredited.

Jonathan Pait, a spokesman for the school, said the school applied for accreditation two years ago from the Trans Regional Association of Christian Schools and received candidate status in April. "For all intents and purposes, that means we have our accreditation," he said.

The legislation also lets children of military personnel, who paid income tax in South Carolina during the majority of their career, become eligible for the $5,000 LIFE Scholarship.

The other bill says contact lenses can be dispensed only with a prescription from a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Both of those now become state law.

Initially, the General Assembly passed a resolution to return on June 14 because the House thought it would need to elect a speaker. But that was taken care of June 2, when Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, emerged as the only candidate to replace David Wilkins, who becomes U.S. ambassador to Canada on June 21.