(Columbia) -- Governor David M. Beasley today hailed the bipartisan agreement that will enable thousands of South Carolina college students to attend school for free next year. He also praised the 1998 General Assembly for its overall accomplishments in education.
"When historians write about South Carolina education reform,
1998 will not be a paragraph, but a chapter. Our reforms span the
gamut of public education from pre-school through college," the Governor
said. "They touch every parent, every student, every teacher and taxpayer."
As examples, the Governor cited the LIFE scholarship program
-- endorsed in a budget agreement today -- as well as full-day kindergarten,
teacher pay above the Southeastern average, and the historic school accountability
bill approved Wednesday.
"These reforms were pounded out not with gimmicks or tricks, but
with real world solutions to real world problems," the Governor said.
Governor Beasley proposed LIFE scholarships in December 1997.
The LIFE program approved today would provide scholarships for all college
students who meet the requirements starting this fall.
LIFE scholarships, coupled with the federal HOPE tax credit, would enable those attending public colleges in South Carolina to go to school tuition free.
In order to receive a LIFE scholarship, graduating high school seniors must have a "B" average and 1,000 on the SAT. If they attend a technical college, students can get $1,000 if they have a "B" average.
Current college students will be able to get the scholarships if they have a "B" average. Students have to keep a cumulative "B" average in college in order to keep the scholarships. The LIFE plan will only be available for the traditional four years of undergraduate work, giving students an incentive to finish in four years.
Adding the LIFE scholarship will bring the total South Carolina scholarship effort to about $75 million. That includes the Palmetto Fellows program and the need-based scholarship, both of which are Beasley Administration hallmarks.
Governor Beasley's interest in helping college students goes back
to 1988, when he authored the "Cutting Edge" legislation that started the
first Palmetto Fellows program. In 1995, the Governor
greatly expanded that program and added South Carolina's first need-based
college award program.