(Columbia) Feb. 16, 2005 - Hal Stevenson sends his 17-year-old son to school at AC Flora, then breaks out the glasses and red pen to grade papers. Stevenson and his wife, Diana, teach their four other children a classroom in their Columbia home, "We have found we can give them a more well-rounded, extensive education in their interest than they can receive in another institution where they go away."

Under Governor Mark Sanford's proposed "Put Parents in Charge" legislation, families that homeschool and earn $95,000 or less a year, would be able to deduct up to about $3000 per child for things like textbooks, laptops and the cost of tutors.

But, Stevenson says cost has never factored into his family's decision to homeschool, "I like, as a parent, being able to choose. ... I think, to me, that's what the act is about; giving parents with limited means more choices."

That's what supporters of the plan tout as its greatest benefit; poorer families would get tax credits to send their children to other public and to private schools.

But, opponents like South Carolina Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum say while there could be more choices there won't be any accountability, "In South Carolina we have a complex and sophisticated way of holding our schools accountable like a report card and the Palmetto Achievement Test which was ranked one of the top in the nation. We have standards for students."

She says those standards don't exist in private schools.

Hammond headmaster Doctor Herb Brooks disagrees, saying his school's standards are just different, "Our accountability is that when a kid goes to college, like Wofford, if he does well, we've done what we're supposed to be doing." Brooks says it works and cites the fact that nearly every child at Hammond graduates and goes to college.

But, teachers like Richland County School District One Teacher of the Year Cliff Barrineau contend if you're using money earmarked for public schools to help families send their children to private schools they should be held to the same standards, "There's no real meat to the accountability package like what we have to face in the public schools, specifically with the Adequate Yearly Progress from 'No Child Left Behind.'"

Supporters of "Put Parents in Charge" acknowledge private, parochial, charter and home schools won't be subjected to test like the Palmetto Achievement Test. The schools won't have their performance displayed in report card form on web sites, and teachers won't have to be certified by the state.

Tom Swatzel heads a group that's endorsed "Put Parents in Charge" and says those measurements don't work well anyway, "The system that currently exists is broken, and there is not any real accountability there for those schools that have performed poorly for years."

Parents will be expected to set their own standards, but opponents are concerned that some parents aren't equipped to be in charge of their kids education.

Governor Mark Sanford believes the vast majority of parents will rise to the occasion, "What you're really saying is if you cut down to the chase is that some parents are too dumb to make this choice. I would say I don't believe that." Governor Sanford does acknowledge, "There will be individuals that don't have the educational blessings that you or I did or our parents did, but there is a strong network within black churches and white churches alike that help some of those folks."

The Stevensons helped themselves and say they know what's best for their children. They want other parents to exercise the same control over their children's education, "Parents need to be more engaged and involved in their children's educations. If there's a financial way that helps them, I think it's very important we pursue that."

If parents do take the initiative, what happens next? News 10 takes look at the potential impact on both private and public schools Thursday night on WIS News at 6:00.

by Craig Melvin
posted 6:00pm by Chris Rees