Put Parents In Charge legislation will help all education in South Carolina

Rep. DOUG SMITH

The Aiken Standard recently reprinted a Rock Hill Herald editorial critical of the school choice proposal Governor Sanford and others have made to reform education in South Carolina. As a sponsor of the Put Parents in Charge legislation, I would like to set the record straight.

First of all, our proposal represents real education reform that takes the best components of choice programs across the country and combines them into one comprehensive plan that will help improve all education in South Carolina – private, home school, and most of all public education.

The bill simply allows parents to take a tax credit for alternative schooling for their children up to 80 percent of what the state currently contributes. The balance of the money is saved by the state. PPIC does not affect local property tax money or federal money currently going to local districts. For low-income children, parents may apply to a Scholarship Granting Organization that collects tax credits from parents without children and uses them to help those who cannot afford to exercise the option of choice.

The key element of PPIC is that it gives parents – all parents – real choices in the education of their children. This will create competition. And everywhere a choice program has been implemented has found that competition improves public schools most. That is the aim of Put Parents in Charge – to help improve all education including public schools, because in South Carolina the status quo is no longer acceptable.

The true merits of this bill are slowly becoming known, despite efforts to confuse and distort its provisions and intent.

For example, the editorial based much of its criticism on comments attributed to Senator Lindsey Graham from a talk he recently gave. Graham is one of Governor Sanford's biggest allies and any disagreement between them would not be politically motivated. In fact, there is no disagreement between the two on the need to achieve meaningful reform in education as soon as possible.

In a recent letter to the head of the S.C. Policy Council, Graham made this point clearly: "I was not addressing Governor Sanford's proposals." Instead, he was talking about education reform in general.

Those of us involved in developing PPIC have been pleased to gain input from a variety of elected officials at both the state and federal level. The concerns Senator Graham expressed were legitimate.

All of us are concerned about equity in school funding and the inherent disadvantages of poorer families as well as poorer school districts that might be left behind. We also want to make certain that public funds not be used, directly or indirectly, to support any schools that have discriminatory policies.

I share those concerns.

Contrary to the editorial's suggestion, Senator Graham is not an adversary to PPIC. In fact, he noted in his letter that he was optimistic about the prospects for positive reform and agreed with many of its provisions. He also praised Governor Sanford for leading the charge on education reform.

Senator Graham noted that the bill was a "work in progress" and highlighted some issues that were on his mind. His thoughts are appreciated and I think our bill will be better as a result.

PPIC does indeed have provisions for non-discrimination and for low-income eligibility through Scholarship Granting Organizations, contrary to what the Rock Hill Herald editorial suggests.

When our legislation is introduced in the forthcoming session of the General Assembly, we expect support from leaders who understand how important it is to improve the quality of education in our state.

It is simply not accurate or fair to use quotes from Senator Graham or anyone else, made in a completely different context, to attack our proposal.

I look forward to a robust debate on this issue in the upcoming session. And I welcome all serious-minded input from those, like Senator Graham, no longer interested in maintaining the status quo. I also look forward to a day when South Carolina stands out as the very best in the nation in the quality of education available to all our children.

Doug Smith is the Speaker Pro Tempore of the SC House of Representatives and represents District 32. He is an attorney and lives in Spartanburg.

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