An editorial July 31, "Attack on S.C. Schools?" stated that a Michigan group called All Children Matter had "brought" this year's tuition tax credit bill to this state. This is simply not true.

All Children Matter is a Michigan-based political action committee involved in electoral politics. This group cannot lobby for legislation. To my knowledge, no one from this group testified before the General Assembly on behalf of the bill, contacted legislators or engaged in any activity to assist in the passage of the bill.

South Carolinians, through their election of Gov. Mark Sanford, who openly campaigned as a supporter of school choice, and the grass-roots efforts of families across the state, have "brought" forward the school-choice bill known as the Put Parents in Charge Act, which will expand educational opportunities for middle- and low-income families.

The statewide grass-roots efforts in support of the bill are based on the fact that the overwhelming majority of South Carolinians support school choice. According to a recent poll conducted for South Carolinians for Responsible Government, 62 percent support the tuition tax credits concept, 80 percent say parents, not the government, should be able to choose which school a child attends, and 85 percent say all families should be able to make the same educational choices as the wealthy.

All parents want an equal opportunity to choose the best and safest education for their children. The Put Parents in Charge Act would return that right to all parents and make all schools accountable to parents, not bureaucrats in Columbia. The Sun News implies that the bill would not really help poor families that want to send their children to an independent school. A careful reading of the bill reveals just the opposite - the Put Parents in Charge Act will allow poor families the same educational opportunities as the wealthy.

The bill provides for generous tuition tax credits that are equal to the average independent school tuition in this state. For families that qualify for the free or reduced school lunch program, the 20 percent tuition co-pay requirement is waived, meaning that they are eligible for credits of 100 percent of the actual tuition up to the tax credit ceiling.

More important, for poor families that do not have enough tax liability to take advantage of tax credits, the bill allows for the creation of Scholarship Granting Organizations, which can be any 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, such as existing private schools or churches, that registers with the state. SGOs can grant scholarships to poor children to attend independent schools, and again, families that qualify for free or reduced school lunches are eligible for scholarships of 100 percent of the actual tuition up to the tax credit ceiling.

Individuals and businesses can receive tax credits, up to 50 percent of state income tax liability, for contributing to an SGO. Given the option of sending tax dollars directly to Columbia or self-directing some of those dollars to a SGO to help improve education for children, a significant number of taxpayers will choose to contribute to SGOs.

A Clemson University study of the fiscal impact of the bill estimates that individuals and businesses will contribute over $153 million to SGOs in just the first year of implementation and states that "there will be more than adequate funds contributed to finance the scholarships for all that apply."

A growing statewide grass-roots effort will continue to push for General Assembly passage of the Put Parents in Charge Act as more and more South Carolinians recognize that parents, not more money, are at the heart of needed education reform in this state.