WASHINGTON—South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, the first school choice program in the state that will create an education savings account (ESA) for eligible students.

Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Jonathan Butcher and research fellow Jason Bedrick, both with Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, released the following statement:

“More South Carolina children will have the chance at high-quality learning options now, thanks to this new law. ESAs already help tens of thousands of students across Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, West Virginia and more—and research finds that the accounts allow families to customize their child’s education.

“South Carolina lawmakers deserve tremendous credit for this major step toward empowering all families to choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their kids.

“With Education Scholarship Trust Funds, South Carolina families will have the freedom to choose among a wide variety of education options. South Carolina has joined the growing list of states that are putting students and families first.

“This is an exciting, hopeful time for South Carolina students and their parents and guardians.”

BACKGROUND: South Carolina’s new Education Scholarship Trust Funds in the first year will be available for students in lower-income families to receive up to $6,000 a year to pay for private school tuition or other education expenses. For more information on the proposal, read here.