South Carolina

BY tune

Published May 25, 2015

Constitutional Provisions on Education

Blaine Amendment

“No money shall be paid from public funds nor shall the credit of the State or any of its political subdivisions be used for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.” South Carolina Const. Ann. Art. XI, § 4.1

Education Article

“The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free public schools open to all children in the State and shall establish, organize and support such other public institutions of learning, as may be desirable.” South Carolina Const. Ann. Art. XI, § 3.

Case Law Relevant to School Choice

Durham v. McLeod, 192 S.E.2d 202, 204 (S.C. 1972)2

The South Carolina Supreme Court held that using public money to guarantee student loans for students attending private schools did not violate South Carolina’s Blaine Amendment because the program is religiously neutral and supports higher education, not institutions of higher education. It was on that basis that the court distinguished its holding in Hartness.

Hartness v. Patterson, 179 S.E.2d 907 (S.C. 1971)3

The South Carolina Supreme Court held that giving public tuition grants to students attending private schools violates South Carolina’s Blaine Amendment because there can be no distinction between giving money to students for tuition and giving money to institutions.

2003 S.C. AG LEXIS 3 (2003)

The South Carolina Attorney General concluded that distributing state lottery funds directly to “historically black colleges”—whether or not they were religious—violates South Carolina’s Blaine Amendment because it is a “direct benefit [to] certain private educational institutions.”

2003 S.C. AG LEXIS 42 (2003)

The South Carolina Attorney General concluded that using lottery funds to contract with private schools to provide education for low-income, educationally disadvantaged students complied with South Carolina’s Blaine Amendment because the program was religiously neutral, was explicitly intended to help students, had findings to support that purpose, gave money through contracts rather than outright grants, and limited the manner in which the money could be spent.