School Choice Bill Barely Survives Senate Subcommittee

A bill that would use public dollars to pay for private education barely made it out of a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday.

According to The State newspaper, Sen. Wes Hayes, R-York, joined Sens. Phil Leventis of Sumter and John Matthews of Orangeburg, both Democrats, in voting down H.4894, the school choice bill, over the objections of Republican Sens. David Thomas of Greenville and Larry Grooms of Berkeley.

The bill would give parents a $4,000 tax deduction if they send their children to private schools, a $2,000 tax deduction if they home school their children and a $1,000 tax deduction if they transfer their child from one public school to another,

The bill will now go to the Senate Finance Committee. Read more on this story.