South Carolina S 50: Academic Choice in Education (ACE)

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 50 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 50

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING ARTICLE 
42 TO CHAPTER 6, TITLE 12 SO AS TO ALLOW AN INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS 
TO A SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES GRANTS FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND 
CERTAIN INDEPENDENT AND HOME SCHOOLS, TO SPECIFY THE MANNER IN WHICH THE CREDIT 
IS CLAIMED, TO SPECIFY THE PROCESS BY WHICH CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS AND SCHOOLS 
BECOME ELIGIBLE, TO SPECIFY CERTAIN INFORMATION WHICH MUST BE MADE PUBLIC, AND 
TO ALLOW THE STATE TREASURER AND DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE TO ENFORCE THE 
PROVISIONS OF THE CREDIT; AND BY REPEALING SECTION 12-6-3790 RELATING TO 
EDUCATIONAL CREDIT FOR EXCEPTIONAL NEEDS CHILDREN'S FUND.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 6, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 42

Academic Choice in Education (ACE)

 Section 
12-6-5700. For purposes of this article:

 (1) 
"Academic Choice in Education fund" or "ACE" means education funding provided 
on behalf of eligible students by nonprofit scholarship funding organizations 
for qualifying expenses as outlined in this article.

 (2) 
"Department" means the South Carolina Department of Revenue.

 (3) 
"Disadvantaged child" means a child or his family who meets the qualifications 
for federal Medicaid benefits, or whose family has an annual adjusted gross 
income of two hundred percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines as 
promulgated annually by the United States Department of Health and Human 
Services.

 (4) 
"Eligible school" means an independent school, including those religious in 
nature, other than a public school, at which the compulsory attendance 
requirements of Section 59-65-10 may be met, that:

 (a) 
offers a general education to primary or secondary school students;

 (b) 
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin;

 (c) 
is located in this State;

 (d) 
has an educational curriculum that includes courses set forth in the state's 
diploma requirements;

 (e) 
has school facilities that are subject to applicable federal, state, and local 
laws; and

 (f) 
is a member in good standing of the South Carolina Association of Christian 
Schools, the South Carolina Independent Schools Association, the Palmetto 
Association of Independent Schools, the American Montessori Society, the 
International Montessori Council, or the National Association of Private 
Schools, or alternatively accredited by Cognia or the National Council for 
Private School Accreditation.

 (5) 
"Eligible student" means a student who:

 (a) 
meets the definition of "general child";

 (b) 
meets the definition of "disadvantaged child";

 (c) 
meets the definition of "exceptional needs child"; or

 (d) 
meets the definition of "home school child"; and

 (e) 
is not a recipient of an Education Scholarship Trust Fund.

 (6) 
"Exceptional needs child" means a child:

 (a)(i) who has been evaluated in 
accordance with this state's evaluation criteria, as set forth in S.C. Code 
Ann. Regs. 43-243.1, and determined eligible as a child with a disability who 
needs special education and related services, in accordance with the 
requirements of Section 300.8 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act; or

 (ii) who has been diagnosed as either 
permanently or within the last three years by a licensed speech-language 
pathologist, psychiatrist, or medical, mental health, psychoeducational, or 
other comparable licensed healthcare provider as having a neurodevelopmental 
disorder, a substantial sensory or physical impairment such as deaf, blind, or 
orthopedic disability, or some other disability or acute or chronic condition 
that significantly impedes the student's ability to learn and succeed in school 
without specialized instructional and associated supports and services tailored 
to the child's unique needs; and

 (b) 
the child's parents or legal guardian believes that the services provided by 
the school district of legal residence do not sufficiently meet the needs of 
the child.

 (7) 
"General child" means a child whose family has an adjusted gross income of four 
hundred percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines and who is a South 
Carolina resident who, immediately before receiving a scholarship under this 
article and enrolling in an eligible school or program, was enrolled in a South 
Carolina secondary or primary public school or who is eligible to enroll in a 
qualified first grade, kindergarten, or a three- or four-year-old 
prekindergarten program or received a scholarship pursuant to this article for 
the previous school year; provided, however, that if a student is consid