South Carolina S 1018: Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 1018 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 17, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 1018

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 AMENDING 
SECTION 59-104-20, RELATING TO THE PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, SO AS 
TO ADD THE CLASSIC LEARNING TEST AS AN APPROVED ASSESSMENT FOR RECEIVING 
SCHOLARSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-149-50, RELATING TO THE LIFE SCHOLARSHIP, 
SO AS TO AMEND THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A LIFE SCHOLARSHIP TO INCLUDE ACT AND CLT 
SCORES; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-26-20, RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE STATE 
BOARD OF EDUCATION AND COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, SO AS TO AMEND THE 
DEFINITION OF "TALENTED AND QUALIFIED RESIDENT" TO INCLUDE ACT AND CLT SCORES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 59-104-20(G) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (G) In addition to qualifications 
established by regulation, to qualify for a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, a 
student shall:

 (1) 
meet the following three criteria:

 (a) 
a minimum score of 1200 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or an equivalent 
ACT or Classic Learning Test (CLT) score;

 (b) 
a cumulative 3.5 grade point ratio on the Uniform Grading Scale at the end of 
the junior or senior year; and

 (c) 
rank in the top six percent of the class at the end of the sophomore, junior, 
or senior year. When calculating eligibility for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships 
in schools where the top six percent of the graduating class is two students or 
less, the top two students must be considered for the scholarship regardless of 
class rank. The top six percent of the graduating class must meet all Palmetto 
Fellows Scholarship eligibility requirements in order to receive a scholarship. 
If the top six percent of the class is not a whole number of students, the 
Commission on Higher Education shall round up to the next whole number of 
students eligible; or

 (2) 
meet the following two criteria:

 (a) 
a minimum score of 1400 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or an equivalent 
ACT or CLT score; and

 (b) 
a cumulative 4.0 grade point ratio on the Uniform Grading Scale at the end of 
the junior or senior year.

 (3) Qualifying scores 
must be certified by the high school on the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship 
application by the scholarship application deadline. For the purposes of 
meeting the rank criteria pursuant to this subsection, the existing high school 
rank of a South Carolina resident attending an out-of-state high school may be 
used provided it is calculated pursuant to a state-approved, standardized 
grading scale at the respective out-of-state high school. If the Commission on 
Higher Education determines that a state-approved standardized grading scale 
substantially deviates from the South Carolina Uniform Grading Scale, the 
state-approved standardized grading scale shall not be used to meet the 
eligibility requirements for the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship.

SECTION 2. Sections 59-149-50(A)(1) and (D) through (G) of the 
S.C. Code are amended to read:

 Section 
59-149-50. (A)(1) To be eligible for a LIFE 
Scholarship, a student must be either a student who has graduated from a high 
school located in this State, a student who has completed at least three of the 
final four years of high school within this State, a home school student who 
has successfully completed a high school home school program in this State in 
the manner required by law, a student who has graduated from a preparatory high 
school outside this State, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a 
legal resident of this State and has custody of the dependent, or a student 
whose parent or guardian has served in or has retired from one of the United 
States Armed Forces within the last four years, paid income taxes in this State 
for a majority of the years of service, and is a resident of this State. These 
students also must meet the requirements of subsection (B) and be eligible for 
in-state tuition and fees as determined pursuant to Chapter 112, Title 59 and 
applicable regulations. In addition, the student must have graduated from high 
school with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade average on a 4.0 scale and, 
subject to modification as provided in item (2), have scored 1100 or better on 
the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or have the equivalent ACT or CLT score as determined by the Commission on Higher 
Education; provided that, if the student is to attend such a public or 
independent two-year college or university in this State, including a technical 
college, the SAT/ACT/CLT requirement does not 
apply. If a student chooses to attend such a public or independent institution 
of this State and does not make the required SAT/ACT/CLT 
score or the re