In Adams v. McMaster, (SC Sup. Ct., Oct. 7, 2020), the South Carolina Supreme Court held that South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster’s allocation of $32 million in federal emergency education funding to create one-time grants for students to attend private and religious K-12 schools violates the South Carolina Constitution. The court emphasized that the federal funds awarded to South Carolina are received by the State Treasury and distributed through the Treasury directly to private schools. The court concluded:
We hold the Governor’s decision constitutes the use of public funds for the direct benefit of private educational institutions within the meaning of, and prohibited by, Article XI, Section 4 of the South Carolina Constitution.
Island Packet reports on the decision.