South Carolina assigns private colleges scholarship money by enrollment

The law divides the covered scholarship money equally between Need-based Grants and Palmetto Fellows Scholarships. The private college share reflects their portion of South Carolina residents enrolled full time as undergraduates at public and private colleges. Public colleges receive the remaining allocation. Private colleges must qualify for the South Carolina Tuition Grants Program, and their allocation comes from the Need-based Grants half. Available funding is capped at the prior year’s earned revenue, but unspent endowment balances may also be used. Tuition grant funding for private college students cannot exceed the enrollment-based share. The private college share uses the previous year’s enrollment data. Its funding is transferred annually to the South Carolina Tuition Grants Commission.

The State Department of Education must form a commission to develop data systems and publish the South Carolina Educator Preparation Report Card. The report covers teacher training programs, including alternative programs. It measures preparation, job placement, and graduates’ classroom results. Each teacher training program must display the required information on its website using the commission’s format. The report card must be published before November 1 each year on the State Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education websites.

The Commission on Higher Education may temporarily move budgeted lottery money between funding categories to deliver scholarships and tuition assistance on time. Transfers may occur between budget items and between ongoing funding and funding provided for one-time use. Lottery money must add to existing education funding rather than replace it. Extra lottery proceeds and investment earnings must carry forward to fully fund LIFE, Palmetto Fellows, and HOPE Scholarships each year. If lottery revenue falls short, other funded programs face proportional cuts; these three scholarships are exempt. Lottery distributions follow a quarterly schedule, with payments due by the last day of January, April, July, and October.

The Commission on Higher Education approves or ends covered college programs. The Department of Administration or its designee approves covered colleges’ employee review and complaint procedures. Program oversight covers college transfer courses and associate degree programs. Employee procedures cover faculty, professional librarians, academic administrators, and other people holding faculty appointments at covered colleges. Technical colleges without authority to award associate degrees in arts or science may offer college-level general education courses only to support approved programs that do not prepare students to transfer. Employee complaints may address pay, promotion, work assignments, and certain dismissals. They cannot address tenure decisions or contracts not renewed at the end of their terms. A newly established covered college must submit its employee procedures for approval within six months of its establishment.

The law marks the Governor’s Teaching Scholarship Loan Program subsection as reserved and directs repeal of the listed laws. The repeal list covers research funding, education programs, and advisory bodies. It includes provisions concerning National Guard college loans and a model campus sexual assault policy. The law took effect upon the Governor’s approval on May 18, 2026.