Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) Press Releases

CBA is posting all press releases about the ESTF program to this page, with the most recent update at the top.

 

5/29/25 Email from Felicity Ropp, Palmetto Promise Institute:

 

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2025-26 ARE RUNNING OUT! APPLY ASAP.

Learn more and apply at SCSchoolChoice.com. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity – spots are limited so apply soon!”

 

As of today, there are over 6,700 students awarded scholarships for the 2025-26 school year.  There are 6,000 open applications that are waiting for all their documents to be submitted and approved. With only 10,000 scholarships available, the window is beginning to close for families to be able to receive scholarships.

 

If there are income eligible families at your school who have not yet applied or have not yet uploaded their documents, please make sure they do that immediately. Anyone who applies this week and gets all their documents uploaded correctly on the first try still has a decent chance of receiving the scholarship.

 

Applicants can see if their documents are approved by logging into their FACTS portal. If there are green check marks by all their documents, they are good to go. Red X’s mean a document is still needed, and an orange/yellow color means that FACTS is still reviewing the uploads.

 

If any families would like a status check on their application, have them send an email to ESTFprogram@ed.sc.gov with their application ID number, or have them call Joshua Gross at 803-734-0009 for the quickest answer. They’re welcome to still email me, although my response time may vary, as I am in and out of cell service/wifi while visiting national parks with my family this week and next. (we’re doing Badlands, Wind Cave, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Yosemite, just to name a few. But as long as I have cell service while in the car, I am happy to answer emails and calls!😊).

INFORMATION TO SHARE

I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback on the webinar I hosted the other week; please feel free to share it with any parents considering applying.

 

 

 
 

APPLICATION DOCUMENTS NEEDED:

You will need one of each of the following types of documents:

  • Proof of Guardianship

    • Legal documents may include foster paperwork, adoption papers, divorce agreements, the 2023 or 2024 tax return or a birth certificate.

  • Proof of Income

    • 2023 or 2024 tax return documentation or, if you do not file taxes, information on income OR

    • The Medicaid card issued by DHHS for each Medicaid eligible student. For this, you need documentation that contains your Medicaid ID number (not your Healthy Connections/First Choice ID). This usually comes in the form of a Medicaid card like this or via a letter from the SC Department of Health and Human Services. It needs to say Medicaid Member ID. (more about this in the webinar recording above)

  • Proof of Residency

    • Driver’s License or State Issued ID, Utility Bills (Gas, Electric, Water), Government/ Govt. Agency Issued Mail (TANF, SNAP, voter registration cards, tax assessments, etc.), Mortgage Statements.

 

All the best,

 

Felicity Ropp

Palmetto Promise Institute

info@scschoolchoice.com

POST UPDATED 5/21/2025:

New Window to Submit 25-26 ESTF Applications
 
The ESTF scholarship program recently opened another window for parents to submit new applications for the 25-26 school year, in case you haven’t applied yet!
 
For those who have already submitted an application, last Saturday’s webinar/overview of the ESTF program – what it is, how applications work, and ways parents can use their scholarship – is now available here.
 
Here is the latest update from the Palmetto Promise Institute:
“Applications for South Carolina’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund program are open now for all eligible families! These K-12 scholarships help families find the best education fit for their child.
ELIGIBLE STUDENTS MUST BE:
✅-SC residents
✅-K-12 students
✅-Household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty line ($96,450 for a family of 4)
SCHOLARSHIPS CAN BE USED FOR…
🏫 -Tuition/fees at a private school
✍️ -Tutoring
🧠 -Disability therapies
📚 -Curriculum & books
💻 -Online classes
🚙 -School transportation
🔁– Public school interdistrict transfer fees
AND MORE!
 
Learn more and apply at SCSchoolChoice.com. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity – spots are limited so apply soon!”

POST UPDATED 5/7/2025:

Governor Henry McMaster has signed S.62 into law! The signature today officially gets things moving and lets you use ESTF funds for school tuition once again.

NEXT STEPS:

  • If your families have not yet uploaded your fourth quarter invoice to ClassWallet, make sure they do that ASAP so it can be paid out of their ClassWallet funds immediately. Have them upload any unpaid invoices from previous quarters too, if we missed paying any of those with the Rescue Fund. Here are directions on how to upload to ClassWallet. Ignore any warnings that tuition can’t be paid – those will be going away if they haven’t already, as they are moot now. You should start getting payments in the next few days.

  • New ESTF applications submitted Jan 15 – March 15 should be approved in the next day or two, now that the prior public school attendance requirement is removed. If your families are waiting to hear back on an application, have them log into their FACTS application portal to make sure that all the supporting documents are uploaded; I’ve been told that there are 3200+ applications missing supporting documents, and they cannot be approved until those documents are uploaded. A big issue for a lot of folks is the Medicaid card—it has to be a document that contains their “Medicaid Member ID” number, not their First Choice number or anything else.

  • If families at your school fall within the income limits and wish to apply for ESTF for the 2025-26 school year, direct them to sign up for the email list at SCSchoolChoice.com and I will send out an email with application info as soon as it opens. Not all 10,000 of the scholarships have been awarded yet for 2025-26! A one-week early priority window for military families opens May 12, and applications are open for everyone May 19.

  • Joshua (the ESTF program manager at the Department of Education) and I recorded a podcast last week to share info about the program. I think it will be a super helpful resource for parents and school administrators—I’ll send it out to you when it’s done being edited so you can share it with families.

  • I know that new changes in the law may be confusing and it’s a lot to keep up with; that is why Palmetto Promise Institute and the ESTF office at the Department of Education are hosting a webinar next week, May 14, 2:30-3:30pm, for schools to learn more about the updates to the program and ask all your questions you may have about end of year testing and everything else. We would love to have you join us!

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

POST UPDATED 5/6/2025: We have some really amazing news to share. It has finally happened! S.62 passed the Senate and the House this week with the new “magic amendment,” and it is now headed to the Governor, where we expect it to be signed in the next few days.

Click below for all of the details for amendment S.62!

https://palmettopromise.org/house-and-senate-reach-school-choice-agreement-in-magic-amendment/?mc_cid=fd0fcf8a05&mc_eid=d4326d69b5

ORIGINAL POST 4/27/2025: CBA has been following the legislation about the ESTF Scholarship program over the last few years, and the state is getting close to approving this funding for students to attend private schools. Please read below and consider following the link to email legislators. While it has not been approved yet, there is a strong probability there will be some vouchers for the 25-26 school year, and that they may increase the number of families who are eligible to receive vouchers each year. Thank you to all of the families who have already applied for the ESTF program! We will provide updates as they become available. Gracias!

https://palmettopromise.quorum.us/campaign/120153/?mc_cid=4a3c7b5b0a&mc_eid=d4326d69b5

Tagged