South Carolina is facing another showdown over spending public funds on private school tuition.

The SC House of Representatives passed the Education Scholarship Trust Fund on Wednesday, a bill that was designed to provide scholarships to students attending private school.

The House proposed a different version of the bill than the Senate. The revised bill would use taxpayer dollars to fund $6,000 per student, while the Senate version would use state lottery funds to pay for the school vouchers, giving each student $7,500.

Sen. Hembree, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said, “We have a lot of good schools, but we have some that aren’t… And a student shouldn’t be shackled in a system that’s not working for them when we can come up with other choices.”

Both approaches would sponsor 10,000 students, targeting those at 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

A similar voucher bill was ruled unconstitutional by the South Carolina Supreme Court back in September.

The SC Department of Education reported that scholarship money has been spent on technology, school, tutoring, books, curriculum, and tuition.

Some are concerned that the taxpayer-funded House version of the bill could impact public school funding and teacher staffing.

Education Interventionist Chanitco Austin said, “That funding would come from that special education program, leaving those students that are there maybe not to receive all the interventions that are needed… One less TA in the classroom.”

The bill would set aside 30 million dollars for what the proposal calls education scholarships.

Some leaders of the South Carolina education association say there are more ways to solve this issue. 

National Education Association Director Stephanie Johnson said, “If you pour the same amount of energy into public institutions, how much greater would public schools be if you’re saying they’re not performing up to your standards?”

President of the South Carolina Education Association Sherry East said to ask the citizens what they want and take it to the ballot box.

The bill is heading back to the Senate, which can accept the House version or work toward a compromise.