Last month, South Carolina politicians celebrated national "school choice week" by (once again) paying lip service to the importance of academic freedom. This month? They are back to doing what they always do - denying this freedom to tens of thousands of children stuck in the Palmetto State's worst-in-the-nation government-run...

Last month, South Carolina politicians celebrated national "school choice week" by (once again) paying lip service to the importance of academic freedom. This month? They are back to doing what they always do - denying this freedom to tens of thousands of children stuck in the Palmetto State's worst-in-the-nation government-run school system.

While we supported McMaster's proposed appropriation - which was shot down in court - we also pointed out that helping a mere 0.63 percent of South Carolina students cover 45.7 percent of the state's average per pupil cost for just one year did not constitute real reform.

According to SCDOR, the Exceptional SC organization - a 501(c)(3) which bills itself as "dedicated to supporting exceptional needs students and families in South Carolina" - took in just $4.55 million in total donations in 2019.

According to Davis and Lisinska, the latest SCDOR report shows at least $330,805 in fees being doled out by the organization during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 - including $256,165 in "contract services."

According to Davis and Lisinska, these payouts dramatically eclipsed the two percent limit on fees place on the program.

"They're not saying its embezzlement,"Lisinska told us. "They just publish the numbers ... I assume hoping no one reads them."

Connelly has previously responded to allegations of embezzlement by threatening to sue Davis and Lisinska. No word yet on whether such a case has been filed, but Davis has filed suit previously in connection with this ongoing battle.

Years ago, this news outlet reluctantly supported the transfer of the special needs choice program to SCDOR in light of repeated legislative threats to terminate it. However, we continue to believe its best long-term interests would be served by private sector management - which is what leading fiscal conservatives in the S.C. General Assembly (including senator Tom Davis) have proposed.

Clearly, the program is not working in its current iteration ...

Bigger picture? South Carolina's refusal to embrace broad-based school choice for all students and parents continues to hold the state back from reaching its full potential - trapping students in academic environments that are not meeting their needs while denying the government-run system the sort of market-based accountability it desperately needs if it is to show sustained improvement.

The bottom line is this: It is time for the lip service on school choice to stop and the real work on expanding academic opportunity to begin.