<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2DxQau_0wB23ciJ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2DxQau_0wB23ciJ00" width="1500" height="844" >COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) — Conservative billionaire Jeffrey Yass will cover tuition costs for private school students in South Carolina after the state's Supreme Court struck down a school voucher program as unconstitutional.Yass, the co-founder of an investment firm and conservative megadonor plans to foot around $900,000 for students impacted by the September Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program through Dec. 31, Palmetto Promise announced Thursday."Over the last few weeks, our hearts have been broken by the stories of the low-income families who had settled into new schools that better fit their children only to have their scholarships ripped away in the middle of the school year," the release announcing the donation reads. "We know the next quarter’s school tuition is soon due, and we are moving quickly to provide funds to schools as soon as logistics allow.”Palmetto Promise Institute President and CEO Wendy Damron said the funds will be available for students currently attending a private school under the ESTF program.The 3-2 ruling prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for tuition came on Sept. 11, after several parents around the state had already received the first installments of funds.South Carolina's Supreme Court ruled the payments violated the state's constitutional ban on public money directly benefiting private education. In reaction, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, a long-time advocate for the school voucher scheme, declared the ruling would have "devasting consequences" for low-income families."It may also jeopardize the future enrollment of tens of thousands of students in state-funded four-year-old kindergarten programs and state-funded scholarships utilized by students at private colleges and HBCUs," McMaster said in September."For these reasons, and more, we will request the Court to expeditiously reconsider this decision – so that the children of low-income families may have the opportunity to attend the school that best suits their needs."South Carolina's push for a school voucher program is part of a nationwide movement.Groups that study the programs report that as many as 16 states have some form of vouchers.The new law allowed vouchers of up to $6,000 for as many as 5,000 students a year, eventually expanding to about 15,000 students or about 2% of the statewide school-age population. Only families making under about $120,000 could get the assistance, according to The Associated Press.Yass rarely gives interviews. However, he is known to donate millions to mold the shape of schools and courts around the country into a more conservative image.Yass has a net worth of $49.6 billion, according to Forbes.</div></body>

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Conservative megadonor Jeffrey Yass to fund South Carolina school choice voucher program

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) — Conservative billionaire Jeffrey Yass will cover tuition costs for private school students in South Carolina after the state's Supreme Court struck down a school voucher program as unconstitutional. Yass, the co-founder of an investment firm and conservative megadonor plans to foot around $900,000 for students...