Student Funding

Use of Funds

This refundable tax credit may be used for qualifying expenses including tuition, fees, textbooks, and transportation.

Funding Amount and Source

Parents or guardians receive a tax credit worth the lesser of (1) $11,000 per student or (2) their children’s actual cost of attending school. However, if the student receives an Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children Fund scholarship, then the credit claimed may equal only the difference of $11,000 or the cost of tuition, whichever is lower, and the amount of the tax credit-funded scholarship. The total cap on the program is $2 million. However, there may be some flexibility based on participation in the Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children Fund program as up to $3 million in unused Fund credits can be used for this refundable credit instead.

(Last updated July 16, 2024)

Student Eligibility

Students are eligible to receive scholarships if a local school district has determined that they are a child with a disability who needs special education and related services under the state’s evaluation criteria. Students are also eligible to receive scholarships if a licensed speech-language pathologist, a psychiatrist, or a medical, mental health, psychoeducational, or other comparable licensed healthcare provider has diagnosed a student with an impairment within the last three years. Impairments include a neurodevelopmental disorder, a substantial sensory or physical impairment (such as deafness, blindness or orthopedic disability), or some other disability or acute or chronic condition that significantly impedes the student’s ability to learn and succeed in school without specialized instructional and associated supports and services tailored to the child’s unique needs. Students must attend an eligible independent (nonpublic) school. 

(Last updated July 16, 2024) 

EdChoice Expert Feedback

South Carolina’s refundable tax credit for students with special needs helps tens of thousands of students access schools that are the right fit for them, but policymakers could do more to expand educational opportunity. Eligibility for the tax credits is limited to students with special needs. About one in eight South Carolina students are eligible to receive a tax credit. Statewide, less than one percent of students participate in one of South Carolina’s private educational choice options (including the Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children Fund). The average credit claimed is about $9,400, which is about 84 percent of the average expenditure per student at South Carolina’s district schools. Tax credits are worth 100 percent of the value of the child’s tuition costs up to $11,000, but only $2 million in tax credits are available annually, which is equivalent to only 0.02 percent of South Carolina’s total K–12 revenue. To expand access to educational choice, South Carolina policymakers should significantly increase the amount of available tax credits and expand eligibility to all students. The program could also be converted into an education savings account to ensure that all students have access to the education that’s the right fit for them, whether private school or a customized course of education. South Carolina’s special-needs tax credits generally avoid unnecessary and counterproductive regulations. (Last updated December 14, 2023) 

Rules and Regulations

Program Guidelines

• Income Limit: None
• Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
• Enrollment Cap: None
• Credit Value: 100%
• Taxpayer Credit/Deduction Cap: $11,000 per student
• Testing Mandates: State test or nationally norm-referenced tests
• Special Needs Pathway: Pathway

Participant and Family Guidelines

• Click Here for the Program Administrator’s Parent Handbook
• Education Requirements: Provide certification that the student has exceptional needs, certification that student was enrolled in an eligible school and proof of the cost of attendance at the eligible school
• Parent Supplemented Funds/Scholarships: Allowed

(Last updated September 27, 2024)

Governing Statutes

S.C. Code Ann. § 12-6-3790(H)(2) 

(Last updated July 16, 2024) 

Legal History

No legal challenges have been filed against the program. 

(Last updated July 16, 2024)