South Carolina FreedomWorks to Hold Press Conference, State Senate Visits to Advance School Choice Legislation H. 4894

WHAT: About 100 FreedomWorks activists from South Carolina will descend on the state capitol on Tuesday to put grassroots pressure on the state senate to pass school choice reform legislation, H. 4894. The education reform bill uses tax credits and deductions to empower families and business entrepreneurs to send students to schools that best meet the individual needs of each student.

Speakers at the press conference will include South Carolina Tea Party Coalition State Coordinator Joe Dugan, SC State Senator Larry Grooms, State Rep. Eric Bedingfield, SC Senate Candidate John Steinberger, Florence Tea Party activist Charlotte Hendrix, Roan Garcia-Quintana (Americans Have Had Enough.org), Duane Hartgrove (Columbia Tea Party) and Sumter County GOP Chair Shery Lanford Smith.

WHERE: South Carolina Statehouse Rotunda

WHEN: Tuesday, April 24, 2012. The press conference will begin at 2:00pm ET, followed by office visits to members of the Senate Finance Committee.

WHY: The House passed historic school choice bill H.4894 last month, but some members of the Senate are trying to delay a vote until the end of the session in June. If they are successful H.4894 will be killed and another year will go by without any reform.

Last month, the South Carolina House voted to pass H.4894 by a margin of 65-49. Historically in South Carolina, this is the farthest an education reform bill has ever made it in the state legislature. Education reform is a hot topic in South Carolina, which currently spends about $12,000 per student annually, yet ranks 50th in the nation in test scores.