(A)(1) There is established at the department, the "South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund" that is separate and distinct from the general fund, consisting of monies appropriated to the department to provide scholarships to eligible students for qualifying expenses. The funds and assets of the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund are not funds of the State but are instead held in trust. The monies placed into and accumulated in the fund constitute the trust corpus, to be used only for the purposes outlined in this act; the scholarship recipients are the trust beneficiaries who hold equitable title to the scholarship funds allocated to them from the fund and are the direct beneficiaries of the trust; and the trustee selected by the State Superintendent of Education as de
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(A)(1) There is established at the department, the "South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund" that is separate and distinct from the general fund, consisting of monies appropriated to the department to provide scholarships to eligible students for qualifying expenses. The funds and assets of the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund are not funds of the State but are instead held in trust. The monies placed into and accumulated in the fund constitute the trust corpus, to be used only for the purposes outlined in this act; the scholarship recipients are the trust beneficiaries who hold equitable title to the scholarship funds allocated to them from the fund and are the direct beneficiaries of the trust; and the trustee selected by the State Superintendent of Education as described in this section is the trustee of the trust who may distribute funds only in a way consistent with this act and as directed by a beneficiary. The fund must receive and hold all monies allocated for it as well as all earnings until disbursed as provided in this section. Monies deposited in the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund may not revert to the general fund or be appropriated by the General Assembly for any other purpose. If the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund program ceases for any reason, then the trustee shall deposit all remaining amounts in the trust fund to a specific education account separate from the general fund designated by the General Assembly. (2) The State Superintendent of Education shall appoint the Trustee of the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund to serve at will. The trustee may not be a public entity or an employee of any public entity. The trustee may be either an individual or entity and shall have, in the state superintendent's sole discretion, the necessary expertise and good reputation to serve as the trustee. The trustee must have, at a minimum, at least five years' experience as a trustee of a registered nonprofit organization, public trust or nonfamilial trust whose assets exceed five million dollars or a master's degree in accounting, public administration, or other related field. The trustee must not have filed for bankruptcy pursuant to Title 11, Chapters 7 or 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code or been convicted of criminal fraud, tax fraud, embezzlement, conversion, money laundering, theft crimes, or any crime that is recognized as a felony under state or federal law. The trustee shall file a statement of economic interest pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 13, Title 8 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. The trustee shall be bound by all duties of trustees under South Carolina law, unless such duties conflict with the requirements of this chapter, in which case the requirements of this chapter control. The state superintendent shall have the authority to remove the trustee. Upon removal the State Superintendent of Education shall provide notification to the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee, and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. (B) The trustee shall hold, manage, control, and administer the monies placed into or accruing within the fund and disburse scholarships awarded pursuant to this section and as directed by the parent. Information contained in or produced from a tax return, document, or magnetically or electronically stored data used by the department in the exercise of its duties as provided in this chapter must remain confidential and is exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Personally identifiable information, as described in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, of children applying for or receiving scholarships must remain confidential and is not subject to disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. (C) Upon request of the department, the State Treasurer shall transfer seven thousand five hundred dollars per scholarship student for the 2025-2026 School Year to the Education Scholarship Trust Fund. For all subsequent school years, the allocation must be equivalent to the allocation used in the previous year, increased by the percentage increase in the average per pupil funding from state sources as provided by the Office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs for the prior fiscal year, unless an increased or decreased limit is authorized in the annual general appropriations act. (D) The department shall create an individual online ESTF account for each scholarship student. (1) The parent must be able to access the individual online account for the scholarship student using a secure portal. (2) The individual scholarship student's account must be created within thirty days of the application approval. (E) The trustee shall make payments to an individual scholarship student's account from the ESTF on a quarterly basis with the first payment being distributed by July thirty-first of each year. (F) Prior to depositing each payment into the student's online account, the department shall verify that the student is not enrolled as a full-time student in his resident school using the forty-five, ninety, one hundred thirty-five, and one hundred seventy day student counts and provide that information to the trustee. (G) Education service providers may not refund, rebate, or share a student's scholarship funds directly with a parent or the scholarship student. The funds in an account may only be used for qualifying expenses as defined in this chapter and provided by the department. (H) Neither the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund nor an individual student's account constitutes a debt of the State or any political subdivision thereof, including school districts. The South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund and individual student accounts must be held and apply solely toward carrying out the purposes of this chapter.