In Bishop of Charleston v. Adams, the Liberty Justice Center seeks to prevent South Carolina officials from using a long-standing discriminatory law to deny independent and religious schools access to federal COVID relief funds.
The following article by Associated Press appeared on May 3, 2021 on US News & World Report.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Private schools and colleges asked a federal judge Monday to strike down the provision in South Carolina‘s constitution that bars public money for private and religious schools, saying the 1895 measure is discriminatory.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston and South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities filed the lawsuit last month. The state Supreme Court has blocked Gov. Henry McMaster’s efforts to share COVID-19 relief money with private schools or private school parents, citing the state constitution.
Daniel Suhr, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the Washington, D.C.-based Liberty Justice Center, told U.S. District Judge Bruce Hendricks on Monday in Charleston that the amendment is blocking historically Black colleges and universities and Catholic schools from receiving “fair, equitable access” to the money.
“South Carolina has come a long way since 1895,” Suhr said, according to The Post and Courier. “But though the state has come a long way, its past is with us still.”
Read the full article on US News & World Report.