Zak Koeske

A bombshell court filing accuses SC’s largest charter school district and its leaders of a criminal conspiracy to damage the reputation of a for-profit education management company in order to take its business.

The private Christian college sued the parent company of a for-profit charter school management organization that, until recently, operated three charter schools authorized by its affiliated Charter Institute.​

“We just want to make sure that proper oversight is given to the charter school system and that this is not some big ploy to funnel business to people on their boards and that kind of thing,” state Sen. Brad Hutto said.

Richland 1 students enrolled in high school classes without a certified teacher are using an online platform to teach themselves subjects like Algebra, Earth Science and Spanish with little adult oversight, parents say.

“Everybody has a kid who either knows somebody or themselves doesn’t have a teacher in school,” Richland 1 board member Robert Lominack said.

The ethically fraught situation is the latest example of the Charter Institute at Erskine pushing the boundaries of South Carolina’s decades-old charter schools law.

If you’ve been affected by South Carolina’s educator shortage, whether as a student, parent, teacher, administrator or substitute, The State would like to hear from you.

A South Carolina religious education provider that was awarded $1.5 million in last year’s state budget to build a school for at-risk children has rescinded its request for the funds.

Lawsuit challenges $6k voucher for SC parents who send kids to private schools

In March 2022, SC Judge Casey Manning spared a Richland County man who was set to spend the rest of his life behind bars for first-degree burglary. His order cites no legal rationale for reducing the man’s mandatory life sentence.