Private Schools Should Not Receive Federal Aid

RANDY YANG (Opinions Editor)

On Oct 7, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled against Governor Henry McMaster, who fought to have $32 million from the CARES act be allocated to funding scholarships for low income families to attend private schools. As a result, the planned 5,000 scholarships were not sent out to students across the state. The reasoning for McMaster’s loss against the case was that the basis of handing out federal aid for private education was deemed unconstitutional. Federal Aid should not be used for private schools.  

The idea that $32 million should be diverted from the CARES act to provide for the private school education of a mere 5,000 students is obscene. Private education is far from a necessity that warrants federal aid, as millions of students across the United States attend completely free public schools with no issue. Private education should not receive federal aid as unlike public school, it is neither a privilege nor a right, it is a luxury. 

The CARES act was created with the intention of providing relief for COVID-19, which has absolutely nothing to do with providing financial aid for private schools. McMaster argued that these grants would help the families of the recipients, not the institutions themselves. Although it is true that the money would be helping the families, the CARES act should be used to save lives during the ongoing pandemic, not to pay for someone’s private school tuition. 

There is no justification as to why federal aid should be granted as scholarships to pay for private school education. Not only is it deviating from the true purpose of the CARES act, which is to provide COVID-19 relief, but it is funding a completely unnecessary luxury that does not deserve to be paid for by federal aid.