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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The latest in Gov. Nikki Haley's plan for improving public schools. All times local:
3:45 p.m.
Gov. Nikki Haley's plans for improving education includes offering students the chance to graduate from college debt-free and providing up to $200 million annually to maintain and build schools.
The Republican governor announced her initiative with state Superintendent Molly Spearman at a school in rural Gaston.
Haley's education budget proposal for 2016-17 includes $15 million for teacher incentives. That includes $7,500 annual scholarships for students who commit to teaching in impoverished districts. Haley says they can receive the tuition scholarships for four years if they work eight years in a district with high teacher-turnover rates.
Her proposal expands on her 2014 technology commitment, providing another $30 million, plus more than $10 million for wireless in the neediest schools and in students' homes.
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Noon:
State Education Superintendent Molly Spearman says Gov. Nikki Haley's education proposal includes more loans and scholarships for teachers in poor, rural school districts.
Spearman and Haley are set to make a joint announcement Wednesday afternoon in rural Gaston. The announcement comes as legislators try to figure out how to respond to a state Supreme Court ruling that students in poor districts lack educational opportunities.
During a Senate hearing earlier Wednesday, Spearman said Haley will seek additional money to pay back student loans for teachers working in impoverished areas, as well as scholarships for teachers in the plaintiff districts that sued the state in 1993.
Spearman said Haley will also discuss pre-kindergarten education. A 2014 law calls for eventually expanding full-day 4-year-old kindergarten to all poor children statewide.
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