Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program

2025-2026 Bill 5482: Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5482
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Bowers, Willis, Frank, Pace and Duncan
Companion/Similar bill(s): 1018
Document Path: LC-0719WAB26.docx
Introduced in the House on April 1, 2026
Currently residing in the House
Summary: Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

4/1/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 5
)

4/1/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Education and Public Works
(
House Journal-page 5
)

4/14/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Duncan

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
04/01/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION
59-104-20
, RELATING TO THE PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, SO AS
TO ADD THE CLASSIC LEARNING TEST AS AN APPROVED ASSESSMENT FOR RECEIVING
SCHOLARSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION
59-149-50
, RELATING TO THE LIFE SCHOLARSHIP,
SO AS TO AMEND THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A LIFE SCHOLARSHIP TO INCLUDE ACT AND CLT
SCORES; AND BY AMENDING SECTION
59-26-20
, RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE STATE
BOARD OF EDUCATION AND COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, SO AS TO AMEND THE
DEFINITION OF "TALENTED AND QUALIFIED RESIDENT" TO INCLUDE ACT AND CLT SCORES.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
59-104-20
(G) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:

(
G) In addition to qualifications
established by regulation, to qualify for a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, a
student shall:

(
1)
meet the following three criteria:

(
a)
a minimum score of 1200 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or an equivalent
ACT score
or Classic Learning Test (CLT)
;

(
b)
a cumulative 3.5 grade point ratio on the Uniform Grading Scale at the end of
the junior or senior year; and

(
c)
rank in the top six percent of the class at the end of the sophomore, junior,
or senior year. When calculating eligibility for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships
in schools where the top six percent of the graduating class is two students or
less, the top two students must be considered for the scholarship regardless of
class rank. The top six percent of the graduating class must meet all Palmetto
Fellows Scholarship eligibility requirements in order to receive a scholarship.
If the top six percent of the class is not a whole number of students, the
Commission on Higher Education shall round up to the next whole number of
students eligible; or

(
2)
meet the following two criteria:

(
a)
a minimum score of 1400 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or an equivalent
ACT score; and

(
b)
a cumulative 4.0 grade point ratio on the Uniform Grading Scale at the end of
the junior or senior year.

(
3)
Qualifying scores
must be certified by the high school on the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship
application by the scholarship application deadline. For the purposes of
meeting the rank criteria pursuant to this subsection, the existing high school
rank of a South Carolina resident attending an out-of-state high school may be
used provided it is calculated pursuant to a state-approved, standardized
grading scale at the respective out-of-state high school. If the Commission on
Higher Education determines that a state-approved standardized grading scale
substantially deviates from the South Carolina Uniform Grading Scale, the
state-approved standardized grading scale shall not be used to meet the
eligibility requirements for the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship.

S
ECTION 2.
S
ection
59-149-50
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
59-149-50
.
(
A)(1) To be eligible
for a LIFE Scholarship, a student must be either a student who has graduated
from a high school located in this State, a student who has completed at least
three of the final four years of high school within this State, a home school
student who has successfully completed a high school home school program in
this State in the manner required by law, a student who has graduated from a
preparatory high school outside this State, while a dependent of a parent or
guardian who is a legal resident of this State and has custody of the
dependent, or a student whose parent or guardian has served in or has retired
from one of the United States Armed Forces within the last four years, paid
income taxes in this State for a majority of the years of service, and is a
resident of this State. These students also must meet the requirements of
subsection (B) and be eligible for in-state tuition and fees as determined
pursuant to Chapter 112, Title 59 and applicable regulations. In addition, the
student must have graduated from high school with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative
grade average on a 4.0 scale and, subject to modification as provided in item
(2), have scored 1100 or better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or have
the equivalent ACT
or CLT
score as determined by
the Commission on Higher Education; provided that, if the student is to attend
such a public or independent two-year college or university in this State,
including a technical college, the SAT/ACT
/CLT

requirement does not apply. If a student chooses to attend such a public or
independent institution of this State and does not make the required SAT/ACT
/CLT
score or the required high school grade point
average, as applicable,
then
the student may earn a
LIFE Scholarship after his freshman year if he meets the grade point average
and semester credit hour requirements of subsection (B). For the purpose of
meeting the rank criteria pursuant to this section, the existing high school rank
of a South Carolina resident attending an out-of-state high school may be used
provided it is calculated pursuant to a state-approved, standardized grading
scale at the respective out-of-state high school. If the Commission on Higher
Education determines that a state-approved standardized grading scale
substantially deviates from the South Carolina Uniform Grading Scale, the
state-approved standardized grading scale shall not be used to meet the
eligibility requirements for the LIFE Scholarship.

(
2)
After the 2024-2025 School Year, if the scoring scale range of the SAT is
changed, the Commission on Higher Education shall adjust the minimum SAT/ACT
score required in item (1) in order to maintain a minimum scoring requirement
that is the functional equivalent of the 2024-2025 standards. In determining
whether the SAT/ACT score of an applicant meets the minimum requirements of
this section after such an adjustment is made, a college or university shall
apply the minimum scoring requirement in effect on the date that the test was
taken.

(
B)
Students receiving a LIFE Scholarship to retain it and students currently
enrolled in an eligible institution to receive such a scholarship must earn a
3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale and earn at least thirty
credit hours each year for the maximum of semesters permitted at that
institution by Section
59-149-60
. The cumulative grade point average
calculation, for purposes of LIFE scholarship eligibility, must be inclusive of
the student's grade point average at all public or independent institutions
attended by the student.

(
C)
Students who were LIFE Scholarship recipients seeking a degree at such a public
or independent institution of this State during their freshman or other year
who failed to earn a cumulative 3.0 at the end of the term they attempted the
requisite number of hours required by subsection (B) may regain eligibility if
their cumulative grade average is a 3.0 at the end of the term they have
attempted at least sixty hours if they are a sophomore or ninety hours if they
are a junior.

(
D)
Beginning with school year 2002-2003, an entering freshman at a four-year
institution to be eligible for a LIFE Scholarship in addition to the other
requirements of this chapter shall meet two of the following three criteria:

(
1)
have the grade point average required by this section;

(
2)
have the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
,
or
equivalent ACT
, or equivalent
CLT
score required by this section;

(
3)
be in the top thirty percent of his high school graduating class.

(
E)
For home school
students and students whose high school graduating class is less than fifty
students, the Commission on Higher Education may define alternative criteria
for students to meet the requirement of
item
subsection (D)
(3).

(
F)
After receipt of a
LIFE Scholarship by an entering freshman beginning with school year 2002-2003,
a student shall meet the criteria established in this chapter to retain or
regain the scholarship.

(
G)
For an exceptionally
gifted student who is accepted into college without having attended high
school, the Commission on Higher Education shall define alternative criteria
for the student to qualify for a LIFE Scholarship.

S
ECTION 3.
S
ection
59-26-20
(n) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:

(
n) the Commission on Higher Education
in consultation with the State Department of Education and the staff of the
South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, shall develop a Governor's Teaching
Scholarship Loan Program to provide talented and qualified state residents
loans not to exceed five thousand dollars a year to attend public or private
colleges and universities for the purpose of becoming certified teachers
employed in the public schools of this State. The recipient of a loan is
entitled to have up to one hundred percent of the amount of the loan plus the
interest on the loan canceled if he becomes certified and teaches in the public
schools of this State for at least five years. The loan is canceled at the
rate of twenty percent of the total principal amount of the loan plus interest
on the unpaid balance for each complete year of teaching service in a public
school. However, beginning July 1, 1990, the loan is canceled at the rate of
thirty-three and one-third percent of the total principal amount of the loan
plus interest on the unpaid balance for each complete year of teaching service
in both an academic critical need area and a geographic need area as defined
annually by the State Board of Education. In case of failure to make a
scheduled repayment of any installment, failure to apply for cancellation or
deferment of the loan on time, or noncompliance by a borrower with the purpose
of the loan, the entire unpaid indebtedness plus interest is, at the option of
the commission, immediately due and payable. The recipient shall execute the
necessary legal documents to reflect his obligation and the terms and
conditions of the loan. The loan program must be administered by the South
Carolina Student Loan Corporation. Funds generated from repayments to the loan
program must be retained in a separate account and utilized as a revolving
account for the purpose of making additional loans. Appropriations for loans
and administrative costs must come from the Education Improvement Act of 1984
Fund, on the recommendation of the Commission on Higher Education to the State
Treasurer, for use by the corporation. The Education Oversight Committee shall
review this scholarship loan program annually and report its findings and
recommendations to the General Assembly. For purposes of this item, a "talented
and qualified state resident" includes freshmen students who graduate in the
top ten percentile of their high school class, or who receive a combined verbal
plus mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test score of at least eleven hundred
, or an equivalent ACT or CLT score,
and enrolled
students who have completed one year (two semesters or the equivalent) of
collegiate work and who have earned a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. To remain eligible for the loan while in college,
the student must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

S
ECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on April 1, 2026 at 12:05 PM