Funding for
the S.C. Teaching Scholarship Program ended in 2005. Remaining funds
will be exhausted this year, ending the S.C. Teaching Scholarship
Program. Effective June 20, 2006, the Commission on Higher Education
will no longer be accepting applications for this program. Applications
received prior to June 20, 2006 will be processed in accordance with the
approved guidelines.
During the 2001 legislative
session, the General Assembly approved the South Carolina Education Lottery Act.
One provision of this act provides that teachers who hold a professional
certificate and teach in the public schools of the State will be awarded grants
not to exceed $1000 per year to attend the State’s public and independent
colleges and universities for the purposes of upgrading existing core content
area skills or obtaining a Master’s Degree in the teacher’s core content area
(see Guidelines). The act further stipulates that if there are
insufficient funds in the Education Lottery Account to provide the grant to each
eligible recipient for a particular year, priority must be given to those
classroom teachers (i.e., not administrators, counselors, media specialist, or
other support personnel) whose teaching areas are critical need subject areas as
defined by the State Board of Education.
Purpose:
The purpose of the
Education Lottery Teaching Scholarship Grants Program is to support classroom
teachers in their efforts to improve their content knowledge by completing
coursework and degree programs.