Education leader race features qualification questions in SC

A conservative think tank CEO who promises to fight against critical race theory and supports giving children public money for scholarships to private schools would appear to be a heavy favorite in November to be elected the new leader of schools in conservative South Carolina.

But Ellen Weaver has what could be one serious problem: she lacks a master's degree, a new requirement to become Education Superintendent.

Weaver started on the advanced degree in April and has said she will complete it before voters finish casting their ballots in November. But it is unclear what might happen if she fails to do so, whether the issue could end up in court, and if that would open the door for a Democrat to win statewide office in South Carolina for the first time in 18 years.

After winning the Republican nomination Tuesday, Weaver seemed unworried at her victory party.

“Tonight we saw that voters understand the real qualification for this job is leadership and a strong backbone," Weaver told reporters Tuesday night. "That said, I will fully fulfill all the legal obligations to hold this job. I will complete my master's degree in educational leadership in October ahead of the general election.”

Weaver faces Democratic candidate Lisa Ellis, a teacher and founder of education advocacy group SC for Ed who has an advanced degree. Green Party candidate Patricia Mickel is also on the ballot. She is a teacher but it is unclear if she has her master’s.

Weaver enrolled in April in a master’s program in educational leadership from Bob Jones University in Greenville, the conservative Christian school where she has an undergraduate degree in political science. The school's website says the program typically takes 12 to 18 months to complete.

But students can set their own pace. The registrar’s office confirmed to The Associated Press that Weaver is a current student and plans to take an online class in the fall.

The advanced degree requirement dates back to 2018, when 60% of voters rejected a constitutional amendment to have the governor appoint the education leader. Lawmakers also updated the qualifications for the job in a companion bill.

That put the superintendent job on the ballot again in 2022. But this time candidates must meet the new qualifications, which include a master’s degree and “broad-based experience” in public education as a teacher, administrator, school board member or policy making body or operational and financial management “in any field of expertise.”

The new qualifications appeared on the South Carolina Election Commission’s website, but received little attention until a story published in The Post and Courier a day after filing for the office ended. Several candidates dropped out while others like Weaver pledged to get their advanced degrees.

Parties certify that candidates are qualified for offices for primaries, and Republicans said the pledge to get an advanced degree before the general election was enough.

Beyond the qualification question, Ellis' campaign said experience is important. Unlike Weaver, the Democrat has spent time in school in the classroom and administration, spokesperson Leesa Danzek said.

“Regardless of whether Weaver is able to complete and obtain her required master’s degree, there are of course some more practical qualifications that I think many parents and voters would like to see in the leader of education in South Carolina,” Danzek told The Associated Press.

If Weaver gets her master's degree before statewide officers are inaugurated shortly after November's elections, there will be no legal question about her eligibility, said attorney Kevin Hall, who has been a legal counsel to the state Republican Party.

No one has sued Weaver over her qualifications yet, but both the degree and experience could be challenged. Weaver has no classroom or school administration experience and the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee she oversees does not set policy. She worked for former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint before becoming president of the Palmetto Promise Institute think tank he founded.

With regards to concerns around Weaver’s experience, Hall noted that the code says extensive background in “any field of expertise” is necessary. With Weaver having been president of the Palmetto Promise Institute, Hall said her experience “speaks for itself."

South Carolina's education superintendent race has featured themes seen across the country with debates over COVID-19 classroom policies and conservative outcry over so-called “critical race theory."

Patrick Kelly, the director of government affairs at the Palmetto State Teacher's Association, said he was disappointed by the “abysmally low voter turnout” and nationalization of the primaries.

Just 17% of South Carolina voters cast ballots in the June 14 primary with both parties choosing their superintendent nominees. In the runoff involving Weaver two weeks later, participation fell to 7%, according the state Election Commission data.

“In the discussion around election integrity, we've been too quick to dismiss that here's a different threat beyond voter fraud, and that's voter apathy," Kelly said.

While the governor declared student mental health to be a crisis in the state, Kelly noted that candidates did not debate that issue. Meanwhile, he said the Republican primary included much discussion around critical race theory. The term is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism. It has become a political rallying cry on the right, but real-world examples of its teaching in classrooms have proved difficult to find.

While Kelly said “indoctrination” might be an issue in some parts of the state, he added that “at the end of the day that's not in our state standards."

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Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.

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James Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow James Pollard on Twitter.