http://www.sccourts.org/opinions/displayOpinion.cfm?caseNo=27100
The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled this week that divorced or unmarried parents can be required to pay a child's college tuition and expenses. The Court ruled in part:
This State has a strong interest in the outcome of disputes where the welfare of our young citizens is at stake. As can hardly be contested, the State also has a strong interest in ensuring that our youth are educated such that they can become more productive members of our society. It is entirely possible "that most parents who remain married to each other support their children through college years. On the other hand, even well-intentioned parents, when deprived of the custody of their children, sometimes react by refusing to support them as they would if the family unit had been preserved." In re Marriage of Vrban, 293 N.W.2d 198, 202 (Iowa 1980). Therefore, it may very well be that Risinger sought to alleviate this harm by "minimiz[ing] any economic and educational disadvantages to children of divorced parents." Kujawinski v. Kujawinski, 376 N.E.2d 1382, 1390 (Ill. 1978); see also LeClair v. LeClair, 624 A.2d 1350, 1357 (N.H. 1993), superseded by statute on other grounds ("The legitimate State interest served by these statutes is to ensure that children of divorced families are not deprived of educational opportunities solely because their families are no longer intact."). There is no absolute right to a college education, and section 63-3-530(A)(17), as interpreted by Risinger and its progeny, does not impose a moral obligation on all divorced parents with children. Instead, the factors identified by Risinger and expounded upon in later cases seek to identify those children whose parents would otherwise have paid for their college education, but for the divorce, and provide them with that benefit.
We accordingly hold that requiring a parent to pay, as an incident of child support, for post-secondary education under the appropriate and limited circumstances outlined by Risinger is rationally related to the State's interest. While it is certainly true that not all married couples send their children to college, that does not detract from the State's interest in having college-educated citizens and attempting to alleviate the potential disadvantages placed upon children of divorced parents. Although the decision to send a child to college may be a personal one, it is not one we wish to foreclose to a child simply because his parents are divorced. It is of no moment that not every married parent sends his children to college or that not every divorced parent refuses to do so. The tenants of rational basis review under equal protection do not require such exacting precision in the decision to create a classification and its effect.
Indeed, Father's refusal to contribute towards Collin's college expenses under the facts of this case proves the very ill which Risinger attempted to alleviate, for Father articulated no defensible reason for his refusal other than the shield erected by Webb. What other reason could there be for a father with more than adequate means and a son who truly desires to attend college to skirt the obligation the father almost certainly would have assumed had he not divorced the child's mother? Had Father and Mother remained married, we believe Father undoubtedly would have contributed towards Collin's education. Collin has therefore fallen victim to the precise harm that prompted the courts in LeClair, Kujawinski, and Vrban—as well as Risinger—to hold that a non-custodial parent could be ordered to contribute towards a child's college education. Thus, this case amply demonstrates what we failed to recognize in Webb: sometimes the acrimony of marital litigation impacts a parent's normal sense of obligation towards his or her children. While this is a harsh and unfortunate reality, it is a reality nonetheless that Risinger sought to address.
Very interesting decision that I believe in the right circumstances should benefit our state.
