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'A life changer' | SC Special Olympics supporters respond to talks of budget cuts

The Unified Champion Schools program touches all parts of a campus to make it a more inclusive environment for students with and without special needs. More than 300 schools in South Carolina currently use the program.

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Special Olympics funding may be fully reinstated. The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration is reversing itself on a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics.

President Donald Trump says he has authorized funding for the organization, adding: "I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people."

Trump's announcement comes after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spent days defending the proposal, which drew widespread condemnation from lawmakers, as well as advocates and celebrities.

DeVos has since issued a statement saying she is "pleased and grateful the President and I see eye to eye on this issue and that he has decided to fund our Special Olympics grant."

From that lump sum, South Carolina receives about $8 million to $9 million for Special Olympics every year. Special Olympics SC President and CEO Barry Coats spoke with NBC Charlotte Thursday, prior to Trump's latest announcement. 

Coats said the funding is crucial to continuing the Unified Champion Schools program, which touches all parts of a campus to make it a more unified, inclusive environment for students with and without special needs. 

More than 300 schools in South Carolina currently use the program.

"Our kids love it," Coats added. "They want to be just like everybody else. They want to be that same kid walking down the hall next to the quarterback or cheerleader." 

If the roughly quarter of a million doesn't pass in the education budget, the team would be faced with worst-case scenarios. Ultimately, parents and the CEO said they would do anything it took to continue the program across the state. 

"It is a life changer. It's a community changer," the mother of a student personally benefiting from the program and Special Olympics said.

That mother said the organization is a non-partisan group, and she hopes more people will grow to understand the impact because if they did, funding would not be a question.  

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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