A Carolina Victory for School Choice

This debate concerned money from the unspent portion of the $4 billion that Congress sent to the state under the Cares Act. North Carolina Republicans who control the Legislature made school choice a condition of support for the bill, and the Governor had to sign or risk losing all those unspent federal dollars. As GOP state Sen. Rob Bryan put it, “no one really wants to vote against parental choice in this climate.”

The bill expands the Opportunity Scholarship voucher program by raising the income limit for a family of four to $72,000 from roughly $63,000. It also lifts the caps on enrollment for kindergarten and first-grade students, which will now give 1,000 kids on the waiting list a choice. It allows the state’s two virtual charter schools to enroll an additional 3,800 students.

It also includes $335 in “extra credit” grants to families with children that can be used for anything from private tutors to upgrading a WiFi system for better remote learning. Union-run public schools have no basis for complaint because the bill insulates school districts from budget cuts if they report a decline in enrollment.

North Carolina’s decision comes as Covid-19 has exposed the union-first, students-last priorities of traditional public schools. Many union schools refuse to return to in-person learning, while charters and private schools are doing so. Parents worried about their children falling behind are learning that the union schools’ take-it-or-leave-it approach leaves them without options.

“North Carolina’s actions show what can be done when legislators, even in a state governed by both parties, are willing to put party loyalties aside,” says Jeanne Allen, CEO of the Center for Education Reform. Let’s hope more states follow North Carolina’s lead.