In the News
As the source for parental school choice in our state, PEFNC is often asked to provide commentary on educational choice.
High demand means tens of thousands may be shut out of NC school vouchers
March 11, 2024
Critics of North Carolina’s school voucher programs like to say that even millionaires can now get public money to help pay their children’s private-school tuition. And technically that’s true, since the General Assembly voted this summer to remove income caps for Opportunity Scholarships.
But the state has seen a surge of applications for 2024-25, when the new rules kick in. State officials and advocates say that could mean that about 40,000 applicants will be told they can’t get the scholarships because they make too much money.
“Quite frankly the chances of getting into Tier 3 look to me to be pretty slim at this point,” said Brian Jodice of the school choice advocacy group Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina. He’s referring to an income level that starts at about $115,000 for a family of four.
The new plan says everyone is eligible for scholarships, which range from $3,360 to $7,468 depending on income. But if there’s not enough money to go around — which hasn’t been an issue in previous years — first priority goes to current scholarship recipients and new applicants from lower-income families.
Elusive voucher school has a new address in Harrisburg — and students are there
By Ann Doss Helms
March 7, 2023
A Charlotte private school that gets North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship money but didn't seem to have a location lists a new address in Cabarrus County. After checking seven previous addresses for Teaching Achieving Students Academy with no sign of a school, I found a small group of students working at the school’s newest address in Harrisburg.
“We’ve been everywhere that we said we’d be,” the school’s headmistress, who goes by Fanisha Cowan and Fanisha Locke, said Wednesday. She declined to discuss the matter in any detail, saying her students were learning and it wasn’t appropriate to interrupt.
Breaking Records & Helping with School Searches
The Opportunity Scholarship Program shows overwhelming demand! |
We witnessed an incredible demand for the newly expanded Opportunity Scholarship program this year!
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North Carolina Superintendent Race: A Crucial Pivot for Public Education's Future
By Salman Khan
March 4, 2024
As North Carolina prepares for a pivotal election, the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction emerges as a central battlefield for the future of public education. Five candidates, two Republicans and three Democrats, have thrown their hats into the ring, each bringing distinct visions for steering the state's education system amidst growing debates over parents' rights, school choice, and teacher welfare.
More than 70,000 NC families want a new private school voucher. Who will get one?
A record-breaking total of nearly 72,000 families applied this year for state funding to help them pay for the cost for attending a North Carolina private school, making it unlikely all of them will get the money they want.
State lawmakers overhauled the Opportunity Scholarship program to allow any family to apply this year for a private school voucher. The result is a more than 500% increase in applications this year over the 11,617 applications that were received in February 2023.
Demand remained high from the start of the application period on Feb. 1 to its end on Friday evening. The N.C. State Education Assistance Authority said the number of applications exceeds the $293.5 million in state funding currently available for vouchers.
“We anticipated an incredible surge in applications for the Opportunity Scholarship Program based on what we heard from parents, families, and school communities since the eligibility expansion was passed by the state legislature last year,” Mike Long, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, said in an email Tuesday.
State Treasurer comments on school vouchers
March 1, 2024
State of North Carolina Treasurer and Republican candidate for governor, Dale Folwell says time will tell on how the statewide Opportunity Scholarship Program will affect funding for public schools.
“In your life, you can’t manage what you can’t measure, and I think that applies to this issue,” Folwell said. He is waiting to see data that shows just how school vouchers will impact public school systems statewide. While supporters praise the newly expanded Opportunity Scholarship, critics say it could have devastating effects on public school systems, especially rural ones like Beaufort County.
“Anything that is getting a taxpayer dollar needs to be held to the same level of transparency, and same level of accountability,” Folwell said.
What's at stake for education in the NC superintendent of public instruction race?
February 29, 2024
Two Republicans and three Democrats are running for North Carolina superintendent — a role overseeing the state’s public education system.
According to Dani Parker Moore, the director of the Schools, Education and Society minor at Wake Forest University, it’s a race to watch.
“We're in a perfect storm of thinking about public education," she says. "A new governor, new superintendent, parents' rights advocates bills, the expansion of vouchers to go to private schools, and our current governor has sounded the alarm that public education is under fire."
So what exactly is the state superintendent’s role?
Thousands of families seek school vouchers in North Carolina as program expands
February 22, 2024
The deadline is approaching for families to apply for the newly-expanded Opportunity Scholarship program in North Carolina.
It provides thousands of dollars to students to attend private schools in the state. Supporters tout the expansion as a victory for parent choice when it comes to education. Opponents believe it has the potential to harm public schools.
The program was initially intended for low-income families, but last year, the North Carolina General Assembly made all school-age students eligible for scholarships or vouchers beginning in the fall of 2024.
So far at least 51,000 families have applied ahead of a March 1 deadline, which is far more than the 32,341 students already in the program.
The money is available on a sliding scale based on income from $7,468 for families with lower incomes to $3,360 for families with higher incomes. That money is then directly paid to the schools.
Demand for Opportunity Scholarships sets record in first week
February 6, 2024
More than 32,000 new applications for the Opportunity Scholarship Program came in during the first week of priority enrollment, setting a new record in demand for the program and tripling the number of applications submitted in February 2023.
The numbers were first reported by the school-choice advocacy organization Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina (PEFNC), and they are based on data from the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority, the state agency that administers the program.
“I am thrilled and yet not at all surprised by the overwhelming enthusiasm from new applicant families and students,” said PEFNC president Mike Long in a statement. “Demand for the Opportunity Scholarship Program continues to rise, and the expansion of the scholarship now means more families across our state will be empowered by parental school choice.”
With new rules, record number of NC families applying for private school vouchers
February 5, 2024
North Carolina families are applying at a record-setting pace for state funding to help them pay for the cost of attending a K-12 private school.
The application period opened Thursday under new rules that allow any North Carolina family to apply for a private school voucher. As of Monday afternoon, there have been 31,603 complete Opportunity Scholarship applications, according to Kathy Hastings, a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.
The applications received during the first five days this year is well above the 11,617 completed applications that the NCSEAA received in all of February 2023. It’s also nearly as many as the 32,341 students who are receiving an Opportunity Scholarship this school year.