Many eligible North Carolina school voucher applicants won’t get awards
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Many eligible North Carolina school voucher applicants won’t get awards

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — A massive spike in applications to North Carolina’s school voucher program means most higher-income families won’t receive financial help for the coming year even though the General Assembly did away with income caps on the program. There simply isn’t enough money to accommodate a six-fold increase to 72,000 new applicants this year, all seeking subsidies to send their children to private K-12 schools through the Opportunity Scholarship program, according to reporting by the The News & Observer of Raleigh and WRAL-TV. The authority said it awarded new vouchers for the maximum amount of $7,468 per child to over 13,500 applicants from the lowest-income tier, according to the media reports. The current state budget envisions transferring more public money to scholarship funds over the next decade, reaching over $500 million annually by fall 2031.

School Income Applicants Voucher Program  school  income  applicants  carolina  money  north  eligible  authority  awards  families  voucher  program  wont  scholarships  tier

History of this topic

North Carolina GOP leaders reach spending deal to clear private school voucher waitlist
3 months, 2 weeks ago

North Carolina GOP leaders reach spending deal to clear private school voucher waitlist

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s Republican House and Senate leaders said Friday that they have agreed with each other on a supplemental spending proposal that includes hundreds of millions of dollars to eliminate the state’s waitlist for private school vouchers. The proposal sets aside an additional $463 million for this school year and next for the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program …

Families rally to urge North Carolina lawmakers to fully fund private-school vouchers
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Families rally to urge North Carolina lawmakers to fully fund private-school vouchers

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — Dozens of North Carolina parents held a rally on Wednesday to urge Republican legislators to fully fund scholarships for children to attend private and religious schools after lawmakers failed to work out an agreement earlier this year to meet the program’s soaring demand. Senate leader Phil Berger also met with the advocates and expressed his support but …

North Carolina Senate OKs $500 million for private school vouchers, student accounts
7 months, 3 weeks ago

North Carolina Senate OKs $500 million for private school vouchers, student accounts

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Senate Republicans pushed legislation through their chamber Thursday to set aside roughly $500 million more for now for programs that provide taxpayer money to help K-12 students attend private schools and eliminate their waiting lists. During Thursday’s hour-long floor debate on the issue, Senate Democrats argued it was unfair for the wealthiest families to receive …

North Carolina Republicans seek hundreds of millions of dollars more for school vouchers
7 months, 3 weeks ago

North Carolina Republicans seek hundreds of millions of dollars more for school vouchers

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — Addressing a sharp increase in private-school grant applications, North Carolina Republicans advanced legislation on Wednesday to spend hundreds of millions of dollars now to eliminate a large waiting list this fall for Opportunity Scholarships and to permanently meet expected higher demand. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted for legislation that would spend another $248 million in the coming …

South Carolina House votes to expand voucher program. It’s fate in Senate is less clear
9 months ago

South Carolina House votes to expand voucher program. It’s fate in Senate is less clear

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republicans in the South Carolina House gave key approval Wednesday to a bill expanding a program allowing parents to spend taxpayer money on private and home-school education even as a pilot plan is just starting and the state’s highest court is considering whether it is legal. “We can support our public school and our public school teachers, …

Large private school voucher expansion voted for by both North Carolina legislative chambers
1 year, 7 months ago

Large private school voucher expansion voted for by both North Carolina legislative chambers

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — Families at any income level — not just the poor and the middle class — could receive North Carolina taxpayer funds for their children to attend K-12 private schools under legislation getting formal support Wednesday with votes in both chambers. Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat opposed to the program, said eliminating the income standards …

N. Carolina GOP seeks big private school voucher expansion
1 year, 7 months ago

N. Carolina GOP seeks big private school voucher expansion

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — Public money for private school tuition would be available to all of North Carolina’s K-12 students regardless of income under Republican-backed legislation that began advancing in the General Assembly on Wednesday. In a tweet last week, Cooper called the expansion proposal “worse than awful” for offering “vouchers that can be used by billionaires to send their kids …

NC lawsuit over private school scholarship program dismissed
1 year, 8 months ago

NC lawsuit over private school scholarship program dismissed

Associated Press  

RALEIGH, N.C. — A legal challenge filed nearly three years ago to North Carolina’s taxpayer-funded scholarship program for K-12 children to attend private schools was dismissed Wednesday by the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. The dismissal came six months after the state Court of Appeals ruled that the case had to be heard by a panel of three trial court judges, rather than …

South Carolina Senate backs expanding school voucher program
1 year, 10 months ago

South Carolina Senate backs expanding school voucher program

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina senators on Wednesday approved a scholarship accounts program that would vastly expand eligibility for private school tuition vouchers -- making them available to middle-class families rather than just those who qualify for Medicaid. Republican Sen. Wes Climer, of York, defended the amendment as extending the “extraordinary amount of opportunity” to “dual income, working class families.” …

Discover Related