(The Center Square) – Nearly 93% of nearly 1.7 million schoolchildren in North Carolina are eligible for second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s signature K-12 initiative.
The Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, as analyzed by Patrick Graff at the American Federation for Children and released Tuesday, became an option for North Carolina in June when the General Assembly overturned a veto by first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of legislation to opt into the program. North Carolina became the 31st state to get in, with federal tax credits of up to $1,700 each able to start in January.
The Educational Choice for Children Act, known also as House Bill 87, on June 3 got a 30-19 veto override from the Senate. On May 20, the House of Representatives sent it to the upper chamber 73-46 with all 71 Republicans and former Democrats now independent Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed of Mecklenburg County in support.
The analysis – intentional to say it is who could, not who would, get a scholarship – includes about 153,000 homeschooled students. Last summer on July Fourth, Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act inclusive of the federal school choice option.
Rep. Brian Biggs, R-Randolph, last summer told colleagues on the floor of the House that the cost to North Carolina is zero.
“These are all federal dollars,” he said.
“Governor Stein and Democrats tried to stand in the way of giving families more control over their children’s education, but Republicans, yet again, stood firmly on the side of educational freedom,” said Republican House Speaker Destin Hall of Caldwell County. “This vote was about trusting parents and giving students more choices, because when our kids succeed, North Carolina succeeds.”
By most every measure, Democrats inclusive of Stein and predecessor Roy Cooper – now a U.S. Senate candidate – have opposed school choice. For parents, it’s overwhelmingly wanted.
The state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program enables all families in the state to apply for taxpayer-funded scholarships. It’s a sliding scale with prioritization to lowest family income. The awards range from $3,500 to $7,700 and can be used for private schools.
Universal school choice – North Carolina became the 10th state to implement, and first without a state government Republican trifecta – was enacted Oct. 3, 2023, as part of the 2023 Appropriations Act. Also known as the state budget, it became law after a 10-day period without Cooper signing it. The biennial spending plan was also tied to expansion of Medicaid.
The appropriation of $463 million to the Opportunity Scholarship program became law Nov. 20, 2024, when the General Assembly rejected Cooper’s gubernatorial veto. That wiped out a school choice waiting list of about 55,000.
North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction serves an estimated 1.5 million schoolchildren from the 11.2 million population. Spending on education regularly leads the largest share of state budgets.
Roughly 90,000 educators work in the state’s public schools.
While charter schools are public schools in the state, they too are criticized and not wanted by the majority of Democrats. Charter schools are subject to the same academic and testing requirements as traditional public schools; they’re exempt from some administrative regulations in hiring, budgeting and curriculum design.
