(The Center Square) – New poll results indicate support for the Opportunity Scholarship Program in North Carolina is better than 6 in 10.
Support for charter schools is the lowest in three years, yet still solidly running at 57.4% to only 32.8% opposed. For the state Board of Education, 2 in 3 say elections, not appointments, should determine the panel.
“North Carolina ranks dead last on open enrollment laws, even as voter support continues to rise,” said Carolina Journal publisher and John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson. “That gap between what North Carolinians want and our state’s education policy should be a wake-up call for lawmakers.”
National School Choice Week started Sunday and runs through Saturday. The survey was conducted Jan. 22-25 with 700 likely general election voters by Harper Polling for the Carolina Journal. The margin of error is +/-3.7%.
In the Educational Freedom Index 2026 published Jan. 21 by the American Legislative Exchange Council, North Carolina was 13th nationally with an overall grade of B-plus. The grades were two B’s for student-center funding programs and charter schools; two C’s for homeschooling and virtual schools; and an F in open enrollment.
Allowing interdistrict and intradistrict, transparency in transfers and a prohibition on charging tuition to transferring students is the key to the F grade. In the poll, 78.8% were in favor of changing how North Carolina does this, and only 12.6% were opposed.
Taxpayers provide more money for education than any other part of the state budget. For fiscal year 2024-25, the figure was $17.9 billion; spending levels are the same for 2025-26 until a new state budget that was due July 1 is passed. First-term Democrat Mo Green is the elected superintendent leading the Department of Public Instruction.
The state has about 1.5 million schoolchildren and 90,000 public school educators.
Satisfaction with K-12 students’ education in local public schools is at 34.9%, and dissatisfaction at 47.1%. Those numbers are trending better than one year ago in January (33.3% satisfied, 55.2% dissatisfied) and two years ago (31% satisfied, 48% dissatisfied).
When considering statewide and not just local, 52.8% are dissatisfied and 29.2% satisfied. The child’s parents or guardians (67.8%) remain “best suited to determine where a child should attend school,” said respondents.
The 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.
The respondents (63.7%) were supportive of the program, up from a year ago in January (60.8%) and relatively steady to two years ago (64%) and three years ago (67.3%).
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. Support for them is 57.4% and opposition is 32.8%, with nearly 10% unsure. A year ago in January, support (59.9%-30.4%) was favored though less than in 2024 (66%-23.6%) and 2023 (68.7%-21.5%).
The state Board of Education’s 13 members include 11 appointments from the governor – only three men since 1900 have won as a Republican – and the state’s lieutenant governor and treasurer. Election of the 13 members is favored by 67.5% of this year’s respondents and opposed by only 20.3%.
Legislation to change it has been submitted.
From a list of choices, 23.8% said they would send their child to a public school. The reasons among the rest for not choosing public schools were academic quality (19.4%); curriculum or educational values (16.6%); preference for private, charter or homeschool (13%); school safety or bullying (11.3%); teacher quality or staffing (8%); lack of extracurricular or enrichment opportunities (2.3%); transportation challenges (0.3%); and 5.4% were unsure.
While the average of combined expenditures from local, state and federal funding is $13,100 per student, 34% thought it was lower than $10,000; 20.4% said between $10,000 and $14,999; and 12.9% thought it exceeded $15,000.
Told the amount, of those sampled, 15.3% said it was appropriate. It was too little for 42.9%, too much for 16.1%, and 25.7% were unsure.
There was little change in what respondents believe are the most challenging issues facing K-12 public education. The shortage of high-quality teachers (19.8%) led as it did a year ago in January, followed by adequate finances (14.5%), academic standards (14.4%), preparing students for the workforce (11.5%), curriculum concerns (10.1%), lack of parental involvement (10%), overcrowded classrooms (8.6%) and school safety (7%).
A year ago, academic standards (15%) were second, followed by curriculum concerns (14.6%) and adequate finances (13.1%). School safety (11.1%) was sixth.
“Voters continue to strongly support school choice in North Carolina,” Bryson said. “While charter support has leveled off from recent highs, backing for private school options is growing again, showing parents remain committed to choice and focused on what works best for their children.”
