North Carolina finds itself in a four-way tie for last place when it comes to having strong open enrollment policies that improve access to traditional public schools.

A new study from the Reason Foundation evaluated each state based on these policies, which “let parents choose a traditional public school other than the one to which their child has been assigned.” States received credit for:

  • Requiring open enrollment between districts statewide
  • Requiring open enrollment within districts statewide
  • Prohibiting districts from charging transfer tuition to families
  • Forbidding districts from discriminating against potential transfer students based on ability or disability
  • Requiring state education agencies to collect and publish key data points annually
  • Requiring school districts to publish open enrollment policies and procedures, as well as seating capacity at both the school and grade level
  • Requiring districts to explain the reasons for rejected transfer requests in writing and providing an avenue for appeal

States then received letter grades based on whether they fulfilled, partially fulfilled, or failed to fulfill these metrics. According to the report, just five states earned an “A” for their open enrollment policies. Seven states received a “B” grade, three saw “Cs,” and two merited “Ds.”  Thirty-three states — including North Carolina — got “Fs.”

Distribution of Letter Grades Among the 50 States for Open Enrollment Policies, 2024

Source: Jude Schwalbach, “Public Schools Without Boundaries 2024”

But it gets worse. Not only did North Carolina tie for dead last with Alaska, Maine, and Maryland, but it failed to score even a single point.

Open Enrollment Scores by State, 2024

 
Source: Jude Schwalbach, “Public Schools Without Boundaries 2024”

Let that sink in. Although North Carolina is one of 13 states that opened its private-school choice program to all K–12 students (and the first to do so without a Republican trifecta), North Carolina is dead last when it comes to open enrollment.

Granted, more than 200 charter schools operate throughout North Carolina. These public schools, which have more flexibility than traditional public schools, are also schools of choice that serve more than 143,000 students.

Additionally, some districts throughout North Carolina, including Pitt County, Granville County, and Union County, have passed their own open enrollment policies to provide options within those districts for students. Yet some of those policies don’t apply to students outside those districts, and some give too much discretion to districts to deny a family’s transfer request, limiting choice for those families.

All told, more than 75 percent of students in North Carolina still attend traditional public schools. Shouldn’t those students be able to choose the option that works best for them, too, even if it’s a different public school?

To give families more options, North Carolina should consider the example of states like Idaho, which in 2023 passed a strong open enrollment law. Idaho’s law established mandatory cross-district and within-district open enrollment policies that better serve families and students throughout the state.