North Carolina enhances school choice via vouchers in Pre-K programs for families to avail themselves of the many private and public Pre-K options across the state. North Carolina also offers various state grants and scholarships that individuals can use at private colleges and universities. The grants and scholarships function essentially as a voucher to access private education.
Nevertheless, providing vouchers to North Carolina’s K–12 students through the Opportunity Scholarship Program has drawn vociferous opposition from teachers unions, media, and even Gov. Roy Cooper. No matter how many times their claims are rebutted, the opponents continue to recycle them in the hopes that repetition will make them seem true. Fortunately for parents and students, the North Carolina General Assembly has not been swayed from providing them more educational options.
Recently, 10 outlandish claims made on social media sites about the Opportunity Scholarship Program were promulgated to legislators. This page addresses those claims, listed below. Read the whole piece, or click the links below to jump to the discussion of a particular claim:
- Does the Opportunity Scholarship Program take money from public schools?
- Does the Opportunity Scholarship Program “fund segregation”?
- Does the Opportunity Scholarship Program pay wealthy families for keeping their kids in private schools?
- Does the Opportunity Scholarship Program take money from your local school system?
- Does the Opportunity Scholarship Program actually not help poor students get a better education?
- Does the Opportunity Scholarship Program give a “tax-free loan” to struggling private schools?
- Is the Opportunity Scholarship Program really a “tax break for the rich”?
- Does North Carolina have “the least requirements of any state” for schools enrolling Opportunity Scholarship recipients?
- Will the Opportunity Scholarship Program leave “many kids” behind?
- Will the Opportunity Scholarship Program cause Eastern North Carolina to “falter”?
Claim 1: The Opportunity Scholarship Program takes money from public schools
The implication is that the Opportunity Scholarship Program is taking precious dollars away from public schools. A little perspective is in order. In 2014, the first year of the Opportunity Scholarship Program, the average per-pupil expenditure (state, federal, and local expenditures) for public school students in North Carolina was $8,477. In 2022 (the latest year data are available) the same figure had risen to $12,345. If you focus only on state per-pupil support for public school students, they grew from $5,390 to $7,426 during that time.
The amount spent on Opportunity Scholarships is a drop in the bucket compared with the amount spent overall on the public school system. In 2021–22, state spending on traditional K–12 public schools (not including federal or local dollars) was over $10 billion ($10,082,057,788). The value of scholarships awarded in 2021-22 was $134,639,138. On a percentage basis, funds for the Opportunity Scholarship comprise 1.3 percent of all state expenditures for public schools. (Author’s calculations based on official state data.)
Opponents say the Opportunity Scholarship Program is taking dollars from the public schools. Remember, last year’s budget approved by the General Assembly included a provision requiring the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority to report annually to the General Assembly on the financial impact of the Opportunity Scholarship Program on local public schools. The legislation also included language declaring the General Assembly’s intention “to reinvest in the public schools any savings realized by the state” when a student accepts an Opportunity Scholarship award that is less than 100 percent of the average state per-pupil allocation.
Claim 2: The Opportunity Scholarship Program “funds segregation”
Voucher opponents imply private schools are not about school choice but are actually about discrimination. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For starters, it’s important to note that private schools must comply with the same health, safety, and nondiscrimination statutes that public schools must meet.
Rather than fuel segregation, school choice helps fight it. In a 2020 study for the Hoover Education Success Initiative, Matthew M. Chingos and Tomas E. Monarrez explored compelling reasons why we should question the view that choice fosters segregation. The authors called for a more nuanced methodology to measure segregation. School attendance boundaries in most places already segregate students. Choice options for parents in these areas may actually work against the many forces that tend toward segregating students. Opponents of school choice too quickly dismiss the view that school choice can be a force for breaking down many socioeconomic barriers that have prevented many students from accessing schools that work best for them.
Those who oppose school choice say private schools discriminate, unlike public schools. Choice opponents say public schools are free and open to all. That’s not necessarily the case. Public schools discriminate against those who are not zoned to attend a particular school. A school may be public, and you may be admitted, but only if you live in a certain area. Other public schools such as magnet or charter schools may also turn away students who do not meet the admissions criteria.
Choice opponents say school choice unjustly discriminates against LGBT students. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and applies to private schools that receive federal funds. However, private schools run by religious organizations are exempt “to the extent that application of Title IX would be inconsistent with the religious tenets of the organization.” Knowing the school’s beliefs, one wonders why parents who hold contrary views would seek their children to be a part of such institutions.
Claim 3: The Opportunity Scholarship Program pays wealthy families to keep their kids in private schools
A voucher is not a dollar-for-dollar transition. Currently, North Carolina spends about $7,426 in state dollars for every K–12 student in the traditional public school system. Yes, some students who participate in the Opportunity Scholarship Program will receive an award equal or nearly equal to the state per-pupil funding from the previous year. The vouchers that students from moderate- and higher-income households will receive, however, will be limited to 90 percent down to 45 percent of the state per-pupil expenditure, depending upon their household income levels.
Many of the students who will use the Opportunity Scholarship Program will be coming from public schools, so the Opportunity Scholarship Program will likely produce cost savings as well.
Claim 4: The Opportunity Scholarship Program takes money from your local school system
The new Opportunity Scholarship Program guidelines make all students eligible to apply. Eligibility in fact is limited by the size of the appropriation set aside for scholarships. In 2024–25, $293.5 million is set aside for scholarships. Administrative costs (2.5 percent) are deducted, resulting in $286,167,500 available for scholarships. In 2021–22, the average scholarship award was $5,266. Hence, based on the current budget, North Carolina could award approximately 54,341 scholarships. In 2023–24, North Carolina awarded 32,341 scholarships. Therefore, under the current conditions North Carolina can expect to add an additional 18,000 to 22,000 awards — the final number of awards will be based on the total number of applicants and household income and is expected to be far less than the actual number of applicants.
Claim 5: The Opportunity Scholarship Program actually won’t help poor students get a better education
The overwhelming number of voucher recipients attend small parochial schools whose tuition is in the $5,000 to $8,000 range. In most cases, the voucher covers the majority of tuition costs at small parochial schools.
Claim 6: The Opportunity Scholarship Program gives a “tax-free loan” to struggling private schools
Most voucher schools are well-run private schools. The John Locke Foundation supports full financial transparency in all schools. It also supports penalties for any schools that have violated laws or abused the public trust — be they public or private schools.
Claim 7: The Opportunity Scholarship Program is really a “tax break for the rich”
The implication here is that there is an injustice in extending eligibility for the Opportunity Scholarship to higher-income households. If you look at taxes paid, that’s a difficult argument to make. Individuals who make over $100,000 annually account for less than a quarter (23.4 percent) of all taxpayers but provide almost three-quarters (74.3 percent) of all tax revenue. When you consider the full picture, the argument against providing a small voucher is far from compelling.
It’s a mistake to assume that all families who send their children to private schools are those with “beach houses and private jets who live a life of opulence.” There are different types of private schools. Catholic schools generally seem to be the least expensive, followed by Christian schools, which can be more expensive, and then elite private schools whose tuition can be $25,000 per year or more. In 2022–23, the average household income of Opportunity Scholarship program recipients was $44,299. That’s hardly enough to buy beach houses and private jets. While the General Assembly made all North Carolinians eligible for a scholarship, limited funding and the priority for lower-income households make it unlikely the program will attract high-income households this year.
Claim 8: North Carolina has “the least requirements of any state” for schools enrolling Opportunity Scholarship recipients
Schools that receive Opportunity Scholarship vouchers in North Carolina must meet several requirements. Like other private schools, they must comply with the same health, safety, and nondiscrimination statutes that public schools must meet.
Schools that enroll Opportunity Scholarship Program recipients must also meet the academic and financial requirements laid out in North Carolina General Statutes § 115C-562.5. For example, schools are required to provide parents/guardians with an annual written explanation of their student’s academic progress, including the student’s scores on standardized achievement tests. Participating schools are required to administer a nationally standardized test — or an equivalent test — annually in specific subject areas for grades K–8 and also grades 9–12. Test results must be submitted to the state annually. Schools are also required to report the graduation rates of Opportunity Scholarship students.
In addition, schools that enroll more than 25 Opportunity Scholarship students must report the aggregate standardized test score performance of Opportunity Scholarship students. On the financial side, schools that enroll 70 or more Opportunity Scholarship students must contract with a certified public accountant for an annual financial review.
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority must report annually to the General Assembly on the financial impact of the Opportunity Scholarship Program on local public schools. Last year’s budget legislation also contained language declaring the General Assembly’s intention “to reinvest in the public schools any savings realized by the state” when a student accepts an Opportunity Scholarship award that is less than 100 percent of the average state per-pupil allocation.
Should private schools have the same testing requirements as public schools? Similar tests imply similar curricula. Private schools often emerge out of a specific set of religious, educational, or social beliefs. As the basic tenets of the school are usually more specific and different from those of most public schools, it makes no sense to have the same curriculum and testing requirements.
Private schools are not required to employ licensed teachers. That doesn’t mean that private schools aren’t concerned about the quality of teachers. Accreditation in different organizations might speak more specifically to these instructional needs.
Claim 9: The Opportunity Scholarship Program will leave “many kids” behind
Parental choice will expand educational opportunities for children. Special-needs students have access to the Education Student Accounts (ESA+) program. In 2023, 3,355 students with special needs received a state-funded account that parents could use to pay for educational and therapeutic expenses, including tuition. The average award for the ESA+ program was $11,230 in 2022-23. ESA+ recipients can also apply for the Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Claim 10. The Opportunity Scholarship Program will cause Eastern North Carolina to “falter”
Towns in Eastern North Carolina have been experiencing a population decline for years. Blaming the decline on the emergence of the Opportunity Scholarship Program would be dishonest. A variety of factors have contributed to Eastern North Carolina’s population decline. People have been predicting the demise of the public schools since the Opportunity Scholarship Program was passed in 2013. The decline in enrollment, however, has been slow and the loss of staff even slower.
Opportunity Scholarships could encourage new schools to form and help revitalize an area socially, culturally, and economically.
This article was recently updated to ensure consistency with other estimations.
