• The decision by lawmakers to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of House Bill 10 provided funding to meet increased demand for the Opportunity Scholarship Program
  • Many media outlets have filled airwaves with stories about the expected harmful impacts of expanding the program
  • These narratives — which have long been discredited — obscure the many personal, economic, social, and academic benefits that scholarships can bring to families, students, and taxpayers

Toward the end of last month the lawmakers in the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of House Bill (HB) 10. Among other things, this legislation provides funding to meet the increased demand for Opportunity Scholarships. As of December 4, North Carolina has awarded an additional 54,000 scholarships to North Carolina families.

Overriding the governor’s veto was a significant legislative development with many benefits. It was a great day for education in North Carolina. Here are ten reasons why:

  1. The new funding will empower all North Carolina parents to send their child to a school that best fits their unique academic, social, and emotional needs.
  2. The additional funding will provide new opportunities for children, who may not have had an opportunity to attend a better school.
  3. Programs like the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) save taxpayers money. In 2022–23 North Carolina spent about $7,596 per public school student. The average award for the Opportunity Scholarship in 2022–23 was $5,266. This means that, on average, OSP students saved taxpayers about $2,330 per student. Multiplied by thousands of students, that’s millions of dollars in savings.
  4. The expansion of the OSP helps public schools become more accountable and improve educational outcomes. Why? Schools know that parents can vote with their feet. As such, schools must be responsive to the type of instruction that parents value — which is the highest and most important form of accountability.
  5. Opportunity Scholarships can help ease conflicts over what schools teach and how children are to be educated. School choice recognizes that there are legitimate differences of opinion over what constitutes the best education and that parents have different values and priorities. A system of parental choice allows parents to choose the schools that best align with their values and their child’s needs.
  6. Expanding the Opportunity Scholarship Program will produce beneficial impacts for society. School choice leads to higher graduation rates, saves taxpayer dollars, results in better test scores, and leads to decreased segregation.
  7. When schools compete, everyone wins. Competition is a driving force for improvement in any field, including education. Schools that must compete for students tend to become better schools because they must be student-focused and create better and more efficient ways to deliver educational services.
  8. Opportunity Scholarships can provide many low- and moderate-income families with a lifeline to escape failing or underperforming schools. Parental choice offers alternatives to needy families when local schools do not.
  9. Minority students and students from lower-income families face a shortage of educational opportunities that contribute to the achievement gap. By providing access to quality educational opportunities, parental choice can help students overcome obstacles and narrow the academic gaps between different races and groups.
  10. North Carolinians support school choice and choice programs. A high percentage of respondents to the NC School Choice Poll have consistently identified parents as the best suited to determine where a child should attend school. In 2024, that percentage was 77 percent. In addition, nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) supported the Opportunity Scholarship Program. A full 66 percent of respondents said they support charter schools.

Anyone who cares about providing children with a good education should be happy about the actions the legislature took last month. Remember, parental choice is about parents deciding what school is best for their child and empowering them to access the right environment where their child can flourish. The Opportunity Scholarship Program is an instrument that will help accomplish those goals for families and students while improving our schools and enriching society. And that’s something we all should be grateful for.