Bill would let more NC families get taxpayer funding to attend private schools
Some North Carolina Republican lawmakers want to expand who can get vouchers to attend private schools and how much taxpayer funding they can receive to cover tuition costs.
The House Education Committee on Tuesday backed legislation that makes several revisions to the state’s three voucher programs, including raising the $4,200 per year award in the Opportunity Scholarship program.
House Bill 32 would also expand who could receive a voucher and give funding priority this year to families who left public schools to attend private schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Private schools have been more likely than public schools to be open for in-person instruction this school year.
“This provides an equitable situation where low-wealth income students are provided opportunities that the more affluent citizens can have where they’re not locked into a failing school situation,” said Rep. Dean Arp, a Union County Republican, and one of the bill’s primary sponsors.
But Democratic members raised concerns Tuesday that the legislation would take away money needed to educate students in the public schools. An effort to amend the bill to require scholarship recipients to be tested to assess the program’s effectiveness was rejected.
“The state is spending millions of dollars on these scholarships and on educating these children,” said Rep. Rachel Hunt, a Mecklenburg County Democrat who introduced the amendment. “We all have an interest in knowing whether they have achieved what they need to learn in these schools.”
Arp said the amendment was not needed.
Voucher program controversial
The Opportunity Scholarship program has been controversial since it was created in 2014. This year, the program is providing $60.6 million to 15,970 students to attend private schools.
Last year, lawmakers approved changes such as increasing the income eligibility limits so that, for instance, a family of four earning $72,000 a year can qualify. Legislators also lifted the cap on the number of kindergarten and first-grade students who can get vouchers.
Opponents have filed a lawsuit saying the program is unconstitutional, in part because it provides funding to schools that discriminate against students or their families on religious grounds, The News & Observer previously reported.
The new legislation wouldn’t add more money to the voucher programs. But it would make more people eligible at a time when millions go unspent each year.
Voucher amount raised
The $4,200 per student amount hasn’t been increased since the program started. The bill would tie the voucher to the average amount provided by the state per student in public schools.
The bill would set the voucher amount in the 2022-23 school year to 70% of the average per-pupil amount, or currently $4,610. It would increase it the following year to 80% of the per-pupil amount, or currently $5,269.
Other changes include:
▪ Allows eligibility for second-grade students who previously haven’t attended a public school. Critics say they will allow more families who never intended to go to public schools to get a voucher.
▪ Allows eligibility for students whose parents were honorably discharged from the military within the past 18 months.
▪ Merges the Special Education Scholarships for Students with Disabilities and Personal Savings Accounts into a new program.
▪ Allows counties to provide up to $1,000 per child in scholarships for students who are in the voucher programs.
The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Bill would let more NC families get taxpayer funding to attend private schools."
