RALEIGH — Families on waitlists for the expanded Opportunity Scholarship program descended on Halifax Mall on July 31 demanding lawmakers “Keep Your Promise” of fully funding all tiers of the program.
Families at the rally held up signs that read, “#KeepYourPromise” and “Clear the list.”
In September 2023, the General Assembly expanded the Opportunity Scholarship program (OSP) to allow all families in the state to apply.
A deluge of nearly 72,000 new applicants applied for the awards, but the money allotted didn’t meet the demand. Some 55,000 students await action as the legislature adjourned its short session without passing additional funding.
The event was organized by Rachel Brady, a Wake County mother with children waiting for their grant money to come through.
“What is happening right now, it’s a stalemate. We need them to come together and reach an agreement,” Brady said. “They’re on our side; we’re all on the same team. We’re fighting the same battle.
“We all believe school choice is good for North Carolina and for our families and for our children, it’s time now to take action. Fifty-five thousand families are waiting in the wings for an answer and they have been stalling, and it’s time to put aside bickering and get this done.”
Brady also noted the amount of funding needed to clear the waitlist was just under .08% of the state budget.
In Fiscal Year 2021-22, the state allocated a total of $152.1 million for OSP, the Education Student Accounts Program and the Disabilities Grant. The state’s overall K-12 education spending that year was more than $16.7 billion, with those three programs accounting for 0.9% of total spending.
“One of our core values is affordable access, and the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship is key to fulfilling that promise to families in our community,” Jason Phibbs, who leads Heritage Classical Academy in Stanly County, told the crowd.
“House Republicans’ failure to meet their commitment of universal school choice has left a $400 million funding gap in the program. Almost 55,000 students are either trapped in failing schools or forced to pay full tuition and put financial strain on private schools like ours due to previously enrolled students backing out.”
Speaker Elizabeth Foskey said the funding bill sitting in the House will help their family’s financial situation as well as the economy.
“Approving this bill will not only help us as parents, our children, but it will also help the growth of our economy both right now and the future, and a better education for our children will do great things if given this opportunity,” Foskey said.
Caroline Cox, another parent with young children attending a private hybrid school, said her family felt “so encouraged and felt so empowered by the courageous folks that wrote this bill and were willing to step up for parents.”
“We can be a leader in North Carolina and education freedom, and it could change everything for our kids. Here we are all for the next generation,” Cox said. “We want to see them succeed.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) met with the rally-goers after the event. The chamber leaders received letters signed by families on the waitlist, but neither lawmaker seemed to commit to a specific date to pass the funding.
The Senate passed House Bill 823 (Senate Bill 406) on May 2, but the bill stalled in the House Rules, Operations and Calendar Committee. The bill contains $463.5 million over the next two years to clear the waitlist.
The House added OSP funding to its budget adjustments proposal, which remained unpassed after discussions with the Senate broke down.
OSP supplies awards from $3,000 to $7,000 for families to use at the private school of their choice. A tiered system based on household income and the number of family members in that household is used to give the awards. There are four tiers, with lower-income families in Tier 1 and returning grant recipients receiving priority.
When OSP opened up applications in February 2024, a record 72,000 families applied. In March, all Tier 1 families had received an award, but only part of Tier 2 got a scholarship, and Tiers 3 and 4 received no awards due to insufficient funding. Around 55,000 families were then put on a waitlist as lawmakers pledged to rectify the situation.
North Carolina Education Assistance Authority, which oversees OSP, shared mid-May data with North State Journal that showed total applications stood at 71,956.
School choice has seen an explosion in North Carolina following the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the 2023-24 school year, 881 private schools enrolled 131,230 students, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year. Private school enrollment has jumped around 24% between the current year and the 2019-20 pandemic school year closures.
Homeschooling has also seen strong enrollment increases since the pandemic, with an estimated 157,642 students during the 2023-24 school year. Data from the Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) for the 2020-21 school year showed 19,294 new homeschools established, a nearly 104% jump over the 9,481 new homeschools in 2019-20.
Public Charter Schools enrollment has also continued to rise, with 145,087 students enrolled across 201 schools during the 2023-24 school year. That figure represents 10% of public school enrollment that year. Additionally, a total of 85,551 students were on waitlists spanning 169 schools.
Meanwhile, public school enrollment has declined since the pandemic, according to the Department of Public Instruction’s Average Daily Membership (ADM) data. During the 2022-23 school year, ADM stood at 1,366,507. The ADM for the 2019-20 year was 1,409,280; representing just over a 3% decline.
