For three years, Carolina Journal has followed the free speech plight of Stanly County resident Steve Cooksey. He’s been engaged in a legal battle with the N.C. Board of Dietetics and Nutrition, which told him he needed a government license to offer online advice about the diet he likes. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson updates us on Cooksey’s recent victory against the overreaching regulatory board and discusses the implications for others. Then we turn to controversy over North Carolina education policy. Lawsuits challenging North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program recently headed to the N.C. Supreme Court. During oral arguments in the case, Institute for Justice senior attorney Dick Komer defended the scholarships, answering a series of pointed questions from Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Hudson. You’ll hear highlights from their exchange. Then attorneys Burton Craige and Noah Huffstetler offered contrasting arguments about the constitutionality of opportunity scholarships, also known as school vouchers. You’ll hear their competing statements for and against this tool to give more educational choices to low-income families. That’s followed by a look at efforts to reform federal fiscal policy. More than 20 years after its founding by a bipartisan group including two U.S. senators, the Concord Coalition continues to push for responsible federal fiscal policy. Sara Imhof, the coalition’s director of education and grass-roots advocacy, discussed the group’s goals during a recent visit to North Carolina. And finally, we look at a new report from a business group that claims to show a strong economic return on investment in transportation projects. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato explains why the report is flawed on its conclusions about the economic impact of such actions.
Diet Blogger Prevails Over N.C. Regulatory Board
Related
Potential moves in the 2024 short session
While it’s not expected to be a major policy-heavy legislative session in the North Carolina General Assembly, key legislative priorities remain in limbo as both chambers push agendas while they still hold a Republican supermajority. The General Assembly’s short session officially begins on April 24 and is scheduled to run through July 31 tentatively. With...
Cooper calls for moratorium on Opportunity Scholarships as demand surges among NC families
Gov. Roy Cooper called for a moratorium on spending on the Opportunity Scholarship Program during a meeting of the State Board of Education on March 7, even as demand for the voucher program more than doubled this year. “Most private schools are not better than our public schools,” said Cooper, a Democrat. “[This] is a...
Demand for Opportunity Scholarships sets record in first week
More than 32,000 new applications for the Opportunity Scholarship Program came in during the first week of priority enrollment, setting a new record in demand for the program and tripling the number of applications submitted in February 2023. The numbers were first reported by the school-choice advocacy organization Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina...
NC Opportunity Scholarship site crashes minutes after applications open
Around 12:15am Thursday morning the website where parents can apply for the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) crashed as people rushed to apply. OSP became universally open to all North Carolina families after the state legislature passed a bill making all income levels eligible on a sliding scale, with families at the lower income levels being...