There are a great many “investments” Gov. Roy Cooper suggests the North Carolina General Assembly should make in their short session, according to his Recommended Budget Adjustments for the 2024-25 fiscal year — but NCInnovation (NCI) is not among them. In fact, Cooper’s budget proposal, ‘Securing North Carolina’s Future,’ eliminates the $250 million appropriation to...
An anti-school choice Democratic state senator has sent a letter to at least 16 private schools threatening a misdemeanor charge if they don’t comply with an information request. Sen. Michael Garrett, D-Guilford, sent a letter dated April 15 to the schools that receive funds for Opportunity Scholarships, the state’s voucher program that makes a private...
Rep. Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg, has been appointed as chair of the North Carolina House Education Appropriations Committee for the short session, gaveling in later this week. Tasked with setting appropriations for education, the Committee oversees the largest portion of the state budget. She will replace former committee chair Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford, who resigned from...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Sixteen private schools in Cumberland and Durham counties are appealing a series of trial court rulings in a lawsuit dismissed earlier this year challenging North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program. One ruling involves the schools’ attempt to collect more than $25,000 in sanctions against scholarship critics.
Sixteen private schools targeted for documents and depositions in a recently dismissed lawsuit over Opportunity Scholarships are seeking sanctions against the plaintiffs. In a motion filed May 1 in Wake County Superior Court, the schools' attorney asked for sanctions to cover fees and costs of more than $25,000.
The leader of North Carolina’s branch of a national teachers union is dropping her lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program. The news arrives as state legislators debate expanding funding for scholarships in the next state budget.
Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled what he called his “First in Opportunity” budget at a press conference Wednesday, proposing to spend $32.95 billion in the first year of the biennium and $34.23 billion in the second year. The budget keeps $7 billion in reserve and doesn’t raise taxes, but halts some planned tax cuts.
