Opinion
2 studies could put NC students at center of public education
Taken together, the studies ask whether NC can organize public education more transparently around students rather than funding categories and attendance lines.
News
New NC budget includes money for multiple studies
Lawmakers are using the new state budget to explore possible changes to fireworks regulation, education, health care, firefighter safety, and the state’s motorsports industry.
News
Education leaders highlight open enrollment for NC public schools
North Carolina ranks last in the United States for public school open enrollment despite majority support in recent polling. This week, several educators and John Locke Foundation staff presented in downtown Raleigh on open enrollment initiatives in the state. Open enrollment is a school choice policy that allows families to apply for their students to...
News
NC Senate revives open-enrollment study
A North Carolina Senate committee advanced Sen. Michael Lee's sweeping K-12 bill after amending it to study open enrollment. The same amendment also mandates weekly "released time" for off-campus religious instruction.
Opinion
Expand choice among public schools
For all the satisfied smiles among school-choice supporters, and the gnashing of teeth among its opponents, North Carolina is not one of the top-ranked states for educational freedom. That’s how the American Legislative Exchange Council sees it, anyway. Its latest Index of State Education Freedom, published in January, gave the Tar Heel State a B+....
January 2026 — North Carolinians want to choose their public school
RALEIGH — This week marks the 16th annual National School Choice Week. Every year, in recognition of National School Choice Week, the Carolina Journal Poll surveys likely North Carolina voters on matters of education. In this year’s poll, voters continued to show strong support for school choice programs, such as open enrollment, the Opportunity Scholarship...
Opinion
Let parents choose their public schools
Having expanded its Opportunity Scholarship program and strengthened its charter-school laws, North Carolina got a solid “B” in the latest American Legislative Exchange Council ranking of educational freedom. About a quarter of our students attend chartered public schools, private schools, or home schools. So, why weren’t we one of the eight states earning “A” grades?...
Opinion
People of means have always had school choice
We've always had educational choice for those of means. All the school-choice movement is trying to do is provide those same choices to those who haven't traditionally had them.
Opinion
NC can honor Brown v. Board legacy by ending exclusionary school district lines
Friday marked 70 years since the US Supreme Court declared that government-enforced separate public schools for students of different races was unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Yet our public school enrollment boundaries today are often a near-mirror of the redlined housing maps going back to the 1930s and 1940s —...
Opinion
NC isn’t done yet when it comes to school choice
This week, I was talking with a radio host based in Charlotte, and she asked me how North Carolina stacks up when it comes to school choice. My answer: the state has a lot of school choice strengths, but some unusual weaknesses. First, the good news. There are hundreds of public charter and public magnet...
Opinion
A Worthwhile Option for Progress in Public Education
Open enrollment has attracted bipartisan support in New Jersey and little notice in North Carolina.
Opinion
A Worthwhile Option for Progress in Public Education
Open enrollment has attracted bipartisan support in New Jersey and little notice in North Carolina.
