North Carolina

Legislature Status:

Adjourned.

Existing Programs:

Tax Credits for Children With Disabilities (2011)
Parents of students with disabilities can claim tax credits for educational expenses, including private school tuition. Parents can receive up to $6,000 per child.

Opportunity Scholarships (2013)
Gives vouchers of up to $4,2000 to low-income children for attending private school. The program will launch next year.

Special Education Scholarship Grants for Children with Disabilities (2013)
Gives vouchers of up to $6,000 per school year to students with disabilities for attending private school. The program will launch next year.

Pending Legislation:

None.

Summary:

After the House stopped the passage of school voucher legislation in 2012, North Carolina enacted two new programs in 2013 as part of a broader rightward shift that received a lot of media attention. The first was an Opportunity Scholarship Program, which was enacted as part of the state budget. The second was HB 269, also known as the Special Education Scholarship Grants for Children with Disabilities, which was enacted towards the very end of the session.

Moral Mondays, the rallies organized by the NAACP in protest of the conservative legislation enacted this past session, attracted many educators and activists who stood against school privatization. The weekly events are still going strong even after the adjournment of the legislature.

Get more information on ALEC education bills introduced in North Carolina in 2013:
Parental Choice Scholarship Program Act (HB 944)
Parental Rights Amendment (H 711)
The 140 Credit Hour Act (HB 255)
The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act (H 960)

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