Most NC Vouchers Going to Students Already in Private School

New data released by the NC Department of Education show that 87% of new vouchers went to students who had never attended public school.

RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES, June 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On June 4, staff at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction presented their report on Opportunity Scholarship voucher use for 2024-25 to the State Board of Education.

According to data they shared from the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (administrators of the Opportunity Scholarship voucher program), only 6,710 of the 80,325 students who received taxpayer funded private school tuition vouchers this school year had been enrolled in a North Carolina public school last year.

In other words, 92% of ALL tuition vouchers used in 2024-25 went to students who were already enrolled in private school, were newcomers to the state, or were just starting school.

However, about 27K of the total 80K voucher recipients are returning students who also received a voucher last year. A portion of those students may have transferred out of public school the prior year. But a look at only new voucher recipients for 2024-25 shows that 87% never attended a North Carolina public school.

These data are similar to findings in other states where voucher access has become universal. In New Hampshire, 89% of new voucher recipients were already in private school. In Wisconsin, 77% (1) were already in private school. In Arizona, 80% (2) had never attended public school.

Reporting on the $57 million in tuition payments to private schools in Wake County this year highlighted that for some private school families, the vouchers provide a welcome boost to their disposable income. Because the state is now taking over a sizable chunk of their private school tuition payment, they can afford to pay for more extracurricular activities for their children and even “take more family vacations.”

Budget negotiations are happening in North Carolina now. Lawmakers may decide to shift some of the $731 million currently appropriated for vouchers out of the Opportunity Scholarship Fund and into K-12 education instead. This move would align with the state’s constitutional requirement to fund one “general and uniform system of free public schools.” (3)

Lies, damn lies, and school voucher statistics: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/05/13/lies-damn-lies-and-school-voucher-statistics/
Applications for school vouchers at nearly 22,000, Education Department says: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2022/10/07/arizona-school-vouchers-nearly-22-500-applications-pour-so-far/8208504001/
North Carolina State Constitution, Article IX, Section 2: https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/Constitution/Article9

Heather Koons
Public Schools First NC
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