By Heather Koons
Public Schools First NC

RALEIGH (June 13, 2025) – On June 4, staff at the 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 if we look at only new voucher recipients for 2024-25, a whopping 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% were already in private school. In Arizona, 80% 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.”

In other words, North Carolina’ voucher program is essentially putting extra money into the pockets of private school families. Lawmakers who continue to vote for voucher funding are prioritizing private school tuition payments for families that have never even given public schools a chance to educate their children. 

Budget negotiations are happening now. Lawmakers could shift some of the $731 million currently appropriated for vouchers out of the Opportunity Scholarship Fund and into K-12 Education where it should be. Our public schools serve ALL students who enter their doors. They deserve to be fully funded by our lawmakers.