NC Senate Overrides Vetoes, Pumps Millions into School Choice Expansion

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Senate passed House Bill 10 on Thursday, allocating $248 million in nonrecurring funds to eliminate the Opportunity Scholarship waitlist for the current school year and $215.5 million recurring for awards in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The bill also includes $24.7 million recurring to clear the ESA+ waitlist for children with disabilities, alongside $95 million for K-12 enrollment growth and $64 million for community colleges. Republicans, led by Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), overrode five vetoes from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein this session, marking the 25th such override in the biennium and advancing school choice despite opposition.

The legislation builds on North Carolina's rapid expansion of voucher programs, with the Opportunity Scholarship serving over 106,000 students this year through the NC State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA). Awards vary by income tier: for a family of four in 2025-26, households earning up to $59,478 receive up to $7,686 per child, while those above $267,651 get up to $3,458. Stein's proposed budget would phase out the program, potentially displacing 60,000 students back to public schools, a plan he called a 'wind down' to prioritize public education funding.

Separately, the legislature voted in late July to enroll North Carolina in a new federal school choice tax credit via House Bill 87, the Educational Choice for Children Act, offering up to $1,700 annual credits for donations to scholarship organizations — though Stein vetoed it on Aug. 6, citing conflicts with public school cuts. Scholarship groups must prioritize returning students and siblings, target families under 300% of area median income (over $300,000 in high-cost areas), and spend 90% of funds on K-12 scholarships. Federal estimates peg the program's cost at $3-4 billion yearly, with no cap, raising concerns over revenue impacts.

Supporters, including congressional backers like Sens. Thom Tillis and Reps. Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry, argue the initiatives save taxpayer money without new burdens, drawing from models like Arizona's. Critics, including Stein's office, highlight the $4 billion diverted over a decade to unregulated private schools since 2023's income-cap elimination. With funding set to reach $520 million by 2032 for universal education savings accounts, North Carolina's programs rank second nationally after Florida.