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Carolina Journal is the source for daily news and commentary on state and local government, in digital & print, covering politics and public policy.

Carolina Journal is the source for daily news and commentary on state and local government, in digital & print, covering politics and public policy.

The N.C. Senate has passed its own version of a school-choice expansion bill that would open the state’s three choice programs to even more low- and middle-income households and families of students with special needs. Senate Bill 671 passed largely along party lines in a 29-20 vote on Tuesday, May 4. Sen. Kirk deViere from Cumberland County was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the bill. Cumberland County has the largest number of students on Opportunity Scholarships in the state, followed by Mecklenburg and Wake counties. “School choice shouldn’t be a privilege reserved only for t...

Legislation to expand school choice in North Carolina is on the move in both chambers of the General Assembly, after both the N.C. Senate Education Committee and Rules Committee OK’ed a measure to increase the dollar value of Opportunity Scholarships and open them to more families. Senate Bill 671 passed out of committee with little debate, but the gloves are sure to come off when the bill lands on the Senate floor. “Every parent has more information than the best teacher, the best administrator, the best bureaucrat could ever have as to the needs of a particular child,” said Senate Le...

  Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is David N. Bass. Photo: Maya Reagan / Carolina Journal     A bill to expand the Opportunity Scholarship Program passed the N.C. House, 69-49, on Tuesday, April 13, following a floor debate that focused on accountability.     Created in 2013, Opportunity Scholarships are designed to help families who would otherwise struggle to afford private-school tuition but who want to leave their locally zoned public school.     House Bill 32 would remove the current scholarship cap of $4,200 pe...