By Dr. Lauren Fox

On Nov. 5, voters in three states rejected private school voucher measures on their ballots. A majority (58 percent) of voters in Nebraska chose to repeal a recently passed voucher law. In Colorado, 55 percent voted against a proposed constitutional amendment to “establish a right to school choice.” And in Kentucky, Amendment 2, which would have allowed state dollars to be spent on private education, was defeated by a margin of 65 to 35 percent. 

While across the country, we’ve seen growing momentum around private school voucher expansion by state lawmakers — especially in “red” states, it’s increasingly evident that these policies are unpopular among the general public. This is true in North Carolina as well — 71 percent of North Carolinians think increasing funding for traditional K-12 schools will do more to improve education than vouchers. 

They are unpopular for good reason: 

• Private schools receiving vouchers are funded by taxpayers but lack responsibility — with minimal requirements for teacher credentials, curriculum, or reporting on student performance. 
• Recent research suggests that vouchers are harmful to student achievement. 
• Recent efforts to implement universal voucher programs allow taxpayer dollars to subsidize private education even for the most wealthy families, including those who already send their children to private schools. 
• Private schools receiving taxpayer-funded vouchers often use selective admissions policies that discriminate based on disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or academic achievement. 
• Vouchers redirect taxpayer dollars away from local public schools. 

North Carolina lawmakers in the N.C. General Assembly voted in 2023 to make the state’s Opportunity Scholarship voucher program, originally created in 2013 for low-income children who had previously attended public schools, open to all families regardless of income. North Carolina is now one of 13 states with a “universal” voucher program. The expansion came with a significant increase in state funding allocated for vouchers. 

On Nov. 19, lawmakers are expected to return to Raleigh to attempt to override Governor Cooper’s veto of HB10, which would clear the waitlist for private school vouchers (comprised of higher-income families) and allocate hundreds of millions of additional dollars to the program. However, out of the 15,805 new scholarships offered for the 2024-25 school year, NCSEAA has reported a total increase in scholarships of only 4,594. We are left to wonder: why is the number of dispersed scholarships 10,000 less than expected given the number of new awards offered? And why allocate more funds to “clear the waitlist” when it seems that perhaps demand for the program is inflated in the first place? 

With billions projected to be allocated to private school voucher funding over the next decade in North Carolina in spite of lagging interest and failed policy nationwide, it’s worth noting that support for increased K-12 public school funding is very high. Nearly 75 percent of North Carolinians say funding for our local public schools should be increased. 

Why, we must ask, have our lawmakers been so keen to expand vouchers? We challenge them to instead turn their attention to our local public schools, where nearly 84 percent of our students attend. North Carolina doesn’t provide enough funding for our children to become well rounded, self-sufficient and successful in the workforce and life, as we spend nearly $5,000 less per student than the national average — 48th in the nation. 

It’s time to fund our local public schools, and stop inflating a voucher program that is built on failed and unpopular policy. Rather than taking public taxpayer dollars from already underfunded local public schools and giving them to private and religious schools, let’s ensure that our local public schools can hire more quality teachers, improve choice in classes and trade skills, and modernize schools so that all students have access to a high-quality education.

Fox is the director of policy and research for the Public School Forum of N.C.