In North Carolina there is a program that helps families, without income limit, to pay tuition in private schools. This is the Opportunity Scholarship Program.
With new rules, the program is now available to all North Carolina families, regardless of income. Vouchers will be awarded in order of priority to families renewing scholarships and then to lower-income families if there are more applicants than money available.
Heidy Gómez, member of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, highlighted that these scholarships provide low-income families with educational alternatives outside of public schools, using state funds. .
“For Hispanic families, who are immigrants, who are not people with a very high income and in most cases are people with two or three jobs, it is very difficult to get $800 or $1,000 a month for a child's tuition in private school,” Gomez told Enlace Latino NC .
Opportunity Scholarship Details
Opportunity scholarships, established in 2013, are available to students in kindergarten through senior high school.
Applicants can register on the portal https://myportal.ncseaa.edu/. Depending on family income, they will receive a scholarship of between $3,360 and $7,468 per child for the 2024-25 school year. The priority window for applications closes March 1.
Applicants must live in North Carolina, but immigration status is not considered in the application.
"If your son or daughter is qualified to attend public schools in the state, they are equally qualified to apply for opportunity scholarships at private schools," said Gómez.
Differences between public schools and vouchers for private schools
Schools are not required to cover transportation and food costs, compared to traditional public schools.
“Going to private school isn't a luxury. It's a sacrifice because private schools don't have transportation, so the geographic boundary doesn't matter,” Gómez said. “As long as I get him there and back, there's no problem.”
More than 32,000 requests
During the first week of enrollment, the Opportunity Scholarship Program received more than 32,000 new applications, tripling those submitted in February 2023.
The PEFNC organization indicated that the data comes from the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority, the state agency in charge of the program.
Opportunity scholarships have been criticized for diverting funds originally intended for traditional public schools to private schools and charter schools.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's office also highlighted the "dangers of underfunding our schools while pouring millions of dollars into an unregulated private school voucher program that sends taxpayer money to private academies," Gov. Cooper's office said. in a press release last week after the governor visited Millbrook High School in Raleigh.
If you have any comments or questions about the Opportunity Scholarships for private schools, you can let us know in the comments. To receive updates on education issues in North Carolina subscribe to our newsletter
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