Last week was a pretty good week for those who work to expand educational freedom. The North Carolina Senate voted to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of HB 87. That action — coupled with the House override of the same veto on May 20 — means that North Carolina has officially opted in to the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship program (FTCS).
Federal taxpayers will now be able to claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 a year for donations to approved scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). SGOs will issue scholarships for tuition, tutoring, transportation, testing fees, or other educational expenses. To be eligible, families must not earn more than three times their area’s median income and students must attend either a public or private school.
That wasn’t the only good news. SB 1006, an education omnibus bill sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chair Mike Lee, included a provision that calls for a study on “how local school administrative units can allow students to attend any school within the local school administrative unit in which the student is domiciled, other than the assigned base school.” The study would be conducted by the North Carolina Collaboratory. Findings would be reported to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than April 15, 2027.
It’s only a provision in proposed legislation and still has to be approved by the General Assembly and signed by the governor. Nevertheless, it’s an encouraging step. Last year, Reps. Mike Schietzelt, Heather Rhyne, and David Willis introduced legislation (HB 981) to require school districts to implement within-district open enrollment. The bill was later changed to a bill that would require the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to conduct a study on the open enrollment. The bill passed the House but languished in a Senate committee.
Of course it would have been great to have the legislature approve substantive open enrollment legislation. Still, I’ll be the first to say that there are many educators and legislators on the front end of the open enrollment learning curve. Getting educators and policymakers to sit down and ask important questions about open enrollment is a win and an important step towards getting meaningful legislation.
A little perspective is helpful.
North Carolina has done much to expand school choice in the last two decades. The cap on charter schools was lifted in February 2011. Now, more than 161,000 students are enrolled in over 200 charter schools in North Carolina. Parents of of over 5,700 children with special needs now have access to education savings accounts to help with educational expenses. Opportunity Scholarships provide more than 106,000 students with access to a better education, while home schooling enrollment continues to grow. The lesson? Parents want more educational options. Today, one in four students in North Carolina is enrolled in either a charter, private, or home school.
The Federal Tax Credit Scholarship program and open enrollment can give even more choices to parents. FTCS can turbocharge school choice in North Carolina. Most importantly, scholarships can be used to assist children not only in private schools but also in public schools. In doing so, FTCS can reframe school choice from an issue that has long been viewed as zero sum to one where both sides — public and private schools — can win.
Gov. Stein missed the opportunity to lead on this issue, and the legislature was right to override his veto and ensure that the dollars of North Carolina donors will now stay in the Tar Heel State. As of June 2026, 31 states are on track to participate in the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship program.
While FTCS is a big plus, SB 1006 may help to start a serious and much-needed discussion on open enrollment in North Carolina. For too long, public-school choice has been limited to charter schools or magnet schools. While these programs are popular, they are limited in size and scope. Because open enrollment can potentially benefit 75 percent of all K–12 students in North Carolina, it can significantly expand the array of choices available for students and parents. Within-district open enrollment will allow students to enroll in another school in their district if space is available. Such legislation can increase access to highly rated schools, improve academic outcomes, foster district improvement, and attract students to districts that are experiencing declining enrollment. A recent John Locke Foundation report discussed the many benefits of open enrollment for students, families, and schools.
Today, about 20 states have open enrollment programs which allow students to choose from schools within districts, across districts, or both. North Carolina is currently one of only a handful of states that has no statewide open enrollment law. Although there is no statewide law, a few school districts offer local within-district open enrollment programs. Requiring school districts to offer within-district open enrollment would make bring the benefits of these programs to students across the state. Such a program still needs to pass the legislature and be signed by the governor, but the passage of a study bill would be a good start.
These developments are worth celebrating. The Federal Tax Credit Scholarship program and open enrollment will give our children access to better schools and also improve the schools they attend. Legislators who supported SB 1006 and the override of HB 87 deserve our thanks and our help to ensure both programs live up to their promise.
