Old North News

Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives likely have the power necessary to force a school choice bill to pass.

According to WRAL News, in early April of 2023, state Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Charlotte), who recently switched her party designation from Democrat to Republican, took the lead on a House bill that would extend the eligibility for private school vouchers to every student and family in the state.

House Bill 823 would allow for every family to receive up to 45% of the state’s average per-pupil funding, regardless of their income levels. And students who qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch would receive 100% of that average funding toward private school tuition costs. While most tuition would be above the $7,400 per-pupil amount that the state supplies, the bill includes tiered amounts of funding for families who are just above the qualifying amount.

House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain), a supporter of the bill, tweeted about it on April 26. "Choose Your School, Choose Your Future would finally expand access to the Opportunity Scholarship Program to all North Carolina families. Students and their parents should decide what kind of education is best. They deserve better than a one-size-fits-all education."

WRAL reports that the bill also incentivizes early graduation, encouraging high schools to start programs in the ninth grade that do not add any requirements to the state credit amounts, so that students can graduate in three years instead of four.

Cotham’s efforts on the bill led to a majority of signatures; all 72 Republicans in the House have pledged their support to the initiative. This would be enough of a supermajority to override Gov. Roy Cooper's (D-NC) veto. 

"Now both chambers each have the 60% supermajority needed to override Gov. Cooper's expected veto. All families will be eligible. It's happening," school choice evangelist Corey DeAngelis wrote in an April 26 tweet.

A similar bill is currently making its way through the North Carolina Senate. WRAL News says that Senate Bill 406 would remove the limits from the state’s current voucher program, making every family in the state entitled to $3,246, regardless of income, with additional levels of aid on top of that, based on the families’ income levels. Those amounts would change each year with the state’s funding, although the bill would also increase the funding amounts for this program by a potential $1.3 billion over the next seven years.

The bill has 30 supporters in the Senate, which is a majority of the 50 senators.