NC court upholds taxpayer-funded grants for private schools

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled the Opportunity Scholarship Program constitutional in our state, it is imperative that our supporters and critics alike understand that the Program is not and will never be the sole silver bullet to solve all of the challenges faced by many families in our education system. “This is a victory for choice, and it’s a victory for North Carolina students and their families”.

“Our review is limited to a determination of whether plaintiffs have demonstrated that the program legislation plainly and clearly violates our constitution”, Martin wrote. “Because no prohibition in the constitution or in our precedent forecloses the General Assembly’s enactment of the challenged legislation here, the trial court’s order declaring the legislation unconstitutional is reversed”. The program, approved in 2013, provides low-income families who want to send their children to private schools as much as $4,200 annually in taxpayer dollars.

Supporters of the program note that nearly three-quarters of the students who received scholarships were minorities. A representative for both declined to comment on Thursday.

“We are thankful to the Justices of the North Carolina State Supreme Court for believing that any program which helps ensure all children have access to a sound, basic education is serving a public goal, said Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, which pushed for vouchers”. “The great thing about school choice programs like North Carolina’s is that school districts can no longer take low-income students” continued attendance for granted. “All children lose when public schools are further depleted of their funds and those funds are then used for unworthy ends”. “NCAE will continue to fight for giving our students the resources to be successful like modern textbooks and technology, more one-on-one interaction with teachers, and a quality educator in every class”.

The N.C. Supreme Court ruled that public dollars can be used for vouchers that allow low-income children to attend private schools in North Carolina, in a ruling released late Thursday afternoon.

“We join the thousands of families across the state who are celebrating today because the court has given them the legal right to exercise educational choice”, Allison said.

“I need a dictionary to define all the words I feel right now: elated, happy, relieved”, Kintaudi said.

Those who applied after the March 2015 deadline will be put on a waitlist for the upcoming school year.

The other two include a 6-year-old soon-to-be first-grader and a 13-year-old middle-schooler.

She said she doesn’t believe her children are getting the “focused, hands on assistance” she expects they’ll receive in a smaller, more structured private school environment.

Proponents of vouchers say they give struggling students and students in failing schools a chance to move to a private school that meets their needs. In December, the state Supreme Court decided to fast-track the case and allow preparations for the coming year.

Lawmakers set aside $10 million for the 2014-15 school year. Over 1,100 of these students have reapplied, joining the 4,800 applicants for the 2015-2016 school year. The scholarships have been touted as an opportunity for students of color to escape academically deficient campuses. “We are thrilled to see the Opportunity Scholarship Program affirmed so that it can continue to offer life changing educational opportunities to children in need, and empower the countless families who seek these opportunities”. She said the average award is expected to be about $4,000 for the 2015-16 school year.

Demand for the program has been high, as only 2,400 scholarships are available and more than twice that number have applied, necessitating the use of a lottery system.

But others applauded the decision. “More families will now have realistic access to educational options for their children”, Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, said in a statement.