Governor Stein Proposes Moratorium on New Private School Vouchers in North Carolina
Plan would freeze enrollment in the Opportunity Scholarship Program, the state’s school voucher initiative, and begin phasing it out starting with the 2025–26 school year.
Holly Springs, NC, Apr. 1, 2025 — Governor Josh Stein’s newly released state budget proposal for 2025–27 calls for a significant shift in how North Carolina funds private school education. The plan would freeze enrollment in the Opportunity Scholarship Program, the state’s school voucher initiative, and begin phasing it out starting with the 2025–26 school year.
Under Stein's plan, the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which currently provides publicly funded vouchers for students to attend private schools, would no longer accept new applicants. Instead, the budget allows only low-income students who have already received a voucher in the 2024–25 school year to renew their awards in the future.
“Low-income families that received vouchers in the 2024–25 school year may renew their awards,” the budget states, “but families making more than 200% of the income limit for reduced price lunch are no longer eligible.”
This means students from higher-income households receiving a voucher would not be eligible to renew it after this year, effectively capping the program at a smaller pool of current low-income participants.
The proposal marks a significant departure from recent state policies that have expanded school vouchers to families of all income levels. Stein’s administration argues that the public funds currently going toward private school tuition would be better spent strengthening public education.
According to the budget document, the plan “reduces funding to reflect an Opportunity Scholarship Program moratorium that offers no new awards, adds program accountability, and gradually decreases future appropriations.”
The proposed moratorium would go into effect for the 2025–26 school year, as part of the upcoming biennial budget cycle. Over time, the funding reductions would amount to more than $432 million in savings, which the administration says would be redirected to investments in public schools, such as teacher pay raises, school mental health resources, and facility improvements.
Supporters of the Opportunity Scholarship Program argue it gives families more educational choice, particularly for those seeking alternatives to their assigned public schools. Critics counter that it diverts much-needed funding from the public school system and lacks accountability standards for participating private schools.
If enacted, Stein’s proposal would not immediately eliminate vouchers. Still, it would significantly limit their use in the future, aligning the program more closely with income-based assistance and eventually winding it down.
The proposal now heads to the General Assembly, where legislators will debate its merits in broader budget negotiations in the months ahead.
If you want to go to private school,pay for it. Same goes for charter schools.