North Carolina SB 439: Moratorium on Opportunity Scholarships.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 439

Short Title: Moratorium on Opportunity Scholarships. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Chitlik and Applewhite (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 25, 2025
*S439-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO IMPOSE A MORATORIUM ON THE AWARD OF NEW OPPORTUNITY 2
SCHOLARSHIPS, TO REDUCE FUNDS FOR OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS, AND 3
TO REALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE FROM 4
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS TO SUPPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. MORATORIUM ON OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS 8
SECTION 1. Beginning with the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the State Education 9
Assistance Authority shall not award any scholarship grant funds under Part 2A of Article 39 of 10
Chapter 115C of the General Statutes to new persons who did not receive scholarship grant funds 11
in the prior school year. It is the intent of the General Assembly to eliminate the program for 12
awarding scholarship grants under Part 2A of Article 39 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes 13
beginning in the 2037-2038 school year or once all current recipients become ineligible for the 14
receipt of scholarship grants. 15
16
PART II. REDUCE FUNDS FOR OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS 17
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 115C-562.8 reads as rewritten: 18
"§ 115C-562.8. The Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve. 19
... 20
(b) The General Assembly finds that, due to the critical need in this State to provide 21
opportunity for school choice for North Carolina students, it is imperative that the State provide 22
an increase of funds for 15 years to the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve. Therefore, 23
there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Reserve the following amounts for each fiscal 24
year to be used for the purposes set forth in this section: 25
Fiscal Year Appropriation 26
2017-2018 $44,840,000 27
2018-2019 $54,840,000 28
2019-2020 $64,840,000 29
2020-2021 $74,840,000 30
2021-2022 $84,840,000 31
2022-2023 $94,840,000 32
2023-2024 $176,540,000 33
2024-2025 $191,540,000 34
2025-2026 $625,000,000 35
2026-2027 $675,000,000 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 439-First Edition
2027-2028 $700,000,000 1
2028-2029 $725,000,000 2
2029-2030 $750,000,000 3
2030-2031 $775,000,000 4
2031-2032 $800,000,000 5
For the 2032-2033 2027-2028 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, there is appropriated 6
from the General Fund to the Reserve the sum of eight hundred twenty-five million dollars 7
($825,000,000) five hundred forty-one million five hundred forty thousand dollars 8
($541,540,000) to be used for the purposes set forth in this section. When developing the base 9
budget, as defined by G.S. 143C-1-1, for each fiscal year specified in this subsection, the Director 10
of the Budget shall include the appropriated amount specified in this subsection for that fiscal 11
year. 12
...." 13
SECTION 2.(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, funds 14
appropriated for the award of opportunity scholarship grants pursuant to Part 2A of Article 39 of 15
Chapter 115C of the General Statutes are reduced as follows: 16
(1) Of the recurring funds appropriated to the Board of Governors of The 17
University of North Carolina for the opportunity scholarship program 18
pursuant to S.L. 2021-180, by the sum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) 19
for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 20
(2) Of the funds appropriated to the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve 21
for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and allocated from the Reserve for the award of 22
scholarship grants in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, by the sum of twenty-eight 23
million four hundred sixty thousand dollars ($28,460,000) in nonrecurring 24
funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 25
(3) Of the funds appropriated to the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve, 26
as follows: 27
a. By the sum of eighty-three million four hundred sixty thousand dollars 28
($83,460,000) in recurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 29
b. By the sum of an additional fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in 30
recurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. 31
SECTION 2.(c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that any funding increases 32
in the 2027-2029 fiscal biennium and future biennia for the award of scholarship grant funds 33
under Part 2A of Article 39 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes will be limited to no more 34
than the annual percentage increase in funding for public schools as reflected in the State Public 35
School Fund. 36
37
PART III. FUNDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 38
SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 39
Public Instruction the following amounts to be allocated to local school administrative units, 40
based on average daily membership, to address the needs in our public schools: 41
(1) For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the sum of one hundred thirteen million four 42
hundred sixty thousand dolla