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SB 389

Add Home Schools to Opportunity Scholarships.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Jim Burgin

The bill expands the NC Opportunity Scholarships to include home-schooled students, with grants up to 25% of the state per-pupil average for eligible home schooling costs.

Passed 1st Reading
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Bill Summary · SB 389

SB 389 — Add Home Schools to Opportunity Scholarships (North Carolina)

Status summary
- Bill title: Add Home Schools to Opportunity Scholarships
- Introduced: 2025 (first reading March 25, 2025)
- Enacted: Approved by Governor (Chapter 582, Statutes of 2025) — Oct 10, 2025
- Subject areas: Education; Opportunity (voucher) scholarships; home schooling; State Education Assistance Authority; appropriations/administration

Purpose and intent
- To expand North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship (voucher) program so that eligible home‑schooled students may receive scholarship grants, and to set eligibility, award amounts, permitted uses, and administrative procedures for those grants.

Key provisions — what the bill does
- Definitions (G.S. 115C‑562.1)
- Adds a definition for “home school” by treating a home school as a type of nonpublic school that meets Part 3 of Article 39 and is identified by the Division of Nonpublic Education.

  • Eligibility and award order (G.S. 115C‑562.2)

    • Maintains existing eligibility rules for Opportunity Scholarships: student must reside in NC, not yet have a high school diploma, be eligible to attend public school, not be a full‑time college student, and not be placed in a nonpublic school at public expense.
    • Preserves application timing and award sequence: applications made available by Feb 1; awards begin March 15 for students who applied by March 1; priority order gives first preference to prior year recipients, then to students in progressively higher household income bands.

  • Scholarship amounts and tiers

    • Private school students: retains tiered scholarship levels (amounts expressed as percentages of the State’s average per‑pupil allocation for ADM in the prior fiscal year):
    • Up to 100% for lowest‑income tier (free/reduced‑price lunch eligibility)
    • Up to 90% for next tier (≤200% of FRPL threshold)
    • Up to 60% for next tier (200%–450% of FRPL threshold)
    • Up to 45% for all other students (unless a higher amount applies)
    • Home‑schooled students: new provision — scholarship grants for students enrolled in home schools are set at up to 25% of the State average per‑pupil allocation per eligible student, per year.

  • Permitted use of funds

    • For private school students: scholarship funds may be used for private school tuition and fees, and may include costs such as books, transportation, equipment, or other items required by the nonpublic school.
    • For home‑schooled students: scholarship funds may be used for required costs of home schooling (books, equipment, other required items). The statute explicitly excludes use of funds for home‑school tuition, fees, or transportation.

  • Administration and reporting

    • The Division of Nonpublic Education must annually provide the Authority (State Education Assistance Authority) a list of eligible nonpublic schools (and notify promptly of ineligibility determinations).
    • The Authority continues to publish application information and administer awards under the statutory schedule and rules.

Who is affected
- Primary: home‑school families in North Carolina (newly eligible for Opportunity Scholarship grants), existing Opportunity Scholarship applicants and recipients, and private nonpublic schools that accept scholarship students.
- Secondary: State Education Assistance Authority and Division of Nonpublic Education (administration/verification workload), and the State budget (potential increased scholarship expenditures).

Procedural / timeline notes
- Annual schedule retained: applications available by Feb 1; awards begin March 15 for applications filed by March 1.
- Scholarship award percentages reference the prior fiscal year State average per‑pupil allocation for ADM.
- The bill authorizes (or contemplates) appropriation of funds to implement the expansion (the statutory text sets program rules; specific new appropriation amounts, if any, are set in the State budget process).

Potential impact
- Expanding eligibility to home‑schooled students is likely to increase the number of scholarship recipients and thus increase State scholarship spending or require appropriation adjustments. The statutory 25% cap for home schools limits per‑student awards relative to private‑school caps, but aggregate fiscal impact depends on take‑up and budget decisions.
- Administrative workload will increase (verification of home‑school status, distribution of information, award processing).
- Private schools that enroll scholarship students remain eligible for larger award levels under income tiers; home‑school families receive more limited, targeted support for instructional materials and required costs.

Sources / statutory references
- Amends G.S. 115C‑562.1, 115C‑562.2, and 115C‑562.4 (Opportunity Scholarship statutes). Enacted as Chapter 582, Statutes of 2025 (approved Oct 10, 2025).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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