Bill
SB 744
SB 744 requires voucher-funded private schools to undergo testing, accreditation, audits, and publish financial and student progress data to boost accountability.
Summary
SB 744 strengthens accountability, oversight, testing and financial reporting requirements for nonpublic (private) schools that accept students funded through the State’s Opportunity Scholarship (voucher) program. The bill amends statutes governing the State Board of Education’s authority and the scholarship program (G.S. 115C-12(39), 115C-562.2, and 115C-562.5) to require additional documentation, testing, audits, and transparency from participating nonpublic schools.
Key purpose and intent
- Ensure students using public scholarship dollars attend nonpublic schools that meet basic academic, operational, financial and safety standards.
- Improve transparency (financial and academic) of voucher-funded schools and provide data for oversight and public accountability.
- Align minimum expectations for participating nonpublic schools more closely with requirements applicable to public schools.
Major provisions (high level)
- Accreditation/oversight: The State Board of Education, on request of a local board or in connection with scholarship-funded schools, must evaluate and may accredit nonpublic schools receiving scholarship funds; the Board will adopt rigorous academic standards and verify compliance with specified statutory obligations.
- Testing and test funding: Scholarship payments include, for students in key grades, an amount to cover nationally standardized tests. Participating schools must administer specified nationally normed tests annually:
- Authority-designated nationally standardized test in grades 3 and 8;
- ACT in grade 11;
- Schools select approved nationally standardized measures in other grades (with subject coverage specified for grades 4–7 and options for 9, 10, 12).
- Test performance data must be submitted to the Scholarship Authority by July 15 each year.
- Parental reporting: Schools must provide parents/guardians an annual written explanation of each scholarship student’s progress, including standardized test scores.
- Financial oversight and audits:
- Schools enrolling 70 or more scholarship students (or scholarship funds) must contract with a CPA for an annual financial review or audit consistent with AICPA standards; audit results must be reported to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by Dec. 31 of the audit year.
- Schools receiving > $250,000 in scholarship funds must publish expenditures in the Uniform Education Reporting System.
- Schools must annually provide documentation of tuition and fees to the Authority and the Division of Nonpublic Education; the Division publishes this information.
- Operational and personnel requirements:
- Tuition/fee increases capped at 5% per school year.
- Criminal background check required for the top decision‑maker; schools must adopt criminal history check policies that mirror local public‑school policies when those exist and apply them uniformly to applicants; related information provided to the Authority is privileged (not a public record).
- Schools must maintain an in‑state facility offering in‑person instruction (remote-only instruction remains permissible as an addition).
- Miscellaneous reporting: Annual submission of school name/address, separate notice of intent for each physical location, and other data to the Division.
Who is affected
- Nonpublic schools that accept Opportunity Scholarship students (new compliance, testing, audit and reporting obligations).
- Scholarship students and their families (more standardized testing and formal reporting of progress).
- The Scholarship Authority, Division of Nonpublic Education, State Board of Education, and oversight committees (responsibilities for data collection, accreditation, review and enforcement).
- Potentially test vendors, CPAs, and other service providers engaged by participating schools.
Procedural/timing elements
- Scholarships continue to be disbursed in monthly installments; the bill explicitly funds the cost of required standardized tests (grades 3, 8, 11) to the receiving school.
- Annual deadlines: test data due to the Authority by July 15; audit results reported by Dec 31 for applicable schools.
- Accreditation reviews are done on request and the local board or nonpublic school must compensate the State Board for the actual accreditation costs.
Potential impacts
- Increased transparency and public accountability for voucher-funded schools.
- Administrative and compliance costs for participating nonpublic schools (testing administration, audits, data reporting); some test costs covered by the scholarship supplement.
- Possible limit on rapid tuition escalation for scholarship families due to the 5% cap on tuition/fee increases.
- Enhanced ability for the State and legislature to monitor academic outcomes and fiscal stewardship of public scholarship funds.
(Statutory changes summarized principally to G.S. 115C‑12(39), 115C‑562.2, and 115C‑562.5 as reflected in bill text.)
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
