North Carolina Republicans seek hundreds of millions of dollars more for school vouchers

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Addressing a sharp increase in private-school grant applications, North Carolina Republicans advanced legislation on Wednesday to spend hundreds of millions of dollars now to eliminate a large waiting list this fall for Opportunity Scholarships and to permanently meet expected higher demand.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted for legislation that would spend another $248 million in the coming year to eliminate a waiting list of 54,900 applicants who otherwise would receive money to attend private or religious K-12 schools.

Republicans from both chambers said before the legislative session began last week that finding a way to eliminate the wait list was a top priority. They said that parents counted on the program to help their children succeed if an alternative to public schools was best for them.

“The urgency of all this is really because these families have to make decisions,” said Sen. Michael Lee, a New Hanover County Republican and longtime school choice advocate, told committee members.

GOP lawmakers dramatically expanded the program last year by doing away with income eligibility caps that had limited the scholarships, sometimes known as vouchers, to low-income and more recently some middle-income families. Now any family can qualify, even the wealthiest income earners among those on the wait list.

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