North Carolina
U.S.
Rank
Score:
78%
Grade:
C
Rank:
#12
The Tarheel state has seen continued rollbacks of charter freedoms in recent years, as the status quo has attempted to stop a growing movement that many parents separately need in both city and rural communities. Despite union and school board opposition, parents remain committed to these innovative options.
Law passed: 1996
Most recently amended: 2017
Number of charter schools: 203
Number of charter students: 130,485
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No
Virtual charters allowed? Yes, two are permitted through a pilot program
AUTHORIZERS: The State Board of Education is the final approver of charters, after an evaluation and recommendations by the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board which reviews all charter applications and makes recommendations to the state board, including on new schools, renewals, and denials.There is no appeals process for denied applications.
GROWTH: Huge demand has been addressed through the addition of another 20 schools over 2 years, but waiting lists are still long. Despite no cap, however, the state board discourages applications and has been created an onerous “re-application” process.
OPERATIONS: The state provides charters a blanket waiver from most state rules and regulations, but localities impose requirements on charter school boards that hinder autonomy.
EQUITY: The law stipulates per-pupil funds equal to the district allocation where the charter is located, but those funds are often withheld in practice. Charter schools may also request appropriations directly from cities. Charters do not receive per pupil facilities funding.
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#9
Three choice efforts in the Tarheel state currently serve approximately 14,250 students, with potential to reach many more.
Law enacted: 2013-2017
Number of programs: 3
Statewide Participation: 14,219
Types of programs: Voucher , Education Savings Account
Voucher
Opportunity Scholarships
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships program was launched in 2014. This program provides children from low-income households vouchers to attend a private school of their choice. Through this program, students can be awarded up to $4,200 per year. The program budget cap is $64.8 million, and there is no enrollment cap.
Voucher
Disabilities Grant Program
This private school voucher program began in 2014, to provide students with disabilities the opportunity to receive school vouchers for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. This program has no income limit or enrollment cap, and students can receive up to $4,000 per semester.
Education Savings Account
Personal Education Savings Accounts
North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Account program was enacted in 2017, and provides families with students with special needs funding to use for educational and therapeutic uses. This program awards students up to $9,000 per year, and has no income limits or enrollment caps.
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#11
Student growth data not measured in NC teacher evaluation ratings; “Student growth is used to drive professional development, and for school, district, and state reporting.” Tenure is no longer offered to new teachers.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 75%
General Teacher Preparation 97%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 70%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 65%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 65%
Alternate Routes 80%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 65%
Hiring 70%
Retaining Effective Teachers 59%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 78%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 87%
Score:
78%
Grade:
C
Rank:
#12
The Tarheel state has seen continued rollbacks of charter freedoms in recent years, as the status quo has attempted to stop a growing movement that many parents separately need in both city and rural communities. Despite union and school board opposition, parents remain committed to these innovative options.
Law passed: 1996
Most recently amended: 2017
Number of charter schools: 203
Number of charter students: 130,485
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No
Virtual charters allowed? Yes, two are permitted through a pilot program
AUTHORIZERS: The State Board of Education is the final approver of charters, after an evaluation and recommendations by the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board which reviews all charter applications and makes recommendations to the state board, including on new schools, renewals, and denials.There is no appeals process for denied applications.
GROWTH: Huge demand has been addressed through the addition of another 20 schools over 2 years, but waiting lists are still long. Despite no cap, however, the state board discourages applications and has been created an onerous “re-application” process.
OPERATIONS: The state provides charters a blanket waiver from most state rules and regulations, but localities impose requirements on charter school boards that hinder autonomy.
EQUITY: The law stipulates per-pupil funds equal to the district allocation where the charter is located, but those funds are often withheld in practice. Charter schools may also request appropriations directly from cities. Charters do not receive per pupil facilities funding.
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#9
Three choice efforts in the Tarheel state currently serve approximately 14,250 students, with potential to reach many more.
Law enacted: 2013-2017
Number of programs: 3
Statewide Participation: 14,219
Types of programs: Voucher , Education Savings Account
Voucher
Opportunity Scholarships
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships program was launched in 2014. This program provides children from low-income households vouchers to attend a private school of their choice. Through this program, students can be awarded up to $4,200 per year. The program budget cap is $64.8 million, and there is no enrollment cap.
Voucher
Disabilities Grant Program
This private school voucher program began in 2014, to provide students with disabilities the opportunity to receive school vouchers for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. This program has no income limit or enrollment cap, and students can receive up to $4,000 per semester.
Education Savings Account
Personal Education Savings Accounts
North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Account program was enacted in 2017, and provides families with students with special needs funding to use for educational and therapeutic uses. This program awards students up to $9,000 per year, and has no income limits or enrollment caps.
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#11
Student growth data not measured in NC teacher evaluation ratings; “Student growth is used to drive professional development, and for school, district, and state reporting.” Tenure is no longer offered to new teachers.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 75%
General Teacher Preparation 97%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 70%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 65%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 65%
Alternate Routes 80%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 65%
Hiring 70%
Retaining Effective Teachers 59%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 78%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 87%
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#14
For years, North Carolina has taken policy measures to expand digital learning to every student. In 2013, the state passed legislation for a statewide transition from traditional to digital textbooks for all schools by 2017. In 2015, The North Carolina Digital Learning Plan was published to give districts guidance for implementing technology in classrooms. The state also recently adopted new digital learning standards for students, which go into effect during the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers use the NC Digital Learning Competencies to ensure that they are effectively integrating digital teaching and learning in the classroom.
Other digital learning programs happening in the state include: Future Ready Schools initiative, piloting micro-credentialing and digital badges for teachers, promoting the use of open education resources with GoOpenNC, Digital Learning Initiative Grants, and tons of databases filled with high-quality digital resources for teachers to use. For more information, click here.
North Carolina Virtual Public School is the second largest statewide virtual school in the nation, with 32,000 students enrolled in 2019. Since the school opened in 2005, there have been over 193,000 course enrollments. NCVPS exists as a supplement to brick-and-mortar schools, and offers a variety of online courses in many subject areas including world languages, advances placement, test preparation and credit recovery.
Bandwidth: “100% of students in North Carolina can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”
In 2016, North Carolina enacted legislation called Innovation School District and Innovation Zones (I-Zones) to increase student achievement through innovative practices and personalized learning. However, participation is limited to low-performing schools in the state. These schools must be approved by the State Board of Education, and then are managed under ISD by Innovative School Operators.
The Digital Scholars Initiative was launched in 2018 from a collaboration between teachers and the non-profit organization Digital Learning Institute with the vision to expand innovation and personalized learning in schools across the state, particularly for students in low-income areas. Under this program, “digiLEARN developed and prepared seven master teachers to serve as Digital Scholars. The Scholars are master teachers who take on invaluable leadership roles at their school and district levels while remaining practicing classroom teachers. Scholars received release time, personalized professional development and extended employment so they could use their classrooms as learning labs, support other teachers with implementing personalized learning, and collaborate with other Scholars for development of best practices.”
There are currently five teacher Digital Scholars in Rowan Salisbury School districts, and two in Durham Public Schools. The program is currently aiming to expand into other districts across the state, and working with the NC State Board of Education to make Digital Scholars a micro-credential.
Additionally, several NC school districts, many of them rural, participate in the Opportunity Culture Pilot. The Opportunity Culture Pilot is an initiative that spans across the U.S and implements personalized teaching models such as multi-classroom leadership and seat time flexibility.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, North Carolina quickly created a website to help students, parents and teachers be able to continue learning with updated information and resources here.
It also includes guidelines for districts developing comprehensive plans, strategies for schools deploying technology, a series of trainings for teachers, and instructional resources for building remote lesson plans.
On July 14, the governor announced in-person instruction would be limited for the fall, but much of the decision-making is up to the districts. Districts can open for in-person instruction or choose all remote learning. They must provide a remote learning option for any child who chooses it if opting for in-person. Safety protocols such as fewer children in classrooms, social distancing, face coverings, and cleaning are specified by the state.
In early September, the state legislature passed a $1.1 billion Covid-19 relief package that includes an expansion of the state’s scholarship program for students from low-income households and an expansion of the state’s virtual charter schools.
Fast Facts
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#14
For years, North Carolina has taken policy measures to expand digital learning to every student. In 2013, the state passed legislation for a statewide transition from traditional to digital textbooks for all schools by 2017. In 2015, The North Carolina Digital Learning Plan was published to give districts guidance for implementing technology in classrooms. The state also recently adopted new digital learning standards for students, which go into effect during the 2020-2021 school year. Teachers use the NC Digital Learning Competencies to ensure that they are effectively integrating digital teaching and learning in the classroom.
Other digital learning programs happening in the state include: Future Ready Schools initiative, piloting micro-credentialing and digital badges for teachers, promoting the use of open education resources with GoOpenNC, Digital Learning Initiative Grants, and tons of databases filled with high-quality digital resources for teachers to use. For more information, click here.
North Carolina Virtual Public School is the second largest statewide virtual school in the nation, with 32,000 students enrolled in 2019. Since the school opened in 2005, there have been over 193,000 course enrollments. NCVPS exists as a supplement to brick-and-mortar schools, and offers a variety of online courses in many subject areas including world languages, advances placement, test preparation and credit recovery.
Bandwidth: “100% of students in North Carolina can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”
In 2016, North Carolina enacted legislation called Innovation School District and Innovation Zones (I-Zones) to increase student achievement through innovative practices and personalized learning. However, participation is limited to low-performing schools in the state. These schools must be approved by the State Board of Education, and then are managed under ISD by Innovative School Operators.
The Digital Scholars Initiative was launched in 2018 from a collaboration between teachers and the non-profit organization Digital Learning Institute with the vision to expand innovation and personalized learning in schools across the state, particularly for students in low-income areas. Under this program, “digiLEARN developed and prepared seven master teachers to serve as Digital Scholars. The Scholars are master teachers who take on invaluable leadership roles at their school and district levels while remaining practicing classroom teachers. Scholars received release time, personalized professional development and extended employment so they could use their classrooms as learning labs, support other teachers with implementing personalized learning, and collaborate with other Scholars for development of best practices.”
There are currently five teacher Digital Scholars in Rowan Salisbury School districts, and two in Durham Public Schools. The program is currently aiming to expand into other districts across the state, and working with the NC State Board of Education to make Digital Scholars a micro-credential.
Additionally, several NC school districts, many of them rural, participate in the Opportunity Culture Pilot. The Opportunity Culture Pilot is an initiative that spans across the U.S and implements personalized teaching models such as multi-classroom leadership and seat time flexibility.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, North Carolina quickly created a website to help students, parents and teachers be able to continue learning with updated information and resources here.
It also includes guidelines for districts developing comprehensive plans, strategies for schools deploying technology, a series of trainings for teachers, and instructional resources for building remote lesson plans.
On July 14, the governor announced in-person instruction would be limited for the fall, but much of the decision-making is up to the districts. Districts can open for in-person instruction or choose all remote learning. They must provide a remote learning option for any child who chooses it if opting for in-person. Safety protocols such as fewer children in classrooms, social distancing, face coverings, and cleaning are specified by the state.
In early September, the state legislature passed a $1.1 billion Covid-19 relief package that includes an expansion of the state’s scholarship program for students from low-income households and an expansion of the state’s virtual charter schools.
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Roy Cooper (D)
First term began in 2017 (two-term limit)
Governor Roy Cooper was the teachers unions number one choice and they worked hard to put him in office. While he continues his opposition to charter schools and choice ad vetoed a bill that would have increased enrollment at two virtual charter schools and even proposed to end the NC Opportunity Scholarship program which has provided options for children of low-income households since 2014, he did sign into law in September 2020, a bill that provided emergency relief and expansion of all options in the state given the critical nature of schools during Covid. On that he did not have much choice.
The state legislature is pro-parent power and will have to show strong leadership, with help from advocates in the state, to overcome the hostile governor. The state’s legislature has shown leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting students instead of systems by expanding access to the state’s opportunity scholarship program. The COVID relief package also gave smaller grants to support parents whose kids are working from home.
“The North Carolina Constitution does not have a Blaine Amendment or a Compelled Support Clause, and state cases look to federal Establishment Clause precedent. In 2014, The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the new Opportunity Scholarship program [similar to a voucher] against a challenge under North Carolina’s education article and public purpose article.”(Institute for Justice)
School and district report cards are easily accessible and highlighted on the main page of North Carolina DOE website. Report cards are easy to navigate, and data is formatted nicely in easy to read tables and charts. Reports include a summative rating at the top, and also displays the school’s performance grade score history, and academic growth history dating back to school year 2014 which is a nice added feature. Educational options are also easily accessible from the main page.
School board elections are during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.
Roy Cooper (D)
First term began in 2017 (two-term limit)
Governor Roy Cooper was the teachers unions number one choice and they worked hard to put him in office. While he continues his opposition to charter schools and choice ad vetoed a bill that would have increased enrollment at two virtual charter schools and even proposed to end the NC Opportunity Scholarship program which has provided options for children of low-income households since 2014, he did sign into law in September 2020, a bill that provided emergency relief and expansion of all options in the state given the critical nature of schools during Covid. On that he did not have much choice.
The state legislature is pro-parent power and will have to show strong leadership, with help from advocates in the state, to overcome the hostile governor. The state’s legislature has shown leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting students instead of systems by expanding access to the state’s opportunity scholarship program. The COVID relief package also gave smaller grants to support parents whose kids are working from home.
“The North Carolina Constitution does not have a Blaine Amendment or a Compelled Support Clause, and state cases look to federal Establishment Clause precedent. In 2014, The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the new Opportunity Scholarship program [similar to a voucher] against a challenge under North Carolina’s education article and public purpose article.”(Institute for Justice)
School and district report cards are easily accessible and highlighted on the main page of North Carolina DOE website. Report cards are easy to navigate, and data is formatted nicely in easy to read tables and charts. Reports include a summative rating at the top, and also displays the school’s performance grade score history, and academic growth history dating back to school year 2014 which is a nice added feature. Educational options are also easily accessible from the main page.
School board elections are during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.