North Carolina GOP leaders reach spending deal to clear private school voucher waitlist

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina's Republican House and Senate leaders said Friday that they have agreed with each other on a supplemental spending proposal that includes hundreds of millions of dollars to eliminate the state's waitlist for private school vouchers.

The new proposal includes funding for Medicaid, broadband access and the implementation of a law that forces sheriffs to comply with federal immigration agents. Both chambers are scheduled to reconvene next week for a vote that will likely send the bill to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, whose expected veto can be overridden by the legislature’s GOP supermajorities.

The proposal sets aside an additional $463 million for this school year and next for the state's Opportunity Scholarship Program largely to clear its waitlist, as a surge in applications occurred after the General Assembly eliminated income caps to qualify last year. Not enough money was initially earmarked to cover everyone, leaving about 55,000 children on the waitlist and many parents frustrated.

Lawmakers had failed to agree on a budget adjustment deal that included voucher funding before the legislative session ended in June.

The new proposal could enable waitlisted families to get retroactively reimbursed for spending on private schooling this fall, and it lays out more spending to match demand through the early 2030s. About $25 million in recurring funds will go to providing private school scholarships to children with disabilities.

Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore issued statements describing the Opportunity Scholarship funding as an accomplishment that gives parents “a greater say in their child’s education.”

Cooper and Democratic legislators are strongly opposed, arguing that the scholarships redirect taxpayer funds from traditional public schools to private schools that lack strong academic accountability.

The GOP proposal includes about $160 million to address enrollment growth in K-12 public schools and community colleges. But Cooper pointed out Thursday that weakening state revenues during past fiscal year — a projected $413 million surplus ultimately dwindled to a $32 million shortfall — will harm public school funding if the scholarships keep growing.

“Private school vouchers will cause a budget crisis,” Cooper said. “I know these Republican legislators representing rural counties — I know they are smart enough to know that this is not good for their constituents.”

The spending proposal also includes $377 million more for Medicaid and a new program to further improve broadband in rural counties.

The end of the legislative session left another bill shepherded by House leadership in limbo. Now that legislation — focused on enforcing compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — has been folded into the new proposal.

The bill requires that North Carolina sheriffs comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests — known as detainers — by temporarily holding inmates charged with serious crimes if they are believed to be in the country illegally. Federal immigration agents would then come pick up the accused.

Sheriffs or other law enforcement officials are already asked to check an inmate’s legal status if they are charged with serious crimes, according to state law.

The provision contains most of its original content but removes an amendment that would allow anyone to file a grievance with the state Attorney’s General Office if they believe a jail administrator isn't following the law.

Cooper successfully vetoed two similar measures involving ICE and sheriffs in 2019 and 2022 — but that was when Republican majorities weren't veto-proof.

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Associated Press writer Gary D. Robertson contributed to this report.