The Innovations Waitlist Reduction Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1076

Short Title: The Innovations Waitlist Reduction Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Crawford, Hawkins, Prather, and Alston (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 29, 2026
*H1076-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO EXPAND INNOVATIONS WAIVER ACCESS AND TO REVISE ELIGIBILITY 2
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO FOCUS 3
ON FAMILIES WITH THE GREATEST NEED. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. INCREASE NORTH CAROLINA INNOVATIONS WAIVER SLOTS 7
SECTION 1.(a) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health 8
Benefits (DHB), shall amend the North Carolina Innovations waiver to increase the number of 9
waiver slots available under the waiver by 6, 635 slots. These additional slots shall be made 10
available on July 1, 2026, or as soon as practicable after that date. 11
SECTION 1.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 12
Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits (DH B), the sum of two hundred forty 13
million dollars ($240,000,000) in recurring funds and associated receipts beginning with the 14
2026-2027 fiscal year to be used to fund these additional slots. 15
SECTION 1.(c) This section is effective July 1, 2026. 16
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PART II. REVISE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND REDUCE FUNDS FOR THE 18
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 19
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 115C-562.1(3a) reads as rewritten: 20
"(3a) Eligible student. – A student residing in North Carolina who has not yet 21
received a high school diploma an d who meets all of the following 22
requirements: 23
a. Is eligible to attend a North Carolina public school pursuant to Article 24
25 of this Chapter. A child who is the age of 4 on or before April 16 is 25
eligible to attend the following school year if the principa l, or 26
equivalent, of the school in which the child seeks to enroll finds that 27
the student meets the requirements established by the Authority 28
pursuant to G.S. 115C-562.2(d) and those findings are submitted to the 29
Authority. 30
b. Has not been enrolled in a po stsecondary institution as a full -time 31
student taking at least 12 hours of academic credit. 32
c. Has not been placed in a nonpublic school or facility by a public 33
agency at public expense. 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1076-First Edition
d. Resides in a household with an income level not in excess of two 1
hundred percent (200%) of the amount required for the student to 2
qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program." 3
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 115C-562.2 reads as rewritten: 4
"§ 115C-562.2. Scholarship grants. 5
(a) The Authority shall make available no later than February 1 annually applications to 6
eligible students for the award of scholarship grants to attend any nonpublic school on a full - or 7
part-time basis. Information about scholarship grants and the application process shall be made 8
available on th e Authority's website. Beginning March 15, the Authority shall begin awarding 9
scholarship grants to students who have applied by March 1 in the following order: 10
(1) Eligible students who received a scholarship grant for the school year prior to 11
the school year for which the students are applying. 12
(2) Eligible students qualifying for a scholarship grant in the amount provided 13
under subdivision (1) of subsection (b2) of this section. 14
(3) Eligible students qualifying for a scholarship grant in the amount provi ded 15
under subdivision (2) of subsection (b2) of this section. 16
(4) Eligible students qualifying for a scholarship grant in the amount provided 17
under subdivision (3) of subsection (b2) of this section. 18
(5) All other students. 19
… 20
(b2) Scholarship grants shall be awarded to eligible students as follows: 21
(1) For students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the 22
amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price 23
lunch program, per year per eligible student, an amount of up to one hundred 24
percent (100%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily 25
membership in the prior fiscal year. 26
(2) For students residing in households with an income level between the amount 27
required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced -price lunch 28
program and not in excess of two hundred percent (200%) of that amount, per 29
year per eligible student, an amount of up to ninety percent (90%) of the 30
average State per pupil allocation for average daily membershi p in the prior 31
fiscal year. 32
(3) For students residing in households with an income level of between two 33
hundred percent (200%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for 34
the federal free or reduced -price lunch program and not in excess of four 35
hundred fifty percent (450%) of that amount, per year per eligible student, an 36
amount of up to sixty percent (60%) of the average State per pupil allocation 37
for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year. 38
(4) For all students, per year per eligible student, an amount of up to forty -five 39
percent (45%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily 40
membership in the prior fiscal year, unless the student qualifies for a higher 41
amount under this subsection. 42
…." 43
SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 115C-562.8 reads as rewritten: 44
"§ 115C-562.8. The Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve. 45
… 46
(b) The General Assembly finds that, due to the critical need in this State to provide 47
opportunity for school choice for North Carolina students, it is imperative that the State provide 48
an increase of funds for 15 years to the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve. Therefore, 49
there There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Reserve the following amounts for each 50
fiscal year to be used for the purposes set forth in this section: 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1076-First Edition Page 3
Fiscal Year Appropriation 1
… 2
2027-2028 $700,000,000$460,000,000 3
2028-2029 $725,000,000$485,000,000 4
2029-2030 $750,000,000$510,000,000 5
2030-2031 $775,000,000$535,000,000 6
2031-2032 $800,000,000$560,000,000 7
For the 2032-2033 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, there is appropriated from the 8
General Fund to the Reserve the sum of eight hundred twenty-five million dollars ($825,000,000) 9
five hundred eighty-five million dollars ($585,000,000) to be used for the purp oses set forth in 10
this section. When developing the base budget, as defined by G.S. 143C-1-1, for each fiscal year 11
specified in this subsection, the Director of the Budget shall include the appropriated amount 12
specified in this subsection for that fiscal year. 13
…." 14
SECTION 2.(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 15
recurring funds appropriated in the 2026 -2027 fiscal year to the Opportunity Scholarship Grant 16
Fund Reserve for the award of opportunity scholarship grants pursuant to Part 2A of Article 39 17
of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes in the 2027-2028 fiscal year shall be reduced by the sum 18
of two hundred forty million dollars ($240,000,000) in recurring funds. 19
SECTION 2.(e) This section becomes effective July 1, 2026, and applies to 20
applications for the award of scholarship funds beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. 21
22
PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE 23
SECTION 3. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 24
law. 25