Voucher School Accountability Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 815

Short Title: Voucher School Accountability Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Prather, Ball, Rubin, and von Haefen (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 8, 2025
*H815-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REVISE ELI GIBILITY REQUIREMENT S FOR THE OPPORTUNIT Y 2
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND TO INCREASE ACCO UNTABILITY AND 3
REPORTING STANDARDS FOR NONPUBLIC SCHOOL S RECEIVING 4
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. REVISE ELIGI BILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR OPPORTUNITY 8
SCHOLARSHIPS 9
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-562.1 reads as rewritten: 10
"§ 115C-562.1. Definitions. 11
The following definitions apply in this Part: 12
… 13
(3a) Eligible student. – A student residing in North Carolina who has not yet 14
received a high school diploma and who meets all of the following 15
requirements: 16
a. Is eligible to attend a North Carolina public school pursuant to Article 17
25 of this Chapter. A child who is the age of 4 on or before April 16 is 18
eligible to attend the following school year if the principal, or 19
equivalent, of the school in which the child seeks to enroll finds that 20
the student meets the requirements established by the Authority 21
pursuant to G.S. 115C-562.2(d) and those findings are submitted to the 22
Authority. 23
b. Has not been enrolled in a postsecondary institution as a full -time 24
student taking at least 12 hours of academic credit. 25
c. Has not been placed in a nonpublic school or facility by a public 26
agency at public expense. 27
… 28
(3d) Eligible student. – A student residing in North Carolina who has not yet 29
received a high school diploma and who meets all of the following 30
requirements: 31
a. Meets one of the following criteria: 32
1. Was a student (i) assigned to and attending a public school full 33
time pursuant to G.S. 115C-366 or (ii) enrolled full time in a 34
Department of Defense Elementary and Secondary School, 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 815-First Edition
established pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2164 and located in North 1
Carolina, during the spring semester prior to the school year 2
for which the student is applying. 3
2. Received a scholarship grant for the school year prior to the 4
school year for which the student is applying. 5
3. Is eligible to enter kindergarten, first grade, or second grade 6
pursuant to Article 25 of this Chapte r. A child who is the age 7
of 4 on or before April 16 is eligible to attend the following 8
school year if the principal, or equivalent, of the school in 9
which the child seeks to enroll finds that the student meets the 10
requirements established by the Authority pursuant to 11
G.S. 115C-562.2(d) and those findings are submitted to the 12
Authority with the child's application. 13
4. Is a child in foster care as defined in G.S. 131D-10.2(9). 14
5. Is a child whose adoption decree was entered not more than 15
one year prior to submission of the scholarship g rant 16
application. 17
6. Is a child whose parent or legal guardian (i) is on full-time duty 18
status in the active uniformed service of the United States, 19
including members of the National Guard and Reserve on 20
active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 12301, et seq., and 21
10 U.S.C. § 12401, et seq., or (ii) receives an honorable 22
discharge as an active duty member from the uniformed service 23
of the United States within 12 months prior to application. 24
7. Is a child who meets both of the following: 25
I. Was enrolled in a nonpublic school that meets the 26
requirements of Part 1 and Part 2 of this Article during 27
the spring semester prior to the school year for which 28
the student is applying. 29
II. Was enrolled for the entire school year immediately 30
prior to the school year in which the student enrolled in 31
the nonpublic school in one of the following: 32
A. A North Carolina public school. 33
B. A Department of Defense Elementary and 34
Secondary School established pursuant to 10 35
U.S.C. § 2164 and located in North Carolina. 36
a1. Has not enrolled in a postsecondary institution in a matriculated status 37
eligible for enrollment for 12 hours of academic credit. 38
b. Meets one of the following criteria: 39
1. Resides in a household with an income level not in excess of 40
two hundred percent (200%) of th e amount required for the 41
student to qualify for the federal free or reduced -price lunch 42
program. The Authority shall not count any distribution from 43
the estate of a decedent in calculating the income level of the 44
applicant's household for the purposes of determining 45
eligibility for a scholarship under this sub-sub-subdivision. 46
2. Is a child in foster care as defined in G.S. 131D-10.2. The 47
Authority shall not consider the household income of the foster 48
parent, as defined in G.S. 131D-10.2, in determining the 49
eligibility of a foster care child. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 815-First Edition Page 3
(3e) Full-time student. – A student enrolled exclusively in a nonpublic school for 1
elementary or secondary education whose parents have released the local 2
school administrative unit the student is eligible to attend under 3
G.S. 115C-366 of all obligations to educate the eligible student while the 4
eligible student is receiving a scholarship grant under this Part. 5
… 6
(5b) Part-time student. – A student enrolled part time in a public school and part 7
time in a nonpublic school. 8
…." 9
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C-562.2 reads as rewritten: 10
"§ 115C-562.2. Scholarship grants. 11
(a) The Authority shall make available no later than February 1 annually applications to 12
eligible students for the award of scholarship grants to attend any non public school on a full- or 13
part-time basis. school. Information about scholarship grants and the application process shall be 14
made available on the Authority's Web site. Beginning March 15, the Authority shall begin 15
awarding scholarship grants to students who have applied by March 1 in the following 16
order:according to the following criteria: 17
(1) Eligible First priority shall be given to eligible students who received a 18
scholarship grant for the school year prior to the school year for which the 19
students are applying.applying if those students have applied by March 1. 20
(2) Eligible students qualifying for a scholarship grant in the amount provided 21
under subdivision (1) of subsection (b2) of this section. After scholarship 22
grants have been awarded to prior recipients as provided in subdivision (1) of 23
this subsection, scholarships shall be awarded with remaining funds as 24
follows: 25
a. At least fifty percent (50%) of the remaining funds shall be used to 26
award scholarship grants to eligible students residing in house holds 27
with an income level not in excess of the amount required for the 28
student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. 29
b. Any remaining funds shall be used to award scholarship grants to all 30
other eligible students. 31
(3) Eligible students qualifying for a scholarship grant in the amount provided 32
under subdivision (2) of subsection (b2) of this section. 33
(4) Eligible students qualifying for a scholarship grant in the amount provided 34
under subdivision (3) of subsection (b2) of this section. 35
(5) All other students. 36
(a1) Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students residing in households with an income 37
level not in excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or 38
reduced-price lunch program shall be, per year per eligible student, in an amount of up to ninety 39
percent (90%) as a full -time student or up to forty -five percent (45%) as a part -time student of 40
the average State per pupil allocation for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year. 41
Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students residing in households with an income level in 42
excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch 43
program shall be for amounts of not more than ninety percent (90%) of the required tuition and 44
fees as a full -time student or forty -five percent (45%) of the required tuition and fees as a 45
part-time student for the nonpublic school the eligible child will attend. Tuition and fees for a 46
nonpublic school may include tuition a nd fees for books, transportation, equipment, or other 47
items required by the nonpublic school. No scholarship grant shall exceed, per year per eligible 48
student, an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) for a full -time student or forty -five percent 49
(45%) for a part -time student of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily 50
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Page 4 House Bill 815-First Edition
membership in the prior fiscal year, and no scholarship grant shall exceed the required tuition 1
and fees for the nonpublic school the eligible student will attend. 2
… 3
(b2) Scholarship grants shall be awarded to eligible students as follows: 4
(1) For students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the 5
amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price 6
lunch program, per year per eligible student, an amount of up to one hundred 7
percent (100%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily 8
membership in the prior fiscal year. 9
(2) For students residing in households with an income level between the amount 10
required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced -price lunch 11
program and not in excess of two hundred percent (200%) of that amount, per 12
year per eligible student, an amount of up to ninety percent (90%) of the 13
average State per pupil allocation for av erage daily membership in the prior 14
fiscal year. 15
(3) For students residing in households with an income level of between two 16
hundred percent (200%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for 17
the federal free or reduced -price lunch program and no t in excess of four 18
hundred fifty percent (450%) of that amount, per year per eligible student, an 19
amount of up to sixty percent (60%) of the average State per pupil allocation 20
for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year. 21
(4) For all students, pe r year per eligible student, an amount of up to forty -five 22
percent (45%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily 23
membership in the prior fiscal year, unless the student qualifies for a higher 24
amount under this subsection. 25
(b3) Tuition a nd fees for a nonpublic school may include tuition and fees for books, 26
transportation, equipment, or other items required by the nonpublic school. 27
(b4) No scholarship grant shall exceed, per year per eligible student, an amount equal to 28
one hundred percent (100%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily 29
membership in the prior fiscal year, and no scholarship grant shall exceed the required tuition 30
and fees for the nonpublic school the eligible student will attend. 31
(b5) In addition to the amount of the scholarship grant, for any student receiving a 32
scholarship grant in grades three, eight, or 11, the Authority shall provide to the nonpublic school 33
an amount equal to the cost of the nationally standardized test required to be administered as 34
provided in G.S. 115C-562.5. 35
…." 36
37
PART II. INCREASE AC COUNTABILITY AND REP ORTING STANDARDS FOR 38
NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVING OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS 39
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 115C-562.2 reads as rewritten: 40
"§ 115C-562.2. Scholarship grants. 41
… 42
(b2) Scholarship grants shall be awarded in monthly insta llments to eligible students as 43
follows: 44
… 45
(b5) In addition to the amount of the scholarship grant, for any student receiving a 46
scholarship grant in grades three, eight, or 11, three through 12, the Authority shall pr ovide to 47
the nonpublic school an amount equal to the cost of the nationally standardized test required to 48
be administered as provided in G.S. 115C-562.5. 49
…." 50
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 115C-562.5 reads as rewritten: 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 815-First Edition Page 5
"§ 115C -562.5. Obligations of nonpublic school s accepting eligible students receiving 1
scholarship grants. 2
(a) A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall 3
comply with the following: 4
(1) Provide Annually provide to the Authority and the Division of Nonpublic 5
Education documentation for required tuition and fees charged to the student 6
by the nonpublic school. The Division shall collect this information and 7
publish it on its website. 8
(1a) Limit increases to the costs of tuition and fees by no more than five perce nt 9
(5%) each school year. 10
(2) Provide to the Authority a criminal background check conducted for the staff 11
member with the highest decision-making authority, as defined by the bylaws, 12
articles of incorporation, or other governing document. For all other 13
employees, if the nonpublic school is located in a local school administrative 14
unit that has adopted a policy requiring criminal history checks under 15
G.S. 115C-332, then the nonpublic school shall adopt a policy mirroring the 16
local board of education policy. Each nonpublic school shall apply its policy 17
uniformly in requiring applicants for employment to be checked for a criminal 18
history before the applicant is given an unconditional job offer. A nonpublic 19
school may employ an applicant conditionally while the board is checking the 20
person's criminal history and making a decision based on the results of the 21
check. If the local school administrative unit adopts a policy providing for 22
periodic checks of criminal history of employees, then the nonpublic school 23
located in that local school administrative unit shall adopt a policy mirroring 24
that local board of education policy. A no npublic school shall indicate, upon 25
the inquiry by any other public school unit or nonpublic school in the State, 26
as to the reason for an employee's resignation or dismissal, if an employee 's 27
criminal history was relevant to the employee 's resignation or dismissal. 28
Information provided to the Authority in accordance with this subdivision is 29
otherwise privileged information and is not a p ublic record but is for the 30
exclusive use of the Authority. 31
(3) Provide to the parent or guardian of an eligible student, whose tuition and fees 32
are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant, an annual written 33
explanation of the student's progress, including the student's scores on 34
standardized achievement tests. 35
(3a) Comply with the standard course of study in accordance with Part 1 of Article 36
8 of this Chapter and related rules adopted by the State Board of Education. 37
(4) Administer, at least once in each school year, tests as provided in this 38
subdivision. Administer each school year all tests required by the State Board 39
of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11(c) for students in grades three and 40
higher in a local school administrative unit. Test performance data for students 41
shall be submitted to the Authority by July 15 of each year. Test performance 42
data reported to the Authority or collected by the Authority under this 43
subdivision is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 44
Tests shall be administered to all eligible students enrolled in grades three and 45
higher whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship 46
grant as follows:Statutes, to the extent the data contains personally identifiable 47
information. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a nonpublic school 48
from administering additional tests to its students. 49
a. The nationally standardized test designated by the Authority in grades 50
three and eight. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 6 House Bill 815-First Edition
b. The ACT in grade 11. 1
c. A nationally standardized test or other nationally standardized 2
equivalent measurement selected by the chief administrative officer of 3
the nonpublic school in all other grades four and higher. For grades 4
four through seven, the nationally standardized test or other equivalent 5
measurement selected must measure achievement in the areas of 6
English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. For grades nine, 7
10, and 12, the nationally standardized test or other equivalent 8
measurement selected must measure either (i) achievement in the areas 9
of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics or (ii) 10
competencies in the verbal and quantitative areas. 11
(5) Provide to the Authority graduation rates of the students receiving scholarship 12
grants in a manner consistent with nationally recognized standards. 13
(6) Contract with a certified public accountant to perform a financial review, an 14
audit, consistent with generally accepted methods of accounting or any other 15
comprehensive basis of accounting recognized by the American Institu te of 16
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for each school year in which the 17
school enrolls 70 or more students receiving scholarship grants or scholarship 18
funds awarded by the Authority. year. A nonpublic school shall report the 19
results of an audit to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by 20
December 31 of the year in which the audit is conducted. 21
(6a) If a school receives more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) 22
in grant funds under this Part, it shall publish its expenditures in the Uniform 23
Education Reporting System. 24
(7) Maintain a school facility within the State where in -person instruction is 25
provided. This subdivision does not prohibit a school from offering 26
remote-only courses of instruction in addition to in-person instruction. 27
(8) Provide the following information annually to the Division: 28
a. Name and address of the school, including physical location address. 29
A school with more than one physical location shall establish a 30
separate notice of intent for each physical location and shall provide 31
all information required by this subdivision for each physical location. 32
b. The name of the owners and chief administrator. 33
c. Number of students in attendance at the school as of October 1. 34
d. All attendance records of students receiving scholarship grants from 35
the previous school year to ensure compliance with compulsory 36
attendance in accordance with Part 1 of Article 26 of this Chapter. 37
(9) Ensure that all teachers in the nonpublic school meet one of the following 38
minimum requirements: 39
a. Hold a bachelor's degree. 40
b. Hold a teacher license. 41
(10) Provide instruction each school year for at least 185 days or 1,025 42
instructional hours during nine calendar months. 43
(11) Maintain an operating reserve of four months' worth of expenses. 44
(12) Permit the copying and inspection of all contracts in which the nonpublic 45
school is a party. These documents are public records under Chapter 132 of 46
the General Statutes. 47
(13) Publish on its website contact information for the owner of the nonpublic 48
school. 49
(14) Comply with all applicable State laws related to the expulsion of students in 50
local school administrative units, including G.S. 115C-390.11. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 815-First Edition Page 7
(15) Report to the Authority on any exp ulsions from the nonpublic school, 1
including the reason for the expulsion and the identity of the expelled student. 2
This information is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General 3
Statutes. 4
(b) A nonpublic school that accepts students receiving scholarship grants shall not require 5
any additional fees based on the status of the student as a scholarship grant recipient. 6
(c) A nonpublic school enrolling more than 25 students in any grade whose tuition and 7
fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant shall provide and retain information on 8
student test performance in each grade with more than 25 students, as follows: 9
(1) Report to the Authority on the aggregate standardized test performance of 10
eligible students in grades three, eight, and 11. three and higher pursuant to 11
subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this section. Aggregate test performance 12
data reported to the Authority which does not contain personally identifiable 13
student data shall be a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 14
Statutes, and the Aut hority shall post this data on its website. Test 15
performance data may be shared with public or private institutions of higher 16
education located in North Carolina and shall be provided to an independent 17
research organization selected by the Authority for re search purposes as 18
permitted by the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 19
1232g. 20
(2) Retain standardized test performance data for eligible students in all other 21
grades and annually certify to the Authority compliance with the requirements 22
of subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this section. 23
(c1) A nonpublic school shall not discriminate with respect to the categories listed in 42 24
U.S.C. § 2000d, as that statute read on January 1, 2014.the race, color, national origin, sex, sexual 25
orientation, disability, or religion of any student or their family members. 26
(d) If the Authority or the State Board of Education determines that a nonpublic school 27
is not in compliance with the requirements of this section, the nonpublic school shall be ineligible 28
to receive future scholarship funds. The nonpublic school shall notify the parent or guardian of 29
any enrolled student receiving a scholarship grant that the nonpublic school is no longer eligible 30
to receive future scholarship grants. The Authorit y shall establish by rule a process for a 31
nonpublic school to appeal for reconsideration of eligibility after one year. To ensure compliance, 32
the Board of Directors of the Authority shall review the criminal history provided under 33
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section to ensure that the person has not been convicted 34
of any crime listed in G.S. 115C-332. The Board shall determine through this review whether the 35
nonpublic school is noncompliant with this section. The Board shall make written findings with 36
regard to how the criminal history information was used when making the compliance 37
determination. The Board of Directors may delegate any of the duties in this subsection to the 38
Executive Director of the Authority. As part of its review, the Board shall determine whether the 39
results indicate that the staff member has any of the following disqualifying characteristics: 40
(1) Poses a threat to the physical safety of students or personnel. 41
(2) Demonstrates that he or she does not have the integrity or honesty to fulfill his 42
or her duties in overseeing State funds and the requirements of the scholarship 43
grant program. 44
(3) Has not fully satisfied the criminal sentencing obligations imposed following 45
his or her conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction. 46
…." 47
SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 115C-562.8(d) reads as rewritten: 48
"(d) Any unexpended funds at the end of a fiscal year from the funds appropriated in a 49
particular fiscal year to be used for the award of scholarships in the following fiscal year shall be 50
used as follows: 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 8 House Bill 815-First Edition
(1) Up to one million dollars ($1,000,000) may be used by the Authority to contract with 1
one or more nonprofit corporations representing parents and families for outreach and 2
scholarship education and application assistance for parents and students pursuant to Part 4A of 3
this Article. 4
(2) Any remaining funds shall be carried forward for one fiscal year pursuant to 5
subsection (a) of this section." 6
7
PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE 8
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies beginning with 9
the 2025-2026 school year. 10