North Carolina

School Choice Programs

North Carolina offers K–12 students and their families several types of school choice, including two private school choice programs, charter schools, magnet schools and home schooling. North Carolina does not have any type of open enrollment that would allow students to attend schools outside their zoned schools.

2 Programs

Available School Choice Programs

Education Savings Account(1 program)

Education Student Accounts (ESA+)

North Carolina’s Personal Education Student Account (ESA) for Children with Disabilities program provides families of students with special needs who meet the federal definition of a “child with disabilities” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) an account with a maximum annual allocation of $9,000 ($17,000 for students with certain disabilities) for educational and therapeutic uses, including private school tuition and education-related transportation. _

3,566 students

Avg: $11,846

Since 2021

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Voucher(1 program)

Opportunity Scholarships

North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program provides private school scholarships to K–12 students. Families can use these funds to pay for tuition, transportation, equipment, and other necessary private school expenses. All students are eligible, but the program has a budget cap.

37,329 students

Since 2013

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Private School Choice

North Carolina has three private school choice programs; a school voucher and an education savings account. These programs help families send their children to participating private schools. * North Carolina Education Savings Account [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/personal-education-student-account-for-children-with-disabilities/) * North Carolina Voucher [Learn More](https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/north-carolina-opportunity-scholarships/)

Public School Choice

North Carolina is one of the few states that has no open enrollment policies, which would allow students to transfer to traditional public schools outside their zoned school. North Carolina does have many magnet schools.

Charter School Choice

North Carolina has a number of charter schools. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are free of many of the regulations that restrict traditional public schools.

Home School Choice

Parents have to follow certain laws in North Carolina when homeschooling their children.

State Statistics

Total Programs

Program Types

40,895

Total Students Participating

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