According to data from the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), there were over 40,000 new applications for the Opportunity Scholarship Program in North Carolina this year. This scholarship helps parents afford tuition at non-public schools that might be cost-prohibitive otherwise. In 2023, legislators expanded the Opportunity Scholarship so that all families in the state are eligible to receive funds on a tiered system based on household income.

Although the priority application window for 2025–26 is closed, the portal is still accepting applications, which will be addressed if funding remains after distributing scholarships for renewals and priority applications.

Increasing Demand for the Opportunity Scholarship

After the expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship in 2023, there were around 72,000 new applicants in the spring of 2024 in addition to returning students. While legislators had increased funding, there was not enough to fund this quantity of students, leaving about 55,000 students on wait list. In December of 2024, the General Assembly expanded the program further, providing funding for each of the students remaining on the wait list and bringing the total number to 80,274 recipients.

Source: North Carolina General Assembly

Source: NCSEAA

A Blessing to North Carolina

North Carolina has many wonderful schools across the state that offer different advantages, which is beneficial because each child is unique and education is not a “one size fits all” environment. Non-public education options are often expensive, which can be a struggle for families to afford. This scholarship program offers a solution to this without taking any funding away from public schools.

NC Family is excited to see this program continue to grow and expand, and we pray it will continue to be a blessing to North Carolina families for many years to come.