Legislation to boost private school voucher funding in North Carolina is raising concerns among educators, particularly in rural areas. Educators say when private schools get vouchers, that's money public schools won't receive.

House Bill 823 aims to allocate about $500 million of additional taxpayer money over the next two years for the state's Opportunity Scholarships.

Deanne Meadows, Columbus County School District superintendent, has personally witnessed the consequences of underfunded public schools.

"We have closed or consolidated from 18 school facilities down to 12. And we did that because we had a lot of schools that were very small, and we could not accommodate the cost of those smaller schools," she explained.

She said parents should have the freedom to decide which school their child attends, but emphasized that it is crucial to ensure public schools receive full funding before allocating funds for vouchers. According to Meadows, when a student transfers to a private school with a voucher, the funds allocated to that student go with them, which might impact the number of teachers, nurses and essential services available in public schools.

She added if a student decides to transfer back to a public school midyear, the previously allotted funds do not return. Supporters of the private-school voucher expansion argue that the additional funds would help clear a waiting list of about 55,000 students.

Another major concern highlighted by Meadows is the lack of accountability faced by private schools when compared with public schools. Public schools have to meet specific requirements for their teachers and testing, among other things. She also pointed out that public schools have to meet the needs of all students, which isn't a requirement at private schools.

"Charter schools, private schools, home schools, they don't have to serve anybody," she said. "They can serve whoever they choose to serve, but we serve every kid that comes through our door."

Research from Public Schools First NC has raised additional concerns about discriminatory policies in private schools. These policies allow private schools to turn away students based on such factors as religion, LGBTQ+ status, and disabilities.

Meadows also worries about the long-term economic impact on the district, particularly for vulnerable students.

"They've got to have an education in order to be able to be successful in their future. And when we start taking away from public education, we are taking away the chance for those kids to be able to be successful and productive and be able to come out of a poverty situation, " she explained.

In light of these concerns, Democratic legislators have introduced H.B. 993 to restrict future expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program. The proposed legislation, and a companion bill the Senate, aim to limit the program to current voucher recipients starting from the 2024-2025 school year. The bill also seeks to phase out funding for the scholarship after the 2035-2036 school year.

If passed, the legislation would also require private schools benefiting from the Opportunity Scholarship to adhere to state testing requirements for students from the third grade through high school.

Workers who help Washington state classrooms run are calling for higher wages.

Known as classified staff, their jobs include administrative work, transportation and custodial services. Unions representing workers, including the American Federation of Teachers of Washington and Washington Education Association, have launched a wage campaign to increase pay for these workers.

Anitra Wise, a para-educator with the Tacoma School District, helps teachers in the classroom and said her wages simply aren't enough.

"We have to work two and three different jobs just to catch up with the cost of living, including housing, groceries and things that we need to survive," she said.

With Washington state school districts out for summer, classified staff members face another challenge: the suspension of their low wages.

Wise said she's working at summer school this year.

"We have to supplement that income somehow, and I really don't get a summer, because I have to work just to supplement my income," she continued.

Wise added classified staff have many important jobs, including the work she does as a para-educator in the classroom.

"We're the glue that keep it together, do all the small jobs and the big jobs, too. Because without the team of para-educators, the teachers would not be able to teach, and para-educators are teachers also," she said.

School is out for the summer but a lack of learning opportunities can leave kids behind when they head back to school next year.

The organization Save the Children is offering advice on how parents and caregivers can include learning into everyday activities. It is also providing events to help kids in rural areas.

Amee Barlet, Washington state program specialist for Save the Children, said parents are kids' first and most important teachers and they can help children learn in many different situations.

"Cooking, and this is good for all ages, getting kids in the kitchen," Barlet suggested. "When you're doubling a recipe it's a really important way of talking about fractions, adding fractions. They're using measuring cups."

Barlet noted for younger kids, parents can pick a letter and ask kids to find things starting with the letter. She added families can look into their family history, and parents and caregivers can make books more fun by drawing characters from them or acting them out.

Barlet pointed out Washington is one state where Save the Children is holding Make Summer Fair events, which is giving kids in rural areas learning opportunities.

"There's many wonderful things about growing up in a rural community," Barlet explained. "There's lots to offer. But one thing that we know is that rural communities are often underresourced when it comes to providing structured learning activities over the summer, leaving kids kind of at a loss."

Yolanda Minor, early learning specialist for Save the Children, had advice for parents who are looking to incorporate learning into the summer.

"Let them know to make it fun for children," Minor urged. "We want children to foster a love for reading and not think that these engagements are chores or anything."

A new report examines how Virginia public colleges can help student parents.

The Urban Institute report reviews three policies schools can implement so student parents can thrive in college, and looks at the return on investment for each one.

The policies were a comprehensive student-parent support program, expanded grants, and on-campus childcare.

Theresa Anderson, principal research associate with the Urban Institute, said a comprehensive support program provides many benefits.

"A lot of time parents need to complete their education efficiently," said Anderson, "because there's a large opportunity cost in going to the school - because they're missing out on time with their children, they're missing out on time they could be working more."

Other benefits include helping student parents break feelings of isolation. The scholarship and grant program helps student parents make ends meet while they get their education.

On-campus childcare also helps student parents enroll, since other studies show not having childcare is a massive barrier they face.

The comprehensive student-parent support program had the highest return on investment of all the policies studied.

Every dollar invested in it could yield almost $6 in tax revenue and public-benefit savings. By 2035, this could benefit the public by an estimated $1.9 billion.

Anderson said lawmakers can easily put these policies into action.

"Appropriating resources for student-parent support programs on college campuses would be very feasible," said Anderson. "Texas did part of this by requiring colleges to establish student-parent liaison positions across the state, but this would be a step further where Virginia would be a leader in actually setting up programs across every campus."

She added increasing the college scholarship program would also be easy, since it creates a new option for parents on an existing program.

For on-campus childcare, Anderson cited New York as an example - since that state uses Federal Childcare Development funds, with Gov. Kathy Hochul allocating additional money.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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