RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Addressing a sharp increase in private-school grant applications, North Carolina Republicans advanced legislation on Wednesday to spend hundreds of millions of dollars now to eliminate a large waiting list this fall for Opportunity Scholarships and to permanently meet expected higher demand.
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted for legislation that would spend another $248 million in the coming year to eliminate a waiting list of 54,900 applicants who otherwise would receive money to attend private or religious K-12 schools.
Republicans from both chambers said before the legislative session began last week that finding a way to eliminate the wait list was a top priority . They said that parents counted on the program to help their children succeed if an alternative to public schools was best for them.
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“The urgency of all this is really because these families have to make decisions,” said Sen. Michael Lee, a New Hanover County Republican and longtime school choice advocate, told committee members.