Choice goes both ways, especially where taxpayer dollars are concerned:
New grant rules proposed by the Biden Administration would require applicants to show that the number of charter schools “does not exceed the number of public schools needed to accommodate the demand in the community.” Other proposed changes to the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) include no longer giving grants to charters run by for-profit companies.
Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow, such as having 100% licensed teachers and participating in the National School Lunch program. There are more than 200 charter schools in North Carolina. More than 60 charter schools have received a share of the $36.6 million in CSP grant funds given to the state.
Since the cap on charter schools was removed when Republicans took over the NC General Assembly, the number of these schools in the state has doubled. There are also currently 783 private schools in NC, 2/3 of them religious in nature. Combined that's approaching the 1,000 mark. If that were 10 per county, wouldn't be such a big deal. But it isn't. Wake County has 24 charter schools and 87 private schools, pulling students and resources from the 171 traditional public schools. 8 of the 41 new private schools NC added in 2021 are in Wake County. Suffice it to say the "school choice" movement is out of control in North Carolina. Back to the Biden rule change, and the GOP's predictable reaction:
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