North Carolina Supreme Court to Decide on Opportunity Scholarship Appeal PDF Print E-mail
Education
By Administrator   
Friday, 10 October 2014 14:43

RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The fate of North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship program is in the hands of the state Supreme Court. On Friday the court issued an order taking the case, which had been in the hands of the Court of Appeals.

 
The scholarship program provides public money to low-income families who seek to educate their children outside of the traditional public school system. 
 
Critics have challenged the voucher program, saying it takes money from the traditional system and is unconstitutional.
 
North Carolina House Speaker Pro Tem Paul "Skip" Stam, R-Wake, issued a news release in reaction to the court's decision to take the case. Stam is a champion of the Opportunity Scholarship program.
 
In his release, Stam stated:
 
"All parties should be delighted with this development because the case was ultimately headed for the NC Supreme regardless of the decision by the NC Court of Appeals.  This will expedite the decision regarding this appeal case."
 
Nearly 2,000 applicants -- 1,878 -- have received funds. Those who applied for scholarships for Spring 2015 have their requests on hold.
 
"We are grateful for the decision," Stam said in the release. "We thank the nearly 300 schools that continue to work with parents to allow students to attend the school of their choice while waiting for the distribution of scholarship money.  We remain confident the Opportunity Scholarship program will be permitted to expand, allowing more parents to send their children to the school of their choice."
Last Updated on Friday, 10 October 2014 14:44
 
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