RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - In a 4 to 3 ruling, the North Carolina Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling and has held that North Carolina's educational voucher program for low-income families is constitutional.

The court reversed a ruling by Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood.

Opportunity Scholarship program was passed by the General Assembly in 2013. Through it, low-income families can receive up to $4,200 per year to send their children to private school.

Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam (R-Wake), the program's champion, praised the decision, as did Gov. Pat McCrory, and Darrell Allison of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina.

Rodney Ellis of the North Carolina Association of Educators expressed regret over the decision, saying it will "continue the damage being done to our public schools and students by allowing private vouchers to drain money from our already underfunded schools."