Top 5 Reasons NC Legislators Need to Act!

Our public schools are facing unprecedented chaos and uncertainty as they are preparing to start the new school year. NC legislators must act now to help our school districts face actions taken by the Trump administration that are severely impacting our public educators and students. NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 23 other states are suing to prevent the U.S. Department of Education from cutting billions in funds for the nation’s schools and educators but that is not enough. It is time for our legislators to act to support our families, students, and teachers. Our children need them to do their legislative duty!

Here are 5 reasons we need legislators to show up now!

(1) U.S. Congress Has Failed Our Students & Educators. The federal budget has cut public education funds and slashed healthcare and food assistance for millions of children and their families. The U.S. Department of Education has withheld $165.4 million that was already allocated to our public schools, forcing our schools to cut crucial student services. See how much is lost to your district HERE

Further, the new federal spending bill creates a federal school voucher program that will siphon even more money from public schools. Overall, the federal bill prioritizes private and religious schools at the expense of public education. It will negatively impact students, families, and educators, particularly those in lower socioeconomic brackets. Once again, public schools will not receive this influx of private donors to supplement their programs leaving public schools with another funding disadvantage. This federal betrayal of our children continues to undermine our public schools without giving them the resources they need.

(2) NC Public Schools Are in Limbo Without A State Budget. Schools across the state will start the new school year next month (and year-round schools have already started), but superintendents are scrambling to finalize plans without a state budget. Of course this is made worse by the loss of federal funds. This combination has created the worst challenge our school districts have faced since the 2008 recession. School districts do not know how they are going to fund student services and staff covered by the impounded federal funds. Some local districts have implemented a hiring freeze and have frozen or cut funding for crucial programs and resources for the coming school year. The lack of a state budget is harming local school districts that are already triaging due to federal cuts.

(3) NC School Vouchers Are Draining Our State Budget. While our public schools are struggling with teacher vacancies, serving our special needs children, cutting student services, and paying for the classroom resources they need, private schools are getting huge investments with taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers. In the last school year, private schools received more than $432 million in public funds. The current budget appropriation for 2025-26 is $731 million for both voucher programs. In some counties, the majority of vouchers are going to families too wealthy to have qualified for vouchers last year (e.g. Wake County: 66% to wealthy families)

(4) NC's Most Vulnerable Children Are at RISK. Low-income children and families risk losing access to healthcare, food security, and financial stability due to recent budget decisions. While estimates vary, projections show that over half a million North Carolinians will lose health insurance coverage including medications for thousands of impoverished and disabled children; 1.4 million could face food insecurity and 45,000 have jobs that are in jeopardy. We need our legislators to act now to support and protect the health and wellbeing of our children, our public schools, rural hospitals, and economically disadvantaged communities.

(5) NC Students & Families Deserve Well-Funded Public Schools. The combination of damaging federal action and state inaction means our schools are facing staffing shortages, cuts in crucial student programs, and increased uncertainty for educators and families. The hardship faced at the local level is unnecessary in a state with other options such as stopping cuts to corporate taxes. It is NC's constitutional duty to ensure that every child has a high quality and free public education. Our schools already lack the teacher assistants, school nurses, school social workers, and school psychologists they need. North Carolina ranks 49th in education funding effort. We could spend more based on our state wealth, but lawmakers are choosing to underfund public schools. NC teachers are some of the lowest paid in the nation with salaries that have not even kept up with inflation.

It’s time for our state legislators to return to Raleigh and make decisions to help our students and communities! Our state's children and educators deserve better than what we are getting from our federal and state elected officials. It is a failure of leadership that our public schools and communities are dealing with the chaotic and harmful federal cuts without state legislative guidance or assistance.

Contact your legislators HERE.

Here is the Truth: School Vouchers Just Don't Work

The Southern Education Foundation released data on student outcomes for students who have used vouchers to attend private schools and it shows just how bad vouchers really are. Their brief contains links to all data sources.

North Carolina is not included in their study because reporting student achievement data for the private schools receiving vouchers is not required by the NC legislature. State lawmakers could easily require true accountability for private schools receiving tax-funded vouchers. Their failure to do so strongly suggests that they know vouchers do not improve educational outcomes.

Alabama. 10th and 11th-grade voucher recipients taking the PSAT/NMSQT performed worse than comparable economically disadvantaged public school students. The voucher program did not improve student outcomes, and more time in the program also did not lead to improved student outcomes.

Arkansas. Voucher students were reported to average around the 50th percentile in both ELA and math. In other words, they performed exactly average, while the program drains funds from the public school system.

Florida. Voucher recipients scored below average in reading and math on nationally norm-referenced tests, highlighting a lack of academic achievement.

Louisiana. 86% of students who received school vouchers did not meet state achievement targets.

Maryland. Voucher recipients performed worse than non-voucher students when assessed at many levels across multiple tests. In 9 out of 10 grades, voucher students scored at least 12 percentage points lower in English than public school students. In 8 out of 10 grades, voucher students scored at least 10 percentage points lower than public school students.

Tennessee. Data shows that when compared to their peers in public schools, students receiving vouchers perform worse. Approximately 52% of voucher recipients scored “Below Expectations” in math on statewide academic achievement assessments compared to just 37% in public schools.

Legislative and SBE Updates

The House and Senate are scheduled to convene on Monday, June 21, but the NCGA has only one committee meeting scheduled (America's Semiquincentennial Committee, Thursday).

Check the legislative calendar for updates. Legislative leaders may decide that the current funding crisis merits coming back to Raleigh to work on a budget next week.

Read our Week in Review for information about bills that made crossover and may still see action in the NCGA.

Take Action to Unfreeze Federal Funds for Schools

Take action to help our public schools!

North Carolina joined 23 other states in a lawsuit demanding that the U.S. Department of Education release funds it withheld from public schools on July 1. The funds scheduled to be distributed were appropriated by Congress in March as part of a continuing resolution budget passed into law after being signed by the president. As a result, withholding funds from schools now is illegal.

North Carolina's public schools (traditional and charter) are losing more than $165 million. Rural schools are being hit the hardest, with Ashe and Polk Counties losing more than $400/student.

Please contact your lawmakers and urge them to require the U.S. Department of Education to release the funds.

SEND AN EMAIL (You can use our customizable template.)

CALL THEM DIRECTLY (Scroll down to find the list of phone numbers.)

Public Schools First NC has released a new report: NC School Vouchers—Using Tax Dollars to Discriminate Against Students & Families!

As recent reporting highlights, "North Carolina now subsidizes the tuition cost for the majority of private students." In the 2024-25 school year, the state private K-12 tuition subsidy topped $432 million. Current appropriations earmark $731 million for state voucher programs next year.

These voucher programs require virtually no accountability for how the funds are spent, whether the schools provide adequate instructional programs, or whether they discriminate against types of students or their families. As a result, taxpayers are left without even the most rudimentary understanding of the private schools benefiting from unprecedented generosity of majority lawmakers in the NC General Assembly.

Our new report uncovers hundreds of examples of how voucher-accepting private schools screen applicants to secure their desired student population. Unlike public schools that accept all students, many private schools employ discriminatory practices to select only students who conform to their religious beliefs or don’t pose instructional or behavioral challenges.

READ THE REPORT!

In Case You Missed It

There's still time to get a great book, enjoy some summer reading, and help support our work! Over the past few years we have partnered with some incredible authors to share their work with you.

Our conversations with many of them can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

If you donate, $50 dollars or more, we will send you a book of your choice. You will receive a great book and your donation is tax-deductible!

Need a speaker for your next event or group meeting? PSFNC welcomes the opportunity to speak to your group or organization on public education-related topics.

We offer our programs virtually to improve accessibility and attendance and therefore extend your reach. Our services are free of charge but may require travel-related expenses if the program is in-person.

Email us at [email protected] for more information.

Words to Remember

“Public schools across North Carolina, especially in rural areas, need this money to keep teachers in the classroom and keep kids safe while they learn. It’s unlawful and unconstitutional for the Department of Education to withhold money that Congress has appropriated.”

— NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson, July 14, 2025

Help us support public schools!

Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused solely

on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents, teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each child for productive citizenship.

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]