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November 29, 2025

[1]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org
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NC Charter Schools: Undermining Quality Education for All

North Carolina Charter Schools: Undermining Quality Education for All—the
newly updated and just released report by Public Schools First NC—takes a
close look at charter schools in North Carolina. The report shows how they
fail to meet legislated goals and have evolved to become a separate,
unequal system of public education at odds with state constitutional
mandates.

North Carolina charter schools are publicly funded elementary and secondary
schools operated independently by non-profit organizations, some of which
partner with for-profit groups.

This report examines the three-decade North Carolina charter school
experiment. It explores the original justifications for charter schools;
addresses the pedagogical and operational differences among charter
schools, including profiteering by charter management companies; considers
the mechanisms through which charter schools evade accountability measures
that apply to public schools; and addresses mixed student academic
outcomes.

The report identifies and analyzes four problematic features of charter
schools that should trouble taxpayers, parents, and lawmakers: racial
segregation, exclusionary student discipline, the rate of school closures,
and financial mismanagement. Despite the public funding for and growth of
charter schools, heightened scrutiny by taxpayers and policymakers is
warranted.

The 2025-26 school year began with over 210 operating charter schools, but
charter sector turmoil was highlighted as [7]one Guilford County charter
school closed within months of opening, leaving parents scrambling to find
a new school for their children. In the 2024-25 school year, charter
schools received well over $1.18 billion in taxpayer money, even as
public-school districts remain grossly underfunded. As a result, North
Carolina now has two primary systems of elementary and secondary public
schools – a system of charter schools and a system of traditional school
systems – despite the state constitutional requirement that the General
Assembly provide a “uniform system of free public schools.” Moreover, the
growth of taxpayer-funded private school tuition vouchers adds a third
system of state-funded education.

Background: Charter schools arrived in North Carolina through the “Charter
Schools Act of 1996.” Since then, the stated purposes of charter schools
– according to Chapter 115C, Article 14A of the North Carolina General
Statutes – have been to:
* improve student learning;
* increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis
on expanded learning experiences for students who are identified as at risk
of academic failure or academically gifted;
* encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;
* create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the
opportunities to be responsible for the learning program at the school
site; and
* provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of
educational opportunities that are available within the public school
system.

Lawmakers exempted charter schools from various statutes and rules and
rules applicable to school districts. These exemptions enable charter
schools to filter out certain students, to relax staffing expectations, and
to minimize accountability. For example, charter schools are not required
to provide transportation or free and reduced-priced meals for students.
Charter schools need not follow the North Carolina Standard Course of
Study. They can set their own school calendars. They can have whatever
class sizes they want. Unlike their public-school counterparts, charter
school educators have no specific professional development requirements.
They are not required to have governance by citizen-elected school boards.
Finally, they are not bound by competitive bidding requirements for
contracted services.

The report includes many examples of how charter schools have segregated
our public school systems, creating schools with high concentrations of
White students as well as schools with high concentrations of Black
students.

For example in 2025-26, Bear Grass Charter in Martin County had 89.3% White
students while the closest traditional public school had 24.4% White
students and the county average was 31.3% White students.

In contrast, A.C.E. Academy in Cabarrus County had 77.0% Black students
while the closest traditional elementary school had 16.5% Black students
and the county average was 22.9% Black students.

Charter schools also drive segregation by family income. Raleigh Charter
had just 6.4% of its students eligible for free/reduced price lunch while
its closest neighbor had 27.4% and Wake County had 35.6%.

Charter schools also drive segregation by family income. Raleigh Charter
had just 6.4% of its students eligible for free/reduced price lunch while
its closest neighbor had 27.4% and Wake County had 35.6%.

The number of North Carolina charter schools is likely to grow rapidly in
the next few years aided by a [8]$53 million grant from the US Department
of Education. State lawmakers should evaluate and revise policy to ensure
that the schools live up to their promise to improve options for students
instead of undermining quality education for all.

[9]Read the Report!

North Carolina's Failed Charter School Experiment

A new publication by North Carolina Justice Center’s Kris Nordstrom takes a
close look at what happened to student academic performance in the charter
school sector after the school cap was lifted in 2011 and lawmakers moved
nearly all aspects of charter school oversight from the State Board of
Education to a newly created Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB) in 2013.

North Carolina evaluates student growth using a program called EVASS. A
positive growth index means that students are making year-over-year
academic progress. Charter schools established before the CSAB (and the
newer version - Charter School Review Board) was given oversight for
charter schools have an overall positive growth index (0.87). Schools
approved after the CSAB took over have a negative growth index (-.84).

Schools approved in the most recent 5 years have even worse results. Their
growth index is a stunningly bad -2.61.

The rush to open charter schools after the cap was lifted has produced
markedly poor results for students. Nordstrom states: “The data is clear:
it’s time for North Carolina to stop creating new charter schools.”

At the very least, the legislature should reinstate the State Board of
Education as the final word on charter school approvals and renewals.

[10]READ MORE

Legislative Update

The NCGA convenes in Raleigh again on Monday, December 15. Some committees
will meet prior to the 15th.

Wednesday, December 3. The [11]House Select Committee on Oversight and
Reform meets at 9:00 a.m.

Tuesday, December 9. The [12]North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force meets
at 1:30 p.m.

Keep an eye on the[13] legislative calendar for updates.

IDEA Turns 50!

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law
that makes available a free appropriate public education in the least
restrictive environment to all children with disabilities. The law ensures
special education and related services to those children, supports early
intervention services for infants and toddlers and their families, and
awards competitive discretionary grants.

The official history of IDEA began on November 29, 1975 when President Ford
signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
(EHA). Federal oversight of the law was the responsibility of the US
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1975 to 1979 when it was
transferred to the newly created US Department of Education. When the EHA
was reauthorized in 1990 it officially became the The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Over the years, amendments were added to
expand access to the law’s protections to children with a wider range of
disabilities and ages (now birth through 21), increase expectations for
teaching and learning, raise standards for educators, add transitional
support for students and families, and require school districts to be the
first line in handling disputes.

However, with this year’s cuts to the US Department of Education, the
future of IDEA is at risk. Staff cuts have slashed the number of people in
the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, leaving
few people to oversee state and local compliance.

As responsibilities get pushed out to already overwhelmed states, parents
and students will have fewer resources to fall back on when legally
required services aren’t being delivered.

USDE Recategorizes Professions for Loan Purposes

The US Department of Education released a proposal last week that adds
limits to which fields will be considered “professions.” People pursuing
degrees in fields included on the list of “professions” will have access to
larger education loan amounts. Under the new guidelines, “professional”
fields [14]meet the following requirements:
* Signify that students have the skills to begin practice in a particular
profession
* Require a level of skill beyond that of a bachelor’s degree
* Be a doctoral level degree (with the exception of a Master’s in
Divinity)
* Require at least six years of academic instruction (at least two of
which are post-baccalaureate)
* Involve a profession that requires licensure
* Be included in the same four-digit CIP code as one of 11 professions
explicitly mentioned in the regulation

The following degrees are not [15]classified as professions under the new
guidelines. Employee shortages in many of the fields listed may become even
worse under the new guidelines as students have access to fewer loans.
* Nursing
* Physician assistants
* Physical therapists
* Audiologists
* Architects
* Accountants
* Educators
* Social workers

The list of requirements/professions has not been finalized, so there is
still time to contact lawmakers to express concerns.

Use our[16] email template to create a message that will be sent directly
to your US lawmakers.

In Case You Missed It

[17]From Celebration to Crisis - The Impacts of Aggressive Immigration
Enforcement for Our Children

[18]NC teachers say no state budget impacting classrooms

[19]NC children of disabled veterans see expanded cuts to scholarships

[20]With Crossed Wires and Late Funding, Some Call Education Department
Move to Labor a 'Muddle'

New Fact Sheets and Video!

Check out our latest fact sheets:

[21]Public Education Funding in North Carolina

[22]North Carolina's Tax Cuts Threaten Public Education

We also created a short video about North Carolina's tax cuts. [23]WATCH it
HERE.

Mark Your Calendar!

Multiple Dates, 7:00-8:30 pm: Resilience and ACES. Learn about Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACES) and resilience. Join us for this
award-winning, 60-minute film, Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The
Science of Hope. This documentary examines how abuse, neglect, and other
adverse childhood experiences affect children’s development & health
outcomes in adulthood. This powerful movie is a conversation starter and a
perspective changer.

[24]REGISTER HERE

All screenings are on Thursday and include time for discussion. Invite a
friend and contact us about setting up a private screening for your school
staff, PTA, civic group, church, or synagogue.
* January 22, 2026
* February 26, 2026
* March 26, 2026

Request A Speaker!

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

"Millions of families of color as well as poor whites stand to lose as they
truly have no choice other than to enroll their children in underfunded,
segregated schools, public, private, or charter. Choice has provided a
safety net for some but the majority are in peril."

— Jon Hale, The Choice We Face p. 165

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.

[25]DONATE HERE

[26]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]

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