Wall Street Journal: A Carolina Victory for School Choice

“GOP legislators call Gov. Cooper’s bluff on Cares Act relief money”

Raleigh, N.C. — Today’s Wall Street Journal features an editorial about the Republican-controlled legislature’s school choice victory. It’s worth a read. Check out the full editorial here. Below are excerpts:

“Parents in North Carolina struggling to get their children back to the classroom have received some welcome news. The state Legislature’s $1.1 billion Covid-19 relief package includes a provision expanding the state’s school choice program.

“The victory is all the more significant because the state’s Democratic Governor, Roy Cooper, came into office vowing to eliminate the program. In late August he proposed taking $85 million from the Opportunity Scholarship program while spending $360 million for a $2,000 bonus for all public school teachers.

…

“North Carolina’s decision comes as Covid-19 has exposed the union-first, students-last priorities of traditional public schools. Many union schools refuse to return to in-person learning, while charters and private schools are doing so. Parents worried about their children falling behind are learning that the union schools’ take-it-or-leave-it approach leaves them without options.

“‘North Carolina’s actions show what can be done when legislators, even in a state governed by both parties, are willing to put party loyalties aside,’ says Jeanne Allen, CEO of the Center for Education Reform. Let’s hope more states follow North Carolina’s lead.”