State Legislature Sidesteps Dem Gov, Passes Sweeping School Choice Measure

The North Carolina legislature successfully overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto Wednesday in a measure that opens up school choice vouchers to over 50,000 students.

The bill, Require ICE Cooperation & Budget Adjustments, added additional funds to the state’s school choice program for the thousands of students that have been held on a waitlist, according to The Center Square. Cooper vetoed the bill in September claiming it would have a “disastrous impact” on public schools, but the North Carolina House voted against the governor on Tuesday and the Senate finalized the veto override in a vote on Wednesday.

The governor has since taken to X to call the legislators’ decision a “massive power grab” and referred to school choice programs as a “nightmare.”

“Private school vouchers are the biggest threat to public schools in decades because they don’t improve student performance and they drain taxpayer money from badly needed investments like better teacher pay,” Cooper said in a press release announcing the veto. “North Carolina public schools continue to thrive and improve despite chronic underfunding by the legislature. We must stop the expansion of private school vouchers and prioritize investing in our public schools.”

North Carolina pays about $5,000 less per student on Education