Last week marked National School Choice Week, a time usually celebrated by those who believe families should decide how their children are educated.
Good evening,
Last week marked National School Choice Week, a time usually celebrated by parents, educators, and reformers who believe families should decide how their children are educated.
So it came as a small surprise when the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) joined the festivities.
Yes, that DPI.
For years, state education leaders treated school choice like an embarrassing family secret. This year, however, DPI hosted a press conference celebrating “choice” in North Carolina’s public schools.
But before we break out the confetti, it’s worth asking an obvious question: Is it really a choice if families can only choose among government-run options?
DPI’s celebration focused on open enrollment within the public school system, allowing families to apply to schools outside their assigned zones. That is progress, and it deserves recognition!
The latest Carolina Journal Poll showed overwhelming support for open enrollment, and open enrollment reform is past due, with North Carolina placing dead last in the Reason Foundation’s open enrollment rankings.
Open enrollment gives parents some flexibility and acknowledges an important truth: zip codes should not determine a child’s future.
Still, this version of choice remains carefully fenced in.
True educational choice means allowing families to select the learning environment that best fits their child, whether that’s a traditional public school, a charter school, a private school, a microschool, or home-based education.
Open enrollment is a step forward, but the destination is a system where meaningful choice drives quality and every child has access to an excellent education.
North Carolina has made real strides in recent years by expanding charter schools and opening Opportunity Scholarships to more families. Those reforms recognize what parents already know: education works best when families, not bureaucracies, are in charge.
If National School Choice Week tells us anything, it’s that even long‑standing opponents of education freedom are beginning to acknowledge its value.
The next step is simple: move from symbolic celebration to meaningful reform.
You can read more about school choice and open enrollment in North Carolina here, here, and here.
Esse quam videri,
Donald Bryson
CEO
John Locke Foundation
RSVP today for Carolina Liberty Conference!
We’re only a few weeks away from our biennial Carolina Liberty Conference! There is still time to snag your tickets and share in great company, like NC Chief Justice Paul Newby, NC Auditor Dave Boliek, NC Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee, and Lord Daniel Hannan.
The North Carolina Medicaid program is on an unsustainable fiscal path.
Total Medicaid spending in North Carolina nearly doubled in four years, jumping from $18.14 billion in FY 2021 to an estimated $35.77 billion in FY 2025 (a 97.2% increase).
State appropriations for the program rose by 57% over the same period.
This growth creates "opportunity costs," potentially diverting funds away from other state priorities like education and public safety.
The program relies heavily on federal receipts (70%) and provider taxes (13%), leaving the state vulnerable to federal fiscal instability and looming regulatory changes.
Federal law will lower the cap on provider tax rates from 6% to 3.5% by 2032.
Because North Carolina uses these taxes to fund its share of both expansion and traditional Medicaid, this change could create a multi-billion-dollar funding gap.
While Medicaid expansion is funded by provider taxes rather than direct appropriations, the influx of over 700,000 "able-bodied adults" has strained the overall system.
North Carolina’s Medicaid share has climbed to nearly 40% of its total expenditures, one of the highest rates in the nation.
The data make clear that North Carolina’s Medicaid program is on an unsustainable trajectory - with the greatest risk being the program’s heavy dependence on provider taxes to finance traditional Medicaid, which serves society’s most vulnerable.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, has been a disaster, with insurance premiums skyrocketing while coverage has worsened.
Medical debt has become so bad that last year the state implemented a program to pay down $6.5 billion in medical debt for 2.5 million people.
North Carolina should follow the lead of U.S. territories (like Puerto Rico and Guam), which received Obama-administration guidance in 2014, exempting them from the ACA’s costliest regulations.
By adopting this model, the state could allow insurers to offer plans that bypass expensive ACA requirements, such as "guaranteed issue," community-rating price controls, and essential health benefits mandates.
Removing these federal mandates would allow for more flexible insurance products, leading to more affordable premium options for consumers and employers.
Since many large insurers already operate in both U.S. territories and North Carolina, provider networks are already in place to facilitate these "off-territory" plans.
Florida and Kentucky have already introduced similar legislation, providing a template for North Carolina legislators to follow.
State legislators don’t need to wait for acts of Congress to address the affordability problem.
Empowering North Carolina health insurance consumers with more choice can provide relief at a time when health care has become unaffordable for far too many.
The board of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) met on January 13 to make final decisions on early voting plans for counties whose boards of elections could not come to a unanimous agreement.
There are 319 early voting sites scheduled for the 2026 primary, a net increase of 18 sites compared to the 301 available during the 2022 primary.
In Jackson County, the board decided to consolidate two sites in Cullowhee by closing the Western Carolina University (WCU) campus site.
Voters (including students) are directed to the nearby Jackson County Recreation Center.
Despite protests, there will be no early voting site at North Carolina A&T State University for the 2026 midterm primary.
The number of counties offering Sunday voting will decrease from 29 in 2022 to 20 in 2026.
Eight counties eliminated Sunday voting entirely, and one (Harnett) dropped both Sundays of early voting.
While Sunday voting is popular for "souls to the polls" initiatives, it typically has the lowest overall participation rate and higher administrative costs, leading some counties to prioritize budget and election worker resources.
