H420 Summary: Expand & Consolidate K-12 Scholarships

• Expands the Personal Education Student Accounts (PESA) program beginning in 2024-2025 to remove the disability requirement and allow all eligible North Carolina students to receive scholarships for nonpublic school attendance and college courses taken before high school graduation.

• Increases scholarship amounts effective July 1, 2025, raising awards from 33% to 66% of state per-pupil allocation for full-time students and from 17% to 33% for part-time students attending nonpublic schools.

• Consolidates PESA and the Opportunity Scholarship program by repealing the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve effective July 1, 2025, and repealing the entire Opportunity Scholarship Program effective July 1, 2026.

• Significantly increases state appropriations for the PESA program from approximately $49 million in 2024-2025 to over $1.5 billion annually beginning in 2027-2028 and continuing thereafter.

• Eliminates the midyear average daily membership (ADM) adjustment calculation for local school administrative units and mandates contacting Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, Inc., for program outreach services.