CHARLOTTE — Applications for North Carolina Opportunity Scholarships for the 2025-26 school year are now open, and families with students enrolling in any of the Diocese of Charlotte’s 20 Catholic schools are encouraged to apply soon.
The priority deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday, March 6.
Opportunity Scholarships can provide significant financial assistance toward private school tuition and fees for grades K-12.
Awards range from approximately $3,000 to $7,000, based on a family’s household income and when they apply.
A companion program, the Education Student Account Scholarship (ESA+), has the same application window and provides financial assistance for private school and homeschool tuition for students with special needs.
Financial assistance provided through both programs can have a meaningful impact for families who want to provide their child with a Catholic education, which in the diocese ranges from approximately $5,000 to $13,000 per year for registered Catholic families, depending on the school and grade level.
“Expanding access to school choice ensures that every family, regardless of income, can choose the best educational environment for their children,” said Dr. Greg Monroe, the diocese’s superintendent of schools. “We encourage every family to apply and explore the possibilities available to them.”
Parents may not realize that many of the Opportunity Scholarship program’s previous hurdles, such as income and enrollment requirements, have been eliminated and funding for the upcoming school year has been increased.
Opportunity Scholarships are awarded on a four-tiered system according to household income, with families in lower income brackets receiving higher priority.
Families will receive notification of the amount they qualify for by April, and offers to previous scholarship recipients are already being sent.
The Opportunity Scholarship program was introduced in 2013 to pave the way for low-income students at low-performing public schools to attend a private school of their choice. Since then, the state Legislature has gradually increased funding and broadened application criteria.
A decade after Opportunity Scholarships were launched, during the 2023-24 school year, participation in the program had grown to 32,549 participants statewide with funding totaling $185 million. In the Charlotte diocese, 832 out of 8,169 enrolled students – roughly 10% – received funding totaling more than $5.4 million.
Additional funding and revisions to the state’s 2023 Appropriations Act created more opportunities. Income requirements were lifted, and prior enrollment in a public school was no longer required. The changes dramatically increased Opportunity Scholarship application numbers and awards for students to attend private schools, including the diocese’s Catholic schools.
While enrollment increased by 146 students across the diocese in 2024-25, many schools saw double to 10 times the number of Opportunity Scholarships over the prior year. For example, St. Gabriel School in Charlotte went from awards to families totaling $66,545 to $1,108,045, and St. Mark School in Huntersville went from $317,934 to $2,028,970. The 2025 spring semester funds are still being distributed, but in total, schools were awarded $18,339,843, a $12,897,537 increase over last year and a tremendous savings for parents.
Because of changes in the requirements, the 2024-25 school year yielded 79,372 eligible applicants, which created a waitlist of 54,000. To clear that list, legislators passed House Bill 10 to add an additional $463 million for the Opportunity Scholarship program.
— Lisa Geraci
More online
At www.k12.ncseaa.edu: Get more information about the N.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, review eligibility guidelines, and apply online
