North Carolina House considers bill to increase Opportunity Scholarship transparency for nonpublic schools

State Rep. Cynthia Ball has introduced a bill designed to bolster oversight and reporting standards for nonpublic schools benefiting from Opportunity Scholarship funding, the North Carolina State House reports.

Officially filed as HB 1184 on April 30 during the 2025 regular session, the measure carries the short title of “Voucher School Transparency Act.”

The following summary incorporates elements clarified from the original bill text for reader understanding.

The measure imposes more stringent accountability and reporting obligations on nonpublic schools that participate in the Opportunity Scholarship program. These schools would be required to expand annual reporting on categories such as tuition rates, enrollment numbers, attendance data, curriculum details, teacher licensing standards, accreditation status, safety strategies, as well as graduation rates and test outcomes. The bill prohibits schools from adding fees based on scholarship status, updates student testing requirements, requires public reporting of aggregate test results, and directs test selection in line with a University of North Carolina study on suitable, nationally standardized assessments. The study is supported by a $50,000 appropriation. Additional provisions call for the state auditor to annually review at least three school audits, assessing taxpayer fund usage and student achievement. Most provisions would go into effect July 1, 2026.

Among the bill’s four sponsors, Phil Rubin introduced the most measures (38) in the 2025 regular session.

North Carolina legislative procedures require a bill to pass through a series of steps before becoming law. After a lawmaker files a bill, it goes to committee for review. The bill is then read three times in both legislative chambers. If one chamber amends the bill already approved by the other chamber, both must ultimately agree on the same version. Final approval sends the bill to the governor, who has 10 days—or 30 days when the General Assembly is not in session—to sign, veto, or let the bill become law without signature.

Additional information about the status of bills is available here.

Ball holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and also graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University.

A Democrat representing North Carolina’s 49th House district, Ball was elected to the State House in 2017, succeeding Gary Pendleton.