NC House overrides Gov. Stein’s veto of school choice bill to join federal program

North Carolina residents who want the state to participate in the new federal school choice program have new hope after the state House of Representatives overrode the governor’s veto last week.

“This bill expands school choice by helping families access scholarships for private school tuition, tutoring, and homeschooling,” Rep. Brenden Jones, R-North Carolina said in a post on X.

The Educational Choice for Children Act would allow the state of North Carolina to participate in the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, enacted into law July 4, 2025, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Under the Education Freedom Tax Credit, taxpayers can send up to $1,700 of their federal income taxes to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) instead of to the federal government. But scholarships are only available in states that elect to participate in the program.

“This credit does not divert money from local or state taxes, which make up the large majority of school funding,” a statement from the Department of Education reads. “Instead, the program encourages voluntary charitable giving from American taxpayers to support education services for qualifying students.”

These SGOs, as nonprofit organizations, provide student scholarships for tuition, tutoring, supplies and other educational needs at all types of schools, including public and private, in accordance with each state’s policy.

Gov. Josh Stein, D-North Carolina, vetoed the bill in August 2025, claiming it would cut funding from public schools, but promised to join the school-choice model once the policy clarified its guidelines and included public education.

“I see opportunities for the federal scholarship donation tax credit program to benefit North Carolina’s public school kids,” he said in a press release. “Once the federal government issues sound guidance, I intend to opt North Carolina in so we can invest in the public school students most in need of after school programs, tutoring, and other resources.”

While no Democrats voted to pass the bill Wednesday, two former members of the party, who recently lost primary reelection and are finishing their terms as unaffiliated representatives, supported the bill – making the final vote 73-46.

The bill continues to the North Carolina Senate for final approval. If it is granted, the bill will immediately be passed into law, and North Carolina will become the 30th state to opt-in to the Education Freedom Tax Credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service and Ballotpedia.