It’s time for a serious look at open enrollment in NC public schools | Opinion
North Carolina just got a new state budget, and tucked away in that massive, 634-page new law is a provision that tasks the North Carolina Collaboratory with conducting a study on public school open enrollment. The legislature wants to know “how local school administrative units can allow students to attend any school within the local school administrative unit in which the student is domiciled.”
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So why is open enrollment included in the state budget? Access to a good school is one of the most important influences of student success.
Currently, for every ten students in North Carolina public schools, three attend a school that earned an A or B grade in the annual school report cards published by the Department of Public Instruction. Conversely, seven attend schools graded C, D, or F.
The residential school assignment system — in which students are assigned to schools based on where they live and school quality is linked to the household incomes of their surrounding communities — both contributes to and perpetuates these maladies.
Open enrollment could help to remedy these problems. It allows students to enroll in other public schools in their local district (within-district) or even another school district (cross-district), assuming space is available.
According to a recent report by the Reason Foundation, 16 states have strong cross-district open enrollment laws, 17 states have strong within-district open enrollment, 27 states have weak open enrollment laws, and four states have no open enrollment policies codified at the state level.
North Carolina is one of those four states. The absence of a statewide statute allows local school districts to develop local programs. A handful of districts have open enrollment programs, but most do not.
A January 2026 Carolina Journal Poll found that 79% of North Carolinians said they support within-district open enrollment, a gain in support of 7 percentage points from the previous year. Nevertheless, some people oppose open enrollment because they believe it will siphon funds from their public schools. Others fear that open enrollment will lead to further segregation or that the lack of transportation will limit access for those who could most benefit from better schools.
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These are issues that can be and have been solved. Instead of fearing they will lose students, districts can use open enrollment to spur innovation and create other programs that will retain and attract students. A powerful example can be found in Union County Public Schools, where schools have teamed up with businesses in health care and other areas to offer special programs to students interested in those fields.
Those who believe open enrollment would further segregation forget that residential school assignment boundaries predate open enrollment. Transportation challenges are real. Nevertheless, simple steps can provide real help. Allow open-enrolled students to access bus routes for new schools. Work with the private sector to develop shared pick-up and drop-off locations, such as is done in large urban areas like Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado. Finally, allow state transportation formulas to be used for open enrollment as well.
Three states — Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Arizona — offer important lessons on how to move forward with open enrollment. Oklahoma passed one of the best open enrollment laws in the country, but later found out a lack of enforcement hampered the reach of the program. Wisconsin excelled at showing how rural and urban districts alike can manage steady growth and how data collection can effectively inform policymaking. Lastly, Arizona has had open enrollment for over three decades. Over that time, open enrollment has created a culture of choice, competition, and innovation in Arizona’s public schools to the benefit of families and schools.
Too few students in North Carolina public schools have access to quality educational opportunities. The good news is that open enrollment can make better educational options a reality for many students and can aid school districts. By encouraging schools to focus on strengths and pursue innovative programs, open enrollment can be a lifeline for school districts working to retain and attract students and reverse years of declining enrollment due largely to declining birth rates and expanded school choice options.
Open enrollment provides expanded educational options for children and school districts across our nation. The North Carolina General Assembly is right to study open enrollment. Isn’t it time all North Carolinians had access to better educational options regardless of where they live?
Dr. Robert Luebke is Director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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