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95 N.C. L. Rev. Addendum 1 (2016-2017)

handle is hein.journals/addendum95 and id is 1 raw text is: 95 N.C. L. REV. ADDENDUM 1 (2016) Misinterpreting the Public Purpose Provision: How Hart v. State Eroded North Carolina's Legal Protections for Education* But education is the foundation for all we do in life, it shapes who we are and what we aspire to be.' -Former Governor Jim Hunt INTRODUCTION In 2015, for the first time in state history, the Supreme Court of North Carolina determined that nonpublic schools could qualify as constitutionally eligible recipients of public taxpayer dollars.2 In Hart v. State,3 the Supreme Court of North Carolina held that the expenditure in question, the Opportunity Scholarship Program (the Program), met the standards required for designation as for a public purpose.' The Program consisted5 of a $4,200 per year scholarship voucher to be distributed to eligible students living in households with up to 133% of the income necessary to qualify for free and reduced lunch programs.6 Subject to certain restrictions,' parents and students could use the scholarship money to attend any nonpublic school.' The court's designation of the Program's expenditures as for a public purpose allowed for state appropriations to fully fund the expenditure.9 * @ 2016 Richard A. Ingram. 1. Jim Hunt, More Creativity in the Classroom, HUFFINGTON POST (May 25, 2011, 3:25 PM), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hunt/more-creativity-in-the-cl b_453244 .html [https://perma.cc/B9KN-VLG5]. 2. See Hart v. State, 368 N.C. 122, 133, 774 S.E.2d 281, 289 (2015) ([P]ublic funds may be spent on educational initiatives outside of the uniform system of free public schools....). 3. 368 N.C. 122, 774 S.E.2d 281 (2015). 4. See id. at 138, 774 S.E.2d at 292. 5. While the Opportunity Scholarship Program still exists at the time of publication, this Recent Development will primarily discuss the Program in the past tense to convey the specific attributes of the Program as they were discussed at the time of Hart. 6. N.C. GEN. STAT. §§ 115C-562.1 to 115C-562.2 (2013). 7. Eligibility for the Program required that students meet one of five criteria, in addition to falling within the income level defined by the statute. § 115C-562.1(3)(a). 8. § 115C-562.2(a). 9. See Hart, 368 N.C. at 138, 774 S.E.2d at 292.