Private K-12 Schools NAICS 611110

Feb 3, 2026 - Enrollment Soared In NC After Scholarship Income Cap Removal

• Enrollment in North Carolina's state-funded school voucher program has skyrocketed two years after the state legislature eliminated the income cap for the NC Opportunity Scholarship, according to the Old Gold & Black, Wake Forest University’s student-run newspaper. Over 100,000 K-12 students now receive tuition assistance at North Carolina private schools as of January 2026, up from fewer than 33,000 students during the 2023-2024 school year. Supporters of the program say that the $3,000 to $7,500 which most participating families receive expands access to private schools and allows parents greater flexibility in selecting supportive educational environments for their children, especially those with unique learning needs such as disabilities. During 2024-2025, the first school year following the abolition of the income ceiling, 42% of Opportunity Scholar students came from families earning above $115,440. Several private schools also increased tuition in light of the new policy, drawing criticism from public school advocates, according to the Old Gold & Black.
• Thirty-one states and Washington, DC, provide state tax subsidies to families that use 529 accounts to pay for K-12 private schooling as of November 2025, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. States are not required to provide state tax breaks on top of federal tax breaks for private school tuition. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025, allowed 529 college savings accounts to be used for tuition at private K-12 schools. All but three of the 31 states not only allow money in 529 accounts to grow tax-free and to be used for K-12 tuition, but they also give parents a separate tax break for their initial contributions to these accounts, meaning that a private-school parent can get a tax break for putting money into an account and then withdrawing it immediately to pay for tuition.

• Private schools reported steady enrollment increases since the coronavirus pandemic but the momentum appears to be slowing, according to the Cato Institute. The proportion of schools reporting growth dropped by 15 percentage points from a peak of 55% between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years to 40% between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. Some 32% of private schools saw enrollment decrease between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and 28% reported no change, the Cato Institute said. Among schools with rising enrollment, 69% attribute the growth to "a values alignment between the school and parents." Other top reasons cited include a better academic experience (44%) and parents’ religious beliefs (43%).
• Private K-12 school industry employment has rebounded from pandemic-era lows and remained above pre-pandemic levels in mid-2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private K-12 school revenue is forecast to grow at a 3.86% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Sources of revenue for private schools include tuition, private grants, donations, fundraisers, and income from endowments.