Some North Carolina high school students could soon decide to skip their senior year under an early graduation plan that’s moving through the House and Senate.
The House and Senate bills titled “Choose Your School, Choose Your Future” expand the state’s voucher program, which provides public money for private school tuition. But they also require all public schools to create a three-year track to graduation — and they provide a new state scholarship to encourage students to use that track.
Senator Michael Lee, a New Hanover County Republican, said the change allows teens to move more quickly into the work force, the military or higher education.
“This is an elective option for families," he said, "It’s their choice if they choose to go on that track. If they do go on that track and they graduate a year early they’re entitled to a scholarship that they could use for the next couple of years.:
The bill is sponsored by Republican legislative leaders who have a veto-proof majority.