In a striking shift from the days of COVID school shutdowns and remote/virtual learning when public sentiment strongly supported in-person learning, state lawmakers have opened the door to more remote learning in recent years.
In the 2023 Appropriations Act, state lawmakers included policies to allow charter schools to open regional or statewide remote academies pending approval by the Charter Schools Review Board.
Charter schools are seizing the opportunity.
They may be influenced by the example set by the two statewide virtual charter schools in operation since 2015-16: NC Cyber Academy (NCCA) and NC Virtual Academy (NCVA). Both were opened as pilot programs and have been consistently low-performing. However, they still managed to secure a five-year renewal in January after their first required review.
Both schools also have millions in extra funds. According to the NCDPI Office of School Business, at the end of 2025, NC Cyber Academy had $9.7 million and NC Virtual Academy had $16.0 million in leftover funds.
These generous fund balances can be traced back to state policy. Stand-alone (not connected to a brick-and-mortar charter school) virtual/remote schools receive the same per-pupil funding as brick-and-mortar schools, but they have far fewer expenses.
Statewide remote charter schools receive the same per-pupil funding as the local district where the main office is located. Both NC Virtual Academy and NC Cyber Academy have main offices in Durham, but they enroll students from across the state.
Two new stand-alone statewide charter schools are scheduled to open in the fall. NC Connections is also located in Durham, while Dogwood Virtual School (formerly Pine Springs Preparatory Virtual Academy – PSPVA) is located in Wake County, which has one of the highest per-pupil expenditures in the state.
PSPVA has a poor track record from its brief time as a remote charter attached to Pine Springs Preparatory Academy. It earned the lowest possible scores in 2025: an F school performance grade and Not Met growth designation. Yet it still got approved to become the new stand-alone Dogwood Virtual School. How is this serving the best educational needs of our children?
At their March meeting, Charter School Review Board Member Stepehn Gay expressed concerns about approving more remote charter schools: “We’ve been pontificating about our beliefs on remote schools. So mine is I don’t believe in the remote schools. And let’s just call it what it is. I see it as a money grab for a lot of schools that are doing it.”
State Senator Jay Chaudhuri called the expansion of statewide virtual charter schools “educational malpractice” during a recent webinar.
The North Carolina State Board of Education is asking lawmakers to change how stand-alone statewide virtual charter schools are funded, proposing to replace county-based payments with a statewide per-pupil rate.
Under current state law, charter schools may contract with for-profit agencies to manage all aspects of the school, including staffing, building leases, facility management, and even school uniform purchases. These Education Management Organizations (EMOs) have made millions in profits (see our Charter School Report) for their owners as well as investors.
NC Virtual Academy (with $16 million leftover funds) is run by the for-profit company K-12—formerly Stride K-12— which is traded on the NY Stock Exchange. In September 2025, a New Mexico school board sued Stride for fraud, deceptive trade practices, and systemic violations of law regarding mandated teacher-to-student ratios.
PSPVA, the “failing” remote charter school that just got approved to become Dogwood Virtual School, a stand-alone statewide virtual charter, is also managed by K-12, raising concerns that executives are more interested in profit for investors than in student achievement.
Unlike charter schools, traditional public schools—which have been allowed to operate remote academies since the 2023-24 school year—have no profit motive and are approved and reviewed by the State Board of Education. Remote academies are located in traditional public schools across the state.
NCDPI also operates a statewide virtual school that offers courses to supplement regular school offerings. North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) was honored for its high-quality online learning by the international organization, Quality Matters. NCVPS received the Making a Difference for Students Award by exemplifying a focus on learners and demonstrating a commitment to high course quality and effective approaches to improving student outcomes.
In 2024-25, students from across the state enrolled in NCVPS courses, but more charter school students enrolled in NCVPS courses than students from any traditional district. NCVPS enrolled 6,942 charter students followed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (6,030) and Wake County Public Schools (4,131).
Does the state really need more remote options?
In the 2025-26 school year, there are eight remote charter academies operating in addition to the two statewide virtual charter schools (NCCA and NCVA).
In their March meeting, the Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB) approved more remote charter requests, bringing the total approved remote charters to 21.
In his comments about the statewide virtual charter schools, SBE Chair Duncan asked,
“Why are we allowing our students to continue to be exposed to this inadequate form of education that is creating enormous profits or fund balances for outside entities?”
Because lawmakers shifted responsibility for approving charter schools away from the SBE to the CSRB in 2023, Chair Duncan has little direct power to stop the money grab. However, CSRB members have the power, but some may have little incentive to change the current trajectory.
Bruce Friend, the CSRB chair, is also superintendent of PSPVA, the statewide virtual charter managed by K-12 and just approved to become a stand-alone school.
Contact your lawmakers. These policies can be changed.