Private school in the Triangle, with up to $7,942 a year from the state.
North Carolina's 2026-27 Opportunity Scholarship pays $3,574 to $7,942 per student at any income, and ESA+ adds $9,000 or $17,000 for students with a disability. We matched all 133 Direct Payment listings in Wake, Johnston, Durham and Orange to the federal school survey, so you can see where that money can actually be spent.
Top 2026-27 award, Tier 1. Tier 2 pays up to $7,148, Tier 3 $4,766 and Tier 4 $3,574, in two semester payments.
Direct Payment listings for 2026-27: 81 in Wake, 37 in Durham, 9 in Orange and 6 in Johnston.
Higher ESA+ account for five listed disability areas; the base account is $9,000. It also pays therapy, tutoring and devices.
Students statewide held an Opportunity Scholarship in 2025-26, according to the state's June 2026 report to legislators.
What would a Tier 3 family in Cary actually pay?
A household of four earning $160,000 is in Tier 3 for 2026-27. Picture that family at a Christian K-12 school with an illustrative $11,500 tuition and an illustrative $1,500 sibling or need-based discount.
The award is NCSEAA's published 2026-27 Tier 3 maximum. The tuition and discount are assumptions for illustration; neither the state table nor the federal survey reports tuition.
Funding a Triangle family can stack
The statewide voucher, the disability savings account, three different pre-K routes, child care subsidy, Diocese of Raleigh aid, dual enrollment and the federal donor credit arriving in 2027.
NC Opportunity Scholarship
The Opportunity Scholarship is North Carolina's private school voucher. For 2026-27 it pays a Direct Payment School $3,574 to $7,942 per student per year, depending on household income, and there is no income ceiling.
Who qualifies →Disability ESA · $9,000 or $17,000ESA+ (Education Student Accounts)
ESA+ is a state-funded savings account for North Carolina kindergarten-through-12th-grade students who have a disability. The 2026-27 account holds $9,000, or $17,000 for five listed disability categories, and pays tuition, therapy, tutoring, curriculum and devices through ClassWallet.
Who qualifies →Free · Wake County 4-year-oldsWake Pre-K (NC Pre-K, Title I & Head Start)
Wake County families apply once for three free pre-K programs: NC Pre-K, WCPSS Title I Pre-K and Telamon Head Start. The child must live in Wake and be four by August 31, and the application center is run by Wake County Smart Start.
Who qualifies →County-funded · Durham 4-year-oldsDurham PreK
Durham PreK is Durham County's own investment in pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds, managed by Early Years Inc. Its stated aim is high-quality pre-K for every four-year-old in the county.
Who qualifies →Free · Income-basedNC Pre-K (North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten)
NC Pre-K is North Carolina's free pre-kindergarten year for four-year-olds whose household income is no more than three-quarters of the state median. In Johnston, Orange and Durham it runs through each county's NC Pre-K contractor, and in Wake it is part of the Wake Pre-K application.
Who qualifies →Income-based · Working parentsChild Care Subsidy (Subsidized Child Care Assistance)
North Carolina's child care subsidy helps parents who work, attend school or job training pay a participating child care provider. In Wake County, Wake County Social Services takes applications; Durham, Orange and Johnston families apply at their county social services department.
Who qualifies →How do the Triangle's programs differ?
| Program | Who it serves and what it pays |
|---|---|
| Opportunity Scholarship, North Carolina's school voucher | Any K-12 student; $3,574 to $7,942 toward required tuition and fees |
| ESA+ (Education Student Accounts) | Students with a qualifying disability; an account of $9,000 or $17,000 that covers tuition plus therapy, tutoring and devices |
| Wake Pre-K application | Wake four-year-olds; one form for NC Pre-K, Title I Pre-K and Head Start |
| Durham PreK | Durham County four-year-olds; county-funded |
What an ESA+ account covers beyond tuition
Licensed therapy, live tutoring, core curriculum, devices on a three-year cycle, exam fees, contracted rides and, for 2026-27, art and music lessons. At least $500 a year has to go to core academics.
Private school tuition
Tuition at a listed school is the one cost both state programs pay, and for ESA+ it comes off the top.
See the rule →Curriculum
Complete, ready-to-use programs in core subjects and foreign language, bought through the ClassWallet Marketplace.
See the rule →Laptops, tablets & educational technology
One computer, one general-purpose tablet and one interactive whiteboard every three years, ordered through the ClassWallet Marketplace.
See the rule →Educational therapy
Licensed therapists who have enrolled with SEAA can be paid from the account, including insurance co-pays.
See the rule →
Three steps to a funding plan
Tell us the basics
Grade, type of school, where in the Triangle you live, household size and timing. No paperwork.
Hear back with your programs
An advisor estimates your tier, checks ESA+ and pre-K fit, and looks at the aid offered by the schools on your list.
Keep every date
We track the NCSEAA window, the October 1 enrollment cutoff, diocesan and school aid dates and pre-K applications.
173 Triangle schools, each checked against the 2026-27 state list
Grades, enrollment and affiliation for 120 of them come from the federal survey. The other 53 appear only on NCSEAA's Direct Payment table.
Catholic Schools
Parish schools of the Diocese of Raleigh, Cardinal Gibbons High, the lay-run St. Thomas More Academy and Cristo Rey's work-study high school in Durham.
13 schools →Christian Schools
Non-denominational, Baptist, Adventist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Pentecostal and Assemblies of God schools across Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston.
49 schools →Church-Run Schools
Christian schools whose registered names point to a church, denomination or ministry, from Baptist academies to an Assembly school.
18 schools →Islamic, Jewish & Quaker Schools
Islamic schools in Raleigh, Cary and Durham, the Jewish day school and a Chabad academy, and the Quaker school on the Durham-Orange line.
11 schools →Independent & Non-Religious Schools
Campuses with no reported religious tie: college-prep campuses, the Thales network, Montessori and Waldorf programs, microschools and specialty schools.
62 schools →Montessori Schools
Montessori programs from toddler rooms through high school in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Durham and Chapel Hill.
19 schools →Schools for Learning Differences
Schools the federal survey files as special education programs, such as Fletcher, Hill Center, Trilogy and Hope Creek.
10 schools →Preschools & Early Learning
Programs in the federal survey that stop before first grade: church preschools, Montessori children's houses and early-learning chains.
17 schools →By area: Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh · North Raleigh · Cary, Apex & Morrisville · Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina & Garner · Wake Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale & Zebulon · Durham · Chapel Hill, Carrboro & Hillsborough · Clayton, Smithfield & Johnston County
Leading a school, or planning one?
Families who reach you through us already know their likely tier. Congregations get a plain account of North Carolina's church school rules and what the Direct Payment list adds.
Will ESA+ buy a Raleigh student a new laptop?
Yes, within limits: an ESA+ account can fund one new computer and one tablet in each three-year period for a student with a disability.
Purchases go through the ClassWallet Marketplace, and accessories or a warranty must follow within 30 calendar days of the device order. Opportunity Scholarship money never pays for devices, so only ESA+ families can use this. Rules apply.
Recent posts from Raleigh Edu Funding
The 2027 Federal Scholarship Tax Credit in North Carolina: What Raleigh Donors and Families Can Expect
A $1,700 donor credit starts January 1, 2027, but NCSEAA has not yet listed approved SGOs.
Read it →Oct 26, 2026Wake Pre-K, Durham PreK or NC Pre-K? Free Pre-K Routes Across the Triangle for Fall 2027
Three routes to a free or county-supported pre-K year, chosen by the county you live in.
Read it →Oct 23, 2026North Carolina's 2026 Voucher Audit and Testing Rules: What Raleigh Families Should Know
A state audit, yearly school audits and four-year test records, with award amounts unchanged.
Read it →Triangle school funding questions
What is the 2026-27 Opportunity Scholarship worth to a family in Raleigh?
It pays $3,574 to $7,942 per student, depending on income. For a household of four, up to $61,050 is Tier 1 ($7,942), up to $122,100 is Tier 2 ($7,148), up to $274,725 is Tier 3 ($4,766), and anything higher is Tier 4 ($3,574).
Which Triangle private schools can receive the Opportunity Scholarship?
Only schools on NCSEAA's Direct Payment list. The 2026-27 table had 133 listings across Wake, Johnston, Durham and Orange, and our directory flags each school.
Is there free pre-K in Raleigh and Durham?
Yes, for many families. Wake runs one application for NC Pre-K, WCPSS Title I Pre-K and Telamon Head Start, Durham County funds Durham PreK, and NC Pre-K serves income-eligible four-year-olds in every county.
Can a Triangle student with a disability get more than the voucher?
Yes. ESA+ funds a $9,000 account each year, rising to $17,000 when the disability area is visual or orthopedic impairment, autism, hearing impairment or a moderate or severe intellectual disability, and the money can go to tuition, therapy, tutoring and devices.
When should Raleigh families apply for 2027-28?
Plan for early February 2027. NCSEAA has not posted 2027-28 dates, but the 2026-27 priority window ran from February 2 to March 2, 2026.
Find out which programs your child can use
About two minutes of questions. Then a Raleigh Edu Funding advisor phones you with an estimated tier, the programs that match and the deadlines coming up.