NCSBA Legislative Update – February 15, 2019

NCSBA Legislative Update – February 15, 2019

School Capital

The Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee approved Senate Bill 5, Building North Carolina’s Future, after extensive debate. While bill sponsors praised the pay-as-you-go approach, several senators pointed out that there is no guarantee that future General Assemblies will stay committed to this plan and that project funding is at the discretion of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The bill will be heard next in Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday morning, February 19, at 9 am.

School Calendar Bills

So far during the 2019-20 legislative long session, the Senate has introduced four local school calendar flexibility bills, and the House has introduced seventeen local school calendar flexibility bills and one statewide school calendar flexibility bill. The twenty-one local bills cover fifty-one LEAs.

NCSBA has created this spreadsheet to track school calendar flexibility bills that are filed each week.

Follow the LOCAL Authority for NC School Calendars’ Twitter account @nclocalcalendar to keep up with the progress being made for local school calendar flexibility.

*sponsor intended to include – will fix when bill goes to committee

 

School Calendar Resolutions

Thank you to the fifty-five school boards and eighteen county commissions that have shared their adopted resolutions with NCSBA in support of school calendar flexibility. Click here to see the full list of school calendar resolutions.

For boards in need of assistance, this packet provides sample resolutions and draft bills that can be used in discussions with your legislators. Please email a copy of your board’s calendar flexibility resolution to Richard Bostic at rbostic@ncsba.org.

After adopting a resolution, school boards and/or county commissions should request that their legislative delegation file a local bill. If the response from the legislator is that the bill is dead on arrival, request that your delegation introduce the bill anyway.

Legislative Public Policy Conference

The NCSBA Legislative Public Policy Conference is scheduled for April 30/May 1 in Raleigh at the NCSBA building. The agenda is still under development, but we are securing a legislative education panel of two State senators (one committee chair) and two House members (one committee chair). Other sessions include an analysis of the real impact on summer learning loss and potential remedies, along with state evaluations on Read to Achieve and the Innovative School District. Also, since the General Assembly is in session during our conference, you will have an opportunity to see them in action and visit with your legislative delegation.

The early bird registration rate for the conference is $250 through February 28, and the normal registration rate is $325 starting March 1. Click here to register.

Legislative Agenda Issue Briefs

The NCSBA Governmental Relations staff is writing issue briefs for each topic in the 2019-20 Legislative Agenda. They can be accessed on the NCSBA website under the Governmental Relations tab or by clicking this link.

View our most recent briefs on School Finance Officers and School Technology.

Bill Tracking

NCSBA Governmental Relation’s bill tracking system allows users to navigate education-related bills through a series of methods. Go to the NCSBA website and select the Bill Tracking option under the Governmental Relations tab, or click here to search for bills using the following options:

  • Direct Link – type in a specific bill number
  • Date Lookup – select a time frame in which a bill was filed
  • Tracking Level – choose one of NCSBA’s positions on filed bills
  • Bill Type – see House bills, Senate bills, or all bills
  • Groups – choose a group and a keyword to narrow down your bill search

The site also includes links to specific pages on the NC Legislature website, as well as a tab containing information about elected officials.

 

 

Leanne E. Winner
Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6686

Bruce Mildwurf
Associate Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6692

Richard Bostic
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6677

Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6688

North Carolina School Boards AssociationNCSBA Legislative Update – February 15, 2019