NCSBA Legislative Update – January 13, 2023

NCSBA Legislative Update – January 13, 2023

by North Carolina School Boards Association last updated on January 13, 2023

 

On Wednesday, January 11, the North Carolina General Assembly held opening ceremonies for the 2023 legislative session. The legislature plans to start conducting business on Wednesday, January 25. Committees, however, are likely to begin meeting in February. Committee assignments for the State Senate have been announced and can be found below. Committee assignments for the State House are expected to be announced soon.

State House

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby administered the oath of office for the 120 State House members. After the oath of office, the body elected Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, to serve as Speaker of the House for a record-setting fifth term.

“We will have a number of challenges this year we need to deal with,” Speaker Moore stated in his opening remarks. “We know that learning loss is real. We need to continue to invest in education and make sure that all of our students are getting a quality education whatever that path may be for that child and for that family, and that they have the access to those opportunities.”

The House then adopted temporary rules for the 2023 legislative session.

By unanimous vote, Representative Sarah Stevens, R-Surry, will once again serve as Speaker Pro Tempore. In addition, Speaker Moore re-appointed Representative Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, to serve as Chairman of the House Rules Committee. Finally, Democrats re-elected Representative Robert Reives, D-Chatham, as the Minority Leader.

State Senate

Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court Tamara Barringer administered the oath of office for the 50 State Senate members. After the oath of office, Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, was once again elected as President Pro Tempore, the top operational officer of the Senate, and a position he’s held since 2011. Senator Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, was elected as Deputy President Pro Tempore. Additionally, Senate Leader Berger re-appointed Senator Bill Rabon, R- Brunswick, to serve as Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Finally, Democrats re-elected Senator Dan Blue, D-Wake, as Minority Leader.

Upon election for another term as President Pro Tempore, Senator Berger spoke about issues of priority that will be addressed during the legislative session. Concerning education, Berger stated, “We must continue to demand world-class educational opportunities for our students. We’ve made incredible strides, but there is always more to be done. Parents across North Carolina want a greater say in their child’s education — from being involved and knowledgeable about the curriculum, to the opportunity to send their child to a school that fits that child’s educational needs. Our schools must be focused on serving students and parents.”

Berger continued, discussing student outcomes and funding. “There are still far too many students who are struggling to read. We must renew and redouble efforts to improve reading outcomes for all students. We must disabuse ourselves of the notion that more money alone buys positive outcomes for our students. Success in education policy is about more than hitting some arbitrary funding goal. This isn’t a partisan issue. We must come together to ensure that our students can read and have the opportunity for a quality education. Without question, education is a great equalizer in a free society. We fail in our most important task if we fail to recognize and act on that fact.”

Prior to adjournment, the Senate adopted permanent rules for the 2023 legislative session.

Committee Assignments

Senate Education/Higher Education Committee

Senate Appropriations on Education/Higher Education Committee

 

In November 2022, the NCSBA Delegate Assembly approved NCSBA’s 2023-2024 Legislative Agenda, which will be used to guide the Association’s advocacy efforts. To provide additional background information on each item in the Legislative Agenda, including NCSBA’s position, issue briefs will be published on the NCSBA website in the coming weeks. In the meantime, three of those issue briefs are linked below.

 

DPI’s Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) met on Thursday, January 12, and reviewed the next steps for the Commission’s working groups. These working groups will create recommendations on policies and/or rules necessary to implement a pilot program of the new teacher licensure/salary model. As a reminder, PEPSC is developing this model, which would pay teachers based on performance, effectiveness, and years of experience, rather than exclusively on years of experience. The model is expected to provide higher salaries for most, if not all, teachers.

The following are the four working groups’ focus areas:

  • Advance teaching and leader roles
  • Student impact measures
  • New pathway entry points
  • New professional learning tools and structures

Each working group is co-chaired by PEPSC members and includes individuals from school districts, DPI, public and private universities, and community colleges. PEPSC Chair Dr. Van Dempsey explained that the goal of the working groups is to focus on the key structural components of a pilot and that operational details will come when pilot school districts have been identified. Each working group has a January and February meeting scheduled. Working group recommendations will be presented at the next PEPSC meeting on February 23, followed by PEPSC presenting recommendations at the State Board of Education (SBE) meeting on March 1 and 2. Any recommendations adopted by the SBE will require legislative approval.

Click here for the presentation, which includes more about the goals of the working groups and lists of working group members.

 

The Union County Board of Education unanimously voted in December 2022 to make August 9 the start date for the 2023-24 school year. On January 9, 2023, two parents from Union County filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against the Union County School Board alleging the Board adopted a school calendar in violation of State law.

Click here for a copy of the filed lawsuit. Click here for an article on the lawsuit.

 

The following is the Consortium of State School Boards Association’s (COSSBA) most recent federal education report.

January 9, 2023, Weekly Report

 

The following are recent news articles and reports on state and national education-related issues.

State News

National News

 

 

If your school board is planning to have a function with your legislative delegation, we would be happy for a member of the NCSBA Governmental Relations team to attend. Just let us know! Also, if your school board adopts its own legislative agenda, please forward it to rhoward@ncsba.org.

 

 

 

Bruce Mildwurf
Director of Governmental Relations
NC School Boards Association
bmildwurf@ncsba.org

 

Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

 

Madison Skeens
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
mskeens@ncsba.org

 

Rob Black
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
rblack@ncsba.org

North Carolina School Boards AssociationNCSBA Legislative Update – January 13, 2023