The State Board of Education met Wednesday and Thursday. The Board approved the following:

NC Portrait of a Graduate Endorsement:  The Board approved an endorsement of the NC Portrait of a Graduate. The Portrait identifies the seven competencies of adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learner’s mindset, and personal responsibility that will prepare students to succeed in college, career, or military.
See the NC Portrait of a Graduate here and endorsement here.

2022 Annual Charter Schools Report:  The report indicates that as of December 2022 over 137,500 North Carolina students were enrolled in charter schools. According to the report, there was a significant increase in enrollment and demand during the pandemic which continued into 2022 with charter enrollment representing over 9% of total public-school enrollment. The report also states that North Carolina has the nation’s fifth highest rate of charter school enrollment growth with a 19% increase between 2019 and 2022. The report notes that eight charter schools are scheduled to open in the Fall of 2023. Since 1998, there have been a total of 87 charter terminations. Vice Chair Alan Duncan requested information on comparing the number of charter schools that failed to meet growth or met or exceeded growth to the number of traditional public schools that did the same.
See the report here.

Educator Preparation Program (EPP) for Central Carolina Community College:  Under the NC Community College framework approved by the State Board of Education in June of 2022, the Board approved an EPP to operate at Central Carolina Community College beginning this fall.  Completion of the program leads to licensure – not a degree.
For more information, click here.

Career & Technical Education (CTE) Licensure Requirement Modification:  Modification allows individuals who did not clear a prior initial CTE restricted license to apply for an initial CTE restricted license in a different teaching area. The teacher must still meet all of the requirements for hire.
See the policy here.

Stronger Connections Grant (NC SCG):  DPI is in the process of screening applicants for these funds.  Federal funds are available under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.  Applications must be submitted by 12:00 pm Noon EST on or before June 27, 2023.
For more information click Stronger Connections Grant.

Update to Licensure Testing Requirements:  The proposed changes reflect vendor updates to ETS Praxis, clarify the pedagogy assessment for secondary licensure areas, and retire the Foundations of Reading Test 090 by July 31, 2023, when Pearson discontinues the test.  As a result, Foundation of Reading (FOR) Test 190 will be the sole reading subtest for North Carolina.
For more information, click here.

Licensure for Service Members and Spouses:  This change to State Board Policy reflects federal provisions under the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022. The proposed change will allow a service member or spouse of a service member who is under military orders to relocate to North Carolina to use an educator’s license from another jurisdiction. This will allow them to teach in North Carolina for the duration of the military order or until June 30 of the same year, whichever is later. For more information, click here.

Teacher Bonus Program 2021-2022 Fiscal Year Report to General Assembly:  State law requires the SBE to study and report the findings on the effect of the program on teacher performance and retention and the amount of the bonuses awarded.  The report was submitted as required in March before all required information was available.  Since then, the required information has been added to the report to the General Assembly.
For the report, click here.
For the presentation the Board heard on the new information, click here.

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

Headlines for this edition include:
Education Department Shares Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence: The US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) published a new report, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations.” The report summarizes risks and opportunities for AI in education, research, and assessment based on public input and coincides with the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing effort to develop a consistent and comprehensive approach to AI-related challenges and opportunities.  The report also outlines AI-related risks, which includes algorithmic bias and the importance of trust, safety, and sufficient protections for educators and students.

Education News
The following are recent news articles, reports, and press releases on state and national education-related issues.State News

Education Bills Passed by Senate Committees

Senate Education/Higher Education Committee

• Updates principal licensure requirements
• Eliminates the requirement that principals must have at least four years of classroom teaching experience and instead requires principals to have at least four years of experience as a “licensed professional educator”
• Requires the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) to develop a portfolio-based assessment for prospective principals
• Requires an internship of at least 500 hours rather than a yearlong internship

• Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to establish a computer science graduation requirement
• Requires the SBE to maintain the 22 credits required for graduation by decreasing the number of required elective credits from six to five (the requirement would begin with students entering the 9th grade in the 2024-2025 school year)
• Requires public school units to offer computer science instruction to students in middle and high school

Education Bills That Passed the House

Local Bills
*Note: Local bills do not go to the Governor for signature, and, once ratified, become law.

• Modifies the staggering of terms for both the Stanly County Board of Commissioners and the Stanly County Board of Education, so that four members are elected in one election cycle and three members are elected in the following election cycle
• *Ratified on May 25, 2023

• Changes the method of election of the Pamlico County Board of Education from nonpartisan to partisan
• *Ratified on May 25, 2023

Education Bills That Passed the Senate

• Decreases the size of the Nash County Board of Education from eleven members to seven members
• Aligns the districts for the Nash Board of Education with the districts of Nash County Board of Commissioners
• Provides for the boundaries of the Nash School Administrative Unit to be identical to the boundaries of Nash County

• Changes the date and method of election of the Franklin County Board of Education to a nonpartisan primary and election method
• *Ratified on May 24, 2023

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

State News
EdNC: Legislators Visit Public School That Sets Up Newcomer Students and Families For Success
EdNC: Cooper Urges Public To Stand Up For Public Schools In Response To Senate Budget
WRAL: NC Teachers Take On A Renewed Way To Teach Reading
WUNC: Who Pays For NC Schools? State Underfunding Could Shift the Burden to Homeowners

National News 
Education Week: New Grants Could Fund 14k School Mental Health Workers. Will It Be Enough?
Education Week: ‘So Catastrophic’- How a Debt Ceiling Breach Would Hurt Schools
Washington Post: Education Slipped and Enrollment Dropped In the Pandemic, Report Shows
New York Times: The Surprising Obstacle to Overhauling How Children Learn To Read

HB 833: Increase Minority Male Teachers/Program Study (primary sponsors: Representatives Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson; Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg; Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford)

SB 636: School Athletic Transparency (primary sponsors: Senators Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
*Chair anticipates to be added, for discussion only*

To stream the House Education K-12 Committee meeting, click here.

The Senate passed its version of the State budget this week on a 36-13 vote. The Senate budget appropriates $11.5 billion to K-12 education items in 2023-24. In 2024-25, the Senate spends $11.7 billion on K-12 education items. This is in direct contrast to the House budget which spends at least $800 million more on K-12 education over the biennium including much higher proposed raises for teachers and other school district staff.
The following are K-12 education highlights of the Senate budget:

• Beginning teacher pay is set to increase from $37,000 to $41,000 over the next two years – an increase of 10.8%.
• For teachers, the budget allocates $99.4 million in recurring funds the first year to implement a new teacher salary schedule for fiscal year 2023-24 and $152.7 million in recurring funds for fiscal year 2024-25. Click here to see a comparison chart on the Senate’s new teacher salary schedule and the House’s proposal.
• Assistant principals are also to be paid on the new salary schedule, plus 19%. The budget allocates $1.3 million in the first year and $1.9 million the second year to implement those changes.
• Outlines a new salary schedule and bonuses for principals, noting that principals can only receive one bonus, paid at the highest amount for which the principal qualifies.
• Most other school employees (including non-certified school employees such as teacher assistants, cafeteria staff, bus drivers, and custodial workers) will receive an across-the-board salary increase of 2.5% in the first year, or a 4.5% increase if the employee is paid on an experience-based salary schedule. There is an additional across-the-board salary increase of 2.5% the second year.
• $10 million recurring increase in funding to add about 120 nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists across the state.
• Significantly expands eligibility and increases funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program
• $35 million in recurring funds both fiscal years for school safety grants (similar to last year’s allocation)
• The proposal does not include anything about reinstating master’s pay, teacher supplement assistance, or paid parental leave, which was included in the House’s budget proposal.

Click here for NCSBA’s summary of Senate education budget provisions. Click here for NCSBA’s comparison chart on the education budget provisions of both the House and Senate.
Click here for the Senate budget bill and click here for the Senate budget money report.
Click here for an article on the Senate budget.

Next steps in the budget process:  The House and Senate will now work together to reach a compromise budget that we anticipate will be rolled out by the middle of June.

With passage of the Senate budget and the unofficial break after the crossover deadline behind us, we’ve moved into the latter part of the session where the two chambers work out their budget differences and start to work on other stand-alone bills. There wasn’t a flurry of activity this week, but the bills that did move are noteworthy.

Choose Your School, Choose Your Future

The largest expansion of private school vouchers in state history, HB823: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future (primary sponsors Representatives Tricia Cotham R-Mecklenburg, David Willis R-Union, Donnie Loftis R-Gaston, Tim Moore R-Cleveland) passed the House by a 65-45 vote on Wednesday.

HB 823 provides vouchers for every family in the State by expanding the Opportunity Scholarship program. It replaces opportunity income requirements with a sliding scale based on household income as follows.

• A family of four with a household income of up to $55,500 (qualifying amount for free/reduced lunch) is eligible for a maximum voucher award of $7,213 in FY 2023-24 (100% of the average state per pupil allocation)
• A family of four with a household income of up to $111,000 is eligible for a maximum voucher award of $6,492 in FY 2023-24
• A family of four with a household income of up to $249,750 is eligible for a maximum voucher award of $4,328 in FY 2023-24
• A family of four with a household income of more than $249,750 is eligible for a maximum voucher award of $3,246 in FY 2023-24

HB 823 does not include stabilization funds for local school districts that will lose significant funding due to a reduction in average daily membership. This is important because as the number of students decreases in a school, a larger percentage of the per-pupil funding goes towards fixed costs with less going towards educating students. Several Democratic-sponsored amendments to the bill that would have curtailed eligibility and provided accountability were defeated.

The bill now goes to the Senate where there is already a similar bill, SB406: Choose Your School Choose Your Future (primary sponsors Senators Michael Lee R-New Hanover, Lisa Barnes R-Nash, Amy Galey R-Alamance) that is waiting to be heard in the Senate Committee On Appropriations/Base Budget. The Senate version differs from the House slightly in that it prohibits local boards of education from requiring more credits to graduate high school than what is required by the State Board of Education (currently, 22 credits).The K-12 Education Committee removed this language from the House bill.  It’s worth noting that both the House and the Senate included the expanded Opportunity Scholarships in their respective budgets. Neither bill is subject to the crossover deadline because they both appropriate monies.

Education Bills Passed by Senate Committees

Local Bills

The following bills passed the Committee on Rules & Operations of the Senate. The next stop is the Senate floor.

SB248: Change Number of Members On Nash County Board of Education (primary sponsors: Senators Lisa Barnes, R-Nash; Buck Newton, R-Wilson)

• Reduces number of seats on the Nash County Board of Education from 11 to seven
• Redraws school district maps to align with County Commission maps
• Makes the filing period two weeks long and changes the date new board members take office to the first Monday in December
• Staggers school board elections to match County Commission elections
• Click here for an official bill summary

HB66: Partisan Boards of Education  (primary sponsors: Representatives Jay Adams, R-Catawba; Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba)

• Changes the method of election for the Catawba County, Hickory City, and Newton-Conover City boards of education from nonpartisan to partisan
• Amended in Senate Redistricting and Elections committee to also make the Pamlico County Board of Elections partisan
• Click here for an official bill summary

HB 452: Franklin County Board of Education Election Method (primary sponsor: Representative Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin)

• Changes the date and method of election of the Franklin County Board of Education to a nonpartisan primary and election method
• Click here for an official bill summary

Education Bills Passed By House Committees
SB17: Stanly Board of Commissioners/Board of Education (primary sponsor Senator Carl Ford R-Rowan) passed in both House Local Government Committee, and the House Rules Committee.  The next stop is the House floor.

• Staggers terms for both the Stanly County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education.

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

State News

EdNC: Public Education Takes Hit In Senate Budget
WRAL: NC House Passes Bill to Expand Private School Vouchers by $400 million, Eligibility to All Family Incomes
WUNC: Budget Bill That Includes Raises for Top Elected Officials Gets OK From NC Senate

National News

Education Week: Do Vouchers/ESAs Take Money From Public Schools? How States Fund School Choice
K-12 Dive: What Does the End of Title 42 Mean for Schools?
New York Times: Florida School District Is Sued Over Book Restrictions
NPR: Dept. of Education Updates Guidance on School Prayer

Neither the House nor Senate had voting sessions this week. The House took the week off. The Senate held one committee meeting and was busy putting the final touches on their proposed State Budget bill, which is expected to be rolled out next week.

Education Bills Passed by the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee

Local Bills

The following bills passed the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee by a voice vote and were sent to the Committee on Rules & Operations of the Senate.

SB248: Change Number of Members On Nash County Board of Education (primary sponsors: Senators Lisa Barnes, R-Nash; Buck Newton, R-Wilson)

• Reduces number of seats on the Nash County Board of Education from 11 to seven
• Redraws school district maps to align with County Commission maps
• Makes the filing period two weeks long and changes the date new board members take office to the first Monday in December
• Staggers school board elections to match County Commission elections
• Click here for an official bill summary

HB66: Partisan Boards of Education  (primary sponsors: Representatives Jay Adams, R-Catawba; Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba)

• Changes the method of election for the Catawba County, Hickory City, and Newton-Conover City boards of education from nonpartisan to partisan
• Amended in committee to also make the Pamlico County Board of Elections partisan
• Click here for an official bill summary

HB 452: Franklin County Board of Education Election Method (primary sponsor: Representative Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin)

• Changes the date and method of election of the Franklin County Board of Education to a nonpartisan primary and election method
• Click here for an official bill summary

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

State News

EdNC: Education Advocates Take On This Year’s Legislative Session

WRAL: School Board Shakeup: New Bill Would Change Maps, Drop Number of Board Members for Nash Schools

National News

Education Week: Schools Could Lose Funding As Lawmakers Spar Over Debt Ceiling

National Public Radio: Schools Ended Universal Free Lunch, Now Meal Debt Is Soaring

Washington Post: New Look At Benefits Of Quality Preschool Education

New York Times: A Campus With A Smokestack Converting Old Factories Into Schools

A new version of HB 219: Charter School Omnibus, passed the House this week.  The bill in its current form does NOT include Part VII of the original bill that threatened to transfer millions of dollars each year from local school districts to charter schools.  Part III, which allowed charter schools to adopt micro school programs was also removed.  In addition, Part V was rewritten, and a new Part VIII was added which impacts classifications for charter schools and nonpublic schools in high school athletics.  Part VI, which allows County Commissioners to provide capital funding to charter schools remains in the bill.  HB 219 was sent to the Senate following a 75-42 vote.  Click here for an official bill summary. Click here to compare version 1 and click here to compare version 3.

Football coaches are fond of saying “we have to compete for all four quarters.” It’s no different when you’re competing at the NC General Assembly.  All of us scored this week in the battle to protect funding for students in traditional public schools and we feel good going into the half, but there is still plenty of time left on the clock for that bad language to pop up somewhere else.  That’s why we can’t lose our focus. Goooooooooo Team!

The General Assembly churned through legislation this week as the crossover deadline – the date by which legislation must pass through one chamber to stay eligible for consideration – drew to a close on Thursday. Bills that have an appropriation of state funds attached are not subject to the crossover deadline. In typical crossover fashion, numerous committees met simultaneously, several daily sessions took place, and countless caucus meetings were held.

Voucher Bill Passes House Education Committee
HB 823: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future, a bill to expand the Opportunity Scholarship Program and a companion bill to SB 406, passed the House Education K-12 Committee on Tuesday. Like the Senate version, HB 823 expands eligibility for Opportunity Scholarships to all families in a tiered system based on income. Just like the debate in the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee, the biggest pushback from Democrats focused on the fact that this program was intended to provide low- and middle-income families an opportunity to attend a private school, and under both bills families with a household income in the millions can now receive a voucher.

A different part of the bill prohibited local boards of education from requiring more credits to graduate high school than what is required by the State Board of Education (currently, 22 credits).The K-12 Education Committee removed this language from the House bill. However, it remains in the Senate version.

Both bills currently reside in their respective Appropriations Committees in each chamber and are not subject to crossover, which means they did not have to pass out of either chamber this week to remain eligible for the rest of the biennium.

Education Bills that Passed the Senate
Statewide Bills
The following bills passed the Senate and were sent to the House.

• SB 364: Nondiscrimination & Dignity in State Work (primary sponsors: Senators Warren Daniel, R-Burke; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Brad Overcash, R-Gaston)
  • Passed 34-14
  • Amends the State Human Resources Act to prohibit compelled speech when an individual seeks state government employment
  • Demonstrates the General Assembly’s intent that state employees recognize the equality and rights of all persons
  • Prohibits state government workplaces from promoting certain concepts that are contrary to that intent
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• SB 636: School Athletic Transparency (primary sponsors: Senators Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
  • Passed 30-20
  • Revises oversight of high school interscholastic athletics
    • Prohibits students who do not live in a school district from competing if their enrollment is solely for athletic participation purposes
  • Recodifies and reorganizes current interscholastic athletics statutes
  • Provision removed in committee to prohibit students of male sex from competing in sports designated for females, women, or girls
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• SB 692: Community College Governance (primary sponsors: Senators Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
  • Removes the authority of a local board of education and the Governor to appoint members of the board of trustees of a local community college
  • Click here for an official bill summary
  • Click here for an article on the bill

Education Bills that Passed the House
Statewide Bills
The following bills passed the House and were sent to the Senate.

• HB 23: Education Studies and Other Changes (primary sponsors Representatives Hugh Blackwell R-Burke, Tricia Cotham R-Mecklenburg, John Torbett R-Gaston)
  • Passed 117-0
  • Originally this bill required DPI to contract with Gooru, Inc, an educational software company to measure pandemic learning loss
  • Now this bill does the following:
    • Requires DPI to study the costs associated with the education of children who need special care due to disabilities
    • Establishes NC Principal Fellows Commission to administer the fellows program
• HB 28: NC Managing Environmental Waste Act of 2023 (primary sponsor Representative ‘Harry Warren R-Rowan)
  • Passed 117-1
  • Requires LEAs, community colleges and many other state entities, to the extent economically practicable, purchase and use materials and supplies with compostable or recyclable content in their food establishments
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 162: Living Donor Protection Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Phil Shepard, R-Onslow; Marcia Morey, D-Durham; Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland)
  • Passed 118-0
  • Provides paid leave for State employees, public school employees, and community college employees for organ donation
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 201:Retirement Administrative Changes Act of 2023 (primary sponsor Representative Carson Smith R-Pender)
  • Passed 117-0
  • Provide that the death benefit of a retiree is paid to the beneficiary, but when there is not a surviving designated beneficiary the death benefit is paid to the deceased retired member’s legal representative.
  • Short-term disability benefits that begin before July 1, 2019, require an employer to notify the Plan before July 1, 2024, of the short-term benefits and the State Health Insurance premiums paid by the employer after the initial six months because the Plan will not reimburse any employer for amounts related to notifications made on or after July 1, 2024.
  • Allows the first retirement benefit payment to be made by direct deposit and applies the same prohibition on changes as is currently in place for checks once they have been cashed.
  • requires the Department of State Treasurer, or the appropriate Board of Trustees, to adopt rules to implement the bill.
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 487: POW/MIA Flags/State Bldgs & Schools (primary sponsors: Representatives Edward Goodwin, R-Chowan; Michael Wray, D-Northampton; Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson; Garland Pierce, D-Scotland)
  • Passed 116-0
  • Requires schools and public buildings to fly the POW flag, provided there is space for the flag on an existing flagpole
  • Click here for an official bill summary

• HB 618: Charter School Review Board (primary sponsors: Representatives Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg; Tim Moore, R-Cleveland; Destin Hall, R-Caldwell; David Willis, R-Union)
  • Passed 75-42
  • Similar to a section in the House Budget
  • Converts the Charter Schools Advisory Board to the Charter Schools Review Board
  • Shifts authority to approve and deny charters from the State Board of Education (SBE) to the Review Board and gives the SBE an appellate role
  • Allows only an applicant, charter school, or the State Superintendent to appeal a final decision of the Review Board to grant, renew, revoke, or amend a charter by submitting notice to the Chair of the SBE within 10 days of the Review Board’s decision
  • Requires the SBE to issue a written decision in any matter appealed under this section within 60 days
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 687: Clarify Vacancy Filling Partisan Bd. of Ed. (primary sponsor: Representative Jon Hardister, R-Guilford)
  • Passed 97-19
  • Clarifies the process to fill a vacancy on a local board of education elected using the partisan method of election
  • Click here for an official bill summary

• HB 824: Teacher License Reciprocity from Every State (primary sponsors: Representatives Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes)
  • Passed 117-0
  • Grants a continuing professional license to any teacher licensed in another state with substantially similar licensing requirements, at least three years experience, and is in good standing with the other state
  • For a teacher renewing a limited license, the current employing LEA must submit an affidavit signed by their principal and superintendent stating that the teacher is currently employed, is effective, meets or exceeds growth where such data is available, and encourage the pursuit of a CPL.
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Local Bills
The following bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate.

• HB 262: School Assignment Zones (primary sponsors: Representatives Phil Shepard, R-Onslow; George Cleveland, R-Onslow; Carson Smith, R-Pender)
  • Passed on a voice vote
  • Requires student assignment zones that allow students the opportunity to attend the schools closest to their residence in Onslow County Schools
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Education Bills Approved by House Committees

HB 799: Local Government Audits (primary sponsors Representatives Matthew Winslow R-Franklin, Howard Penny R-Harnett, Jeff Zenger R-Forsyth) 

• Approved by the House Local Government Committee
• Requires that annual audits of units of local government and local school administrative units be conducted by a CPA or an accountant certified by the Local Government Commission
• Auditors are selected by a sealed bid process
• LEAs may reject winning bid once unsealed
• Auditor selection limited to three criteria – cost, expertise, time for completion
• Appropriates funds to the Council of State Governments to assist local governments with financial record keeping
• Click here for an official bill summary

HB 780 NC Special ID Card for High School Students (primary sponsors Representatives Laura Budd D-Mecklenburg, John Torbett R-Gaston, Ray Pickett R-Watauga)

• Approved by the House State Government Committee
• Establishes a pilot program to issue Real ID compliant special identification cards to students in public high schools in Anson, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union counties
• This bill was not taken up on the House floor and is technically no longer eligible this biennium because it did not pass one of the chambers before the crossover deadline.
• Click here for an official bill summary

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the State Board of Education (SBE) met for its biannual planning and work session, and on Thursday, the SBE held its monthly meeting.

During the monthly meeting, Board members were presented with the following:

• Draft rules for interscholastic athletic eligibility
• 2022 charter schools annual report

Draft rules for interscholastic athletic eligibility: The Board was presented with draft rules to adopt concerning gender requirements for high school athletics. Four options were presented: (i) use the current NC High School Athletic Association’s rule, (ii) use the proposed Title IX rule from the Biden administration, (iii) use the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (HB 574 or SB 631), and (iv) adopt no gender requirements rule. These different options are spelled out (and differentiated in colored text) in the draft rule. It was recommended that the Board may want to take the route of not adopting a rule right now because of pending legislation. Leah Carper, the Board’s teacher advisor, noted the importance of having a statewide rule to protect school and district leaders from being sued. State Superintendent Catherine Truitt agreed with Carper, stating that current federal guidance is contradictory. This agenda item was for discussion this month and will come back before the Board at its June meeting for action.

2022 charter schools annual report: As of December 1, 2022, over 137,500 NC students were enrolled in charter schools. There was a significant increase in charter school demand and enrollment during the pandemic, resulting in a 19% increase in charter school enrollment between 2019 and 2022. According to 2021-22 school year data, 27.2% of charter schools received a school performance grade of A or B, and 62.6% of charter schools met or exceeded growth. Board members requested additional data be presented at next month’s meeting prior to the report being approved by the Board and submitted to the General Assembly. The requested data will compare the percentages of low-performing traditional public schools and charter schools, as well as student subgroup performance data of traditional public schools and charter schools. Click here for the full report.

In addition to these two presentations, the Board received a legislative update and approved an enrollment expansion to NC Virtual Academy, one of the State’s two virtual charter schools. NC Virtual requested to increase its enrollment by 19.6% to 3,100 for the 2023-24 school year, citing its current waitlist of 2,849 and the request’s alignment with its mission. The Board approved this enrollment expansion on a 5-4 vote.

During the planning and work session, Board members were presented with and discussed the following:

• SBE Goals, Objectives, & Components through 2027: Where Are We and Where are We Going?
• SBE Strategic Dashboard Monitoring Tool: Trends and Upcoming Developments
• Evidence-Based Strategic Planning for Recovery and Acceleration
• School Performance Grade Redesign Update
• Consolidated Data Report Update
• Lessons from a School District: Implementing Positive Interventions and Support
• NC Portrait of a Graduate Update

Click here to access all planning and work session materials.

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

National News

• K-12 Dive: Education Department Revives System Racial Discrimination Reviews of School Districts
• K-12 Dive: Weingarten – AFT Had No Undue Influence On CDC School Reopening Guidance
• Education Week: Teachers Need More Than Just Pay Raises, Secretary Cardona Says
• Washington Post: Record Number of Discrimination Complaints Filed With Education Department
• New York Times: It’s Not Just Math and Reading, US History Scores for 8^th Graders Plunge

State News

• EdNC: Bills Expanding Private and Charter School Funding Get Approval From House Education Committee

• WRAL: GOP Lawmakers Want to Pay for Students Private Education – How We Got Here, What’s New & Why They Face Resistance