We alerted you on Tuesday morning that HB 219: Charter School Omnibus was pulled from that afternoon’s House Education K-12 Committee meeting agenda. Although it is unclear exactly why the bill was removed, it is clear that efforts to negotiate the bill and reach a compromise are still underway, and we appreciate the role you all are playing in helping us combat this piece of legislation. We accurately predicted this bill would reappear –  HB 219 is scheduled to be heard next Tuesday, May 2, at 1:00 p.m. in House Education K-12 (click here for the meeting livestream).

We anticipate the bill remaining on the Committee’s agenda this time because next Thursday, May 4, is the crossover deadline. Meaning, HB 219 needs to pass out of the House next week to remain eligible for the rest of this legislative biennium.

We strongly urge you to reach out to your House member(s) and members of the House Education K-12 Committee to share your concerns about HB 219. Click here and here for fact sheets that include talking points and background information.

This week, legislators zealously passed bills out of each chamber in preparation for next Thursday’s crossover deadline. Crossover is the date by which a bill (except those involving money or legislative studies) must pass through either the House or Senate in order to be eligible for the remainder of the legislative biennium. Senators took action on two education-related bills, of particular importance, which are highlighted below.

Senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 729: CBBC Working Group Changes, which is a compromise bill between NCSBA and the State Retirement System to improve the anti-pension spiking contribution-based benefit cap law.

Additionally, despite strong pushback from Democrats, the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee approved Senate Bill 406: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future. SB 406 makes all NC K-12 students eligible for Opportunity Scholarships and does not allow local boards of education to require more credits to graduate than what is required by the State Board of Education (currently, 22 credits). 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 SB 406, families with a household income in the millions can receive a voucher. The House version of this bill HB 823: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future. will be heard in the House Education K-12 Committee meeting next Tuesday at 1:00 pm (click here for the meeting livestream).

Read more on these two bills and other education bills with action this week below.

Education Bills that Passed the Senate

Statewide Bills

The following bills passed the Senate and were sent to the House.

• SB 582: North Carolina Farm Act of 2023 (primary sponsors: Senators Brent Jackson, R-Sampson; Norman Sanderson, R-Pamlico; Buck Newton, R-Wilson)
  • Passed 34-9
  • Says local boards of education must strive to ensure that 100% muscadine grape juice is made available to all students as a part of the nutrition program or through vending facilities
  • Click here for an official bill summary
  • This provision in SB 582 is similar to HB 67: Encourage Healthy NC Food in Schools, except HB 67
    • Requires the juice to be available to all students
    • Requires the supplier to buyback unopened and unexpired products
• SB 729: CBBC Working Group Changes(primary sponsors: Senators Jim Burgin, R-Harnett; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; Carl Ford, R-Rowan)
  • • • Passed 42-0
      • NCSBA had been in negotiations with the State Retirement System for roughly 18 months to improve the anti-pension spiking contribution-based benefit cap (CBBC) law
      • This bill is the compromise both sides agreed to, which we believe is a significant improvement to the existing law
      • Click here to access NCSBA’s summary of SB 729

Local Bill

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

• SB 17: Stanly Bd. of Comm/Bd. of Educ. (primary sponsor: Senator Carl Ford, R-Rowan)
  • Passed on a voice vote
  • Modifies the staggering of terms for members of the Stanly County Board of Education and the Stanly County Board of County Commissioners
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Education Bills that Passed the House

Statewide Bills

The following bills passed the House and were sent to the Senate.

• HB 98: Medical Freedom Act(primary sponsors: Representatives Brian Biggs, R-Randolph; Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; Neal Jackson, R-Moore; Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth)
  • Passed 73-41
  • Prohibits public school units (PSUs), community colleges, and UNC system institutions from requiring a student to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or to submit to a COVID-19 vaccination unless it is required for participating in a program of study or fulfilling education requirements in a facility certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • Prohibits State agencies, local governments, and political subdivisions of the State from discriminating against persons based on their refusal to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or to submit to a COVID-19 vaccination unless it is required as a condition necessary to receive federal funding, is a federal requirement of CMS, or is required by the Department of Health and Human Services Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities
  • Click here for an official bill summary

• HB 432: Principal Licensure Changes (primary sponsors: Representatives David Willis, R-Union; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg; John Torbett, R-Gaston)
  • Passed 113-0
  • As recommended by DPI, updates principal licensure requirements and develops a portfolio assessment
  • Prior to House approval,
    • A section was removed that required the study of methods to improve the principal preparation and licensure process
    • A section was added that concerns the role of administrator preparation programs, the State Board of Education’s (SBE) authority, rules for granting State approval, and minimum approval standards
  • Click here for an official bill summary

• HB 500: NCCWBTC Recs./Medicaid(primary sponsor: Representative Sarah Stevens, R-Surry)

• • Passed 111-2
  • Ensures increased awareness of school-based health services that are reimbursable under Medicaid
  • Prior to House approval, the following was added to the bill:
    • Implements Medicaid coverage of school-based transportation services
    • Requires annual parental consent for student access to school health clinic services
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 605: School Threat Assessment Teams (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Passed 106-7
  • Requires PSUs to adopt policies for establishing threat assessment teams in consultation with the policies developed by DPI’s Center for Safer Schools
  • Establishes peer-to-peer counseling in PSUs
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 756: Standards Advisory Commission (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth)
  • Passed 71-43
  • Creates the Standard Course of Study Advisory Commission to recommend academic standards to the SBE for approval
  • Currently, the SBE adopts the Standard Course of Study, but this bill (as amended on the House floor) requires the General Assembly to appoint 12 voting members and requires the Governor to appoint 6 voting members to this new Commission, with the State Superintendent being the final voting member
  • Click here for an article on the bill

Education Bills Approved by Senate Committees

Statewide Bills

On Wednesday, SB 406: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future (primary sponsors: Senators Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Lisa Barnes, R-Nash; Amy Galey, R-Alamance) had its first committee hearing when the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee approved the bill and referred it to the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee. According to Senate Leader Phil Berger, SB 406 – if enacted – would be the “largest expansion of school choice” since the Opportunity Scholarship Program was founded 10 years ago.

SB  406 provides vouchers for every family in the State. 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

SB 406 does not include stabilization funds for local school districts that will lose significant funding due to a reduction in average daily membership. Prior to approval by the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee, SB 406 was modified to increase the funds appropriated to the Program. For the 2032-33 fiscal  year and each fiscal year thereafter, $520.54 million will be appropriated to the Program. Click here for an official bill summary. Click here for an article on SB 406.

On Wednesday, SB 364: Nondiscrimination & Dignity in State Work (primary sponsors: Senators Warren Daniel, R-Burke; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Brad Overcash, R-Gaston) had its first committee hearing when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill and referred it to the Senate Rules Committee. SB 364 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, and prohibits state government workplaces from promoting certain concepts that are contrary to that intent. Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bills Approved by House Committees

Statewide Bills

On Tuesday, the following bills had their first committee hearing when the House Education K-12 Committee approved them.

• HB 531: Charter Schools & Out-of-State/Foreign Exchange Stud. (primary sponsors: Representatives Sarah Stevens, R-Surry; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Mark Brody R-Union; Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham)
  • Allows charter schools to admit nonresident students if the school is not operating at capacity
  • Allows the charter school to charge the nonresident student tuition
  • Prior to approval by the House Education K-12 Committee, the bill was modified to allow charter schools to admit foreign exchange students
  • Referred to the House Rules Committee
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 780: State ID Cards of High School Students (primary sponsors: Representatives Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg; John Torbett, R-Gaston; Ray Pickett, R-Watauga)
  • Establishes a pilot program to issue special identification cards to students in public high schools in Anson, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union counties
  • Prior to approval by the House Education K-12 Committee, the bill was modified to clarify that NC residents who are at least 16 (was 17) years old are allowed to get a NC special identification card for free
  • Referred to the House State Government Committee
  • Click here for an official bill summary

On Wednesday, HB 445: Closed Session Reminder (primary sponsors: Representatives Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Sam Watford, R-Davidson; Ben Moss, R-Richmond; Celeste Cairns, R-Carteret) had its second committee hearing when the House Judiciary 1 Committee approved the bill and referred it to the House Rules Committee. HB 445 requires the presiding chair of all open meetings to remind the public body of the limited nature of discussion during a closed session. Prior to Committee approval, language authorizing remote meetings under certain circumstances was added to the bill. Click here for an official bill summary.

On Thursday, 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) had its first committee hearing when the House State Government Committee approved the bill and referred it to the House Rules Committee. HB 487 requires public schools and state-owned buildings to fly the POW/MIA flag, provided there is space for the flag on an existing flagpole. Click here for an official bill summary.

On Tuesday, 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) had its second committee hearing when the House Finance Committee approved the bill and referred it to the House Rules Committee. HB 162 provides paid leave for State employees, public school employees, and community college employees for organ donation. Click here for an official bill summary.

The House appropriations and finance bill filing deadline was this past Tuesday, April 25. The House public/statewide bill filing deadline was last week, the Senate public/statewide bill filing deadline was earlier this month, and the local bill filing deadlines for both the House and the Senate were in March. The following are additional education-related bills that were filed this week.

Statewide Bills

• HB 844: School Meals for All Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Marcia Morey, D-Durham)
  • Provides breakfast and lunch in public schools at no cost to students
• HB 846: Funds for NC Pre-K and Smart Start (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Frances Jackson, D-Cumberland)
  • Appropriates funds for the NC Pre-K Program and the Smart Start Program
  • Sets the administrative cap for NC Pre-K and Smart Start at 10%
• HB 849: Expand & Enhance the Teaching Fellows Program (primary sponsors: Representatives Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Julie von Haefen, D-Wake: Tim Longest, D-Wake)
  • Similar to a section in the House Budget
  • Expands and enhances the NC Teaching Fellows Program, including
    • Allows a teacher in any subject to participate in the Program (currently, it is limited to STEM and special education teachers)
    • Opens the Program up to any UNC system university and private colleges
    • Changes loan repayment terms
  • HB 852: The Rep. Becky Carney Cardiac Arrest Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Timothy Reeder, R-Pitt; Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth; Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth)
    • Requires the placement of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in all schools in public school units
    • Provides training for school personnel on the use of AEDs
    • Including $9.2 million in nonrecurring funds to be allocated by DPI on a first-come, first-served basis for the 2023-24 fiscal year
  • HB 855: Strengthening Care for Families and Children (primary sponsors: Representatives Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth; Wayne Sasser, R-Stanly; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus; Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Appropriates funds for statewide expansion of school behavioral health services
  • HB 885: Sound Basic Education for Every Child (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Rosa Gill, D-Wake; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe)
    • Provides for a sound basic education for every child in NC, including, but not limited to,
      • Expanding the NC Teaching Fellows Program
      • Modifying the teacher salary schedule
      • Increasing funding for classroom supplies and textbooks
      • Expanding the NC Pre-K Program

Local Bill

• HB 861: Tropical Storm Fred/Disaster Recovery (primary sponsor: Representative Mark Pless, R-Haywood)
  • Appropriates funds for Tropical Storm Fred recovery, including $750,000 for Pisgah High School in Haywood County

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

April 24, 2023, Weekly Report

Headlines for this edition include:

• House Education Panel Holds School Choice Hearing
  • Congress is wading into the school choice debate. Last week, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education held a hearing titled, “School Choice: Expanding Freedom for All.”
  • Subcommittee Chair Aaron Bean (R-FL) was optimistic about school choice policy getting through a divided Congress, saying in his opening remarks that he’s “naive enough to think that maybe this is a topic that can bring our body together.”
  • Democratic lawmakers pushed back on school choice options, like private school vouchers and charter schools, arguing that more accountability is needed.
  • There is no one from the North Carolina Congressional delegation on the subcommittee.
  • To view the hearing, click here.
• Education Secretary Testifies On Budget Request
  • US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services to answer questions regarding the department’s $90 billion budget request for FY 2023-24.
  • The Subcommittee displayed general bipartisan agreement on continued investment in skills-based learning, career pathways, workforce development, and Pell Grants.
  • There is no one from the North Carolina Congressional delegation on the subcommittee.
  • To view the hearing, click here.

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

State News

• EdNC – A look at the education bills filed at the General Assembly so far this month
• EdNC – Children’s mental health earns “F” grade on NC Child report card
• WRAL – Students protest bill they say could ‘out’ LGBTQIA+ youth in Moore County Schools

National News

• EducationWeek – How Much Do Teachers Get Paid? See New State-by-State Data
• EducationWeek – 4 Out of Every 10 Parents Own a Gun. What That Means for School and Student Safety
• Education Week – Chromebooks Short Lifespan Costs Schools Billions of Dollars Report Finds
• K-12 Dive – High Profile Security Incidents Drive Creation of State School Safety Centers

Monday, May 15, is Bring Your Legislator to School Day, an event sponsored by the NC Public School Forum. The idea is simple – local schools should invite their legislators to come in for a day and witness first-hand the successes and challenges faced by the public school system.

We highly encourage every district to reach out to their legislators and invite them to this event. Click here to find your legislators.

Next Thursday, May 4, is the crossover deadline. Meaning, bills must pass one chamber by next Thursday to remain eligible for the rest of this legislative biennium.

Monday, May 1

4:00 pm – Senate Education/Higher Education – Legislative Offices Building, rm 544 (livestream)

• SB 636: School Athletic Transparency.
• SB 692: Community College Governance.

Tuesday, May 2

10:00 am – House Local Government – Legislative Building, rm 1228/1327 (livestream)

• HB 687: Clarify Vacancy Filling Partisan Bd. of Ed.
• HB 799: Local Government Audits.

11:00 am – House Judiciary 2 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 544 (livestream)

• HB 534: Protecting School Employees.

1:00 pm – House Education K-12 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 23: Gooru Contract. (PCS – To Be Considered)
• HB 219: Charter School Omnibus.
• HB 618: Charter School Review Board.
• HB 793: Public School Open Enrollment.
• HB 823: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future.
• HB 824: Teacher License Reciprocity from Every State.

Wednesday, May 3

11:00 am – House State Government – Legislative Offices Building, rm 421 (livestream)

• HB 750: Address ESG Factors.
• HB 780: NC Special ID Cards for High School Students.

Point of Personal Privilege

We would like to thank Rebekah Howard for her contributions to the NCSBA Governmental Relations team over the past four years. This week’s update is her last one as she is moving on to other opportunities. During her time at NCSBA, Rebekah has tirelessly performed many different duties while keeping our membership updated on all the latest information. We wish her well!

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

Rebekah Howard
Advocacy Coordinator
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

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

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

Now is the time for all hands on deck! HB 219: Charter School Omnibus is scheduled for its first committee hearing next Tuesday, April 25, at 1:00 pm in the House Education K-12 Committee (click here for the meeting livestream). Part VII of HB 219 will take millions from local school districts each year. This includes reimbursements for federal programs provided to students, Pre-K classroom funds, tuition and fees for actual costs, sales tax refunds, and the list goes on. Meanwhile, charter schools can, and do, receive these same funds and will keep 100% of them – you can call this double dipping.

We strongly urge you to reach out to your House members and members of the House Education K-12 Committee to share your opposition to Part VII of HB 219. HB 219 is sponsored by Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; David Willis, R-Union; Jason Saine, R-Lincoln.

Click here and here for fact sheets that include talking points and background information. Additionally, here is a resolution in opposition to HB 219 for your board to utilize and tailor to your specific district. So far, we know of at least 23 local school district resolutions in opposition to HB 219. Please email your district’s resolution to Rob Black at rblack@ncsba.org.

The General Assembly was bustling this week as the House scurried to meet its bill filing deadline and the Senate continued to draft its version of the budget. Over 200 House bills were filed just this week. Additionally, several important pieces of education-related legislation passed the House and the Senate.

HB 314: Conflict of Interest Training/LEAs – a bill involving ethics training for school administrators and a priority on NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda – passed the House, with no votes in opposition, and awaits consideration from the Senate.

The most contentious bills of the week were HB 574: Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and SB 631: Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which both passed their respective chambers. It was a straight party-line vote in the Senate, and in the House, three Democrats joined all Republicans to approve the bill. These bills require student athletes to compete under the biological gender listed on their birth certificate. Additionally, there was heavy debate in Senate committees on SB 692: Community College Governance, which strips away local school boards’ say in community college governance. Read more on these bills and other education-related bills below.

Education Bills Approved by Senate Committees

Statewide Bills

SB 692: Community College Governance (primary sponsors: Senators Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Tom McInnis, R-Moore) had its first two committee hearings this week when the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee and the Senate Rules Committee approved the bill. SB 692 abolishes local board of educations’ authority to elect members to the board of trustees of the local community college. The bill changes appointments to the local boards of trustees by requiring eight members to be appointed by the NC General Assembly and four members to be elected by the county board of commissioners. Under current law, four members are elected by the local board of education, four are elected by the county board of commissioners, and four are appointed by the governor.

If SB 692 passes, it may create unnecessary tension between community colleges and school districts that currently serve in partnership to strengthen local workforce development efforts and early college enrollment. Click here for an official bill summary. Click here for an article on the bill, which includes committee discussion.

On Wednesday, SB 729: CBBC Working Group Changes (primary sponsors: Senators Jim Burgin, R-Harnett; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; Carl Ford, R-Rowan) had its first committee hearing when the Senate Pensions and Retirement Committee approved the bill and referred it to the Senate Judiciary Committee. NCSBA had been in negotiations with the State Retirement System for roughly 18 months to improve the anti-pension spiking contribution-based benefit cap (CBBC) law. It was clear from the outset that we were not going to get all that we wanted.  However, SB 729 is the compromise both sides agreed to, which we believe is a significant improvement to the existing law. Click here to access NCSBA’s summary of SB 729. Click here for an official bill summary.

On Thursday, SB 582: North Carolina Farm Act of 2023 (primary sponsors: Senators Brent Jackson, R-Sampson; Norman Sanderson, R-Pamlico; Buck Newton, R-Wilson) had its first committee hearing when the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee approved the bill and referred is to the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 582 says that local boards of education must strive to ensure that 100% muscadine grape juice is made available to all students as a part of the nutrition program or through vending facilities. Click here for an official bill summary. This provision in SB 582 is similar to HB 67: Encourage Healthy NC Food in Schools. A primary difference is that HB 67 requires the supplier to buyback unopened and unexpired products, and SB 582 does not.

Education Bills that Passed the House

Statewide Bills

The House passed the following bills and sent them to the Senate.

• HB 38: Entry Fees for HS Interscholastic Events (primary sponsors: Representatives Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham; Jason Saine, R-Lincoln; Ben Moss, R-Richmond; Charles Miller, R-Brunswick)
  • Passed 106-8
  • Requires cash to be an accepted form of payment when there is a fee to attend a high school interscholastic athletic event
  • Prior to approval by the House Education K-12 Committee, the section requiring the acceptance of a senior citizen’s “Tar Heel Card” for free admission to high school interscholastic athletic events was removed
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 188: Standards of Student Conduct(primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; David Willis, R-Union; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland)
  • Passed 71-42
  • Similar to a 2021 billthat passed the House but was not taken up by the Senate
  • Requires LEAs to use best practices in developing discipline policies that do not discriminate against students on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability
  • Requires LEAs to include in their discipline policies measures that will be taken to support a student during suspension, including mitigating learning loss
  • Deletes language that gives examples of conduct not deemed to be a serious violation
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 314: Conflict of Interest Training/LEAs (primary sponsors: Representative Howard Penny, R-Harnett; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland; Donna White, R-Johnston; Joseph Pike, R-Harnett)
  • Passed 107-0
  • Requires all employees of a local school district who are involved in the making or administering of contracts to receive a minimum of two hours of conflicts of interest training within 90 days of assuming the responsibility of making or administering contracts and continuous training in every odd-numbered year thereafter
  • Prior to approval by the House Education K-12 Committee, the bill’s title was changed from “Public School Ethics Training” to “Conflict of Interest Training/LEAs” and small technical changes were made in the bill to reflect that title change
  • Click here for an official bill summary
  • This issue is included in NCSBA’s 2023-24 Legislative Agenda, and you can read more about in NCSBA’s Administrator Ethics Training Issue Brief

Local Bill

On Tuesday, HB 464: Beaufort County Local Matters (primary sponsor: Representative Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort) was amended in the House Local Government Committee to include a section authorizing Beaufort County Schools to use the Hillsdale College K-12 Curriculum in lieu of the statutory courses of study requirements in Part 1 or Article 8 of G.S. 115C. On Wednesday, that section was removed prior to House approval of the bill.

Education Bills that Passed the Senate

Statewide Bills

The Senate passed the following bills and sent them to the House.

• SB 384: Carbon Monoxide Detectors/School Buildings(primary sponsors Senators Michael Lee R-New Hanover, Amy Galey R-Alamance, Julie Mayfield D-Buncombe)
  • Passed 47-0
  • Studies the installation of carbon monoxide detectors and the implementation of radon testing in schools
  • Click here for an official bill summary

• SB 411: Students in House School Take PSAT/AP (primary sponsors: Senators Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell)
  • Passed 47-0
  • Allows home school students to participate in the PSAT, the PreACT, AP exams, and any other advanced course examination offered by a local school district if certain requirements are met
  • Prior to approval by the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee
    • The language allowing a school district to charge the home school student the cost of the test was replaced with a requirement to charge the cost of the test to the student’s parent
    • The requirement that a local school board must provide information on the registration for advanced exams for home school students at the request of a student or parent was removed
    • The PreACT was added to the list of exams
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Voucher Bills Filed

This week, two notable voucher bills were filed. HB 823: 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) is identical to SB 406, which Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, noted would be the “largest expansion of school choice” since the Opportunity Scholarship Program was founded 10 years ago. The primary sponsors of HB 823 include a chair and a vice chair of the House Education K-12 Committee, as well as House Speaker Tim Moore.

HB 823 provides vouchers for every family in the State. 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.

HB 667: Opportunity Scholarship Testing Requirements (primary sponsors: Representatives Sarah Crawford, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Julie von Haefen, D-Wake) requires nonpublic schools accepting opportunity scholarship students to administer one of the five most common nationally standardized tests and requires the State Education Assistance Authority to maintain a list of those tests. This bill mirrors a priority on NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda. Click here to access NCSBA’s Opportunity Scholarship Program issue brief.

Fairness in Women’s Sports Bills

As previously stated, two bills titled “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” each passed their respective chambers. The following are summaries of each bill:

• HB 574: Fairnessin Women’s Sports Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Jennifer Balkcom, R- Henderson; Karl Gillespie, R-Macon; Erin Pare, R-Wake; Kristen Baker, R-Cabarrus)
  • Passed73-39
  • Prohibits biological male students from playing on middle school, high school, or collegiate athletics teams designated for females, women, or girls
  • Prohibits biological females from playing on middle school, high school, or collegiate athletics teams designated for males, men, or boys, unless there is no comparable female team, and the sport is not boxing (at the collegiate level) or wrestling
  • Creates a civil cause of action for students who are harmed as a result of a violation of the bill or who are retaliated against for reporting violations and for public school units (PSUs) that suffer harm as a result of following the requirements of the bill
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• SB 631: Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (primary sponsors: Senators Kevin Corbin, R-Macon; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell)
  • Passed29-18
  • Prohibits biological male students from playing on middle or high school interscholastic or intramural teams designated for females, women, or girls
  • Creates a civil cause of action for students who are harmed as a result of a violation of the bill or who are retaliated against for reporting violations and for PSUs that suffer harm as a result of following the requirements of the bill
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Click here for an article on these bills.

Education Bills Approved by House Committee

Statewide Bills

• HB 28: Managing Environmental Waste Act of 2023 (primary sponsor: Representative Harry Warren, R-Rowan)

• Requires all State agencies, community colleges, and local school districts, to the extent economically practicable, to purchase and use materials with compostable or recyclable content in their food establishments

• • Requires local school districts to annually report on the amounts and types of materials with compostable and recyclable content purchased and on the amounts and types of materials collected for recycling
  • Approved by the House Regulatory Reform Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 500: NCCWBTC/Medicaid-Related Recommendations (primary sponsor: Representative Sarah Stevens, R-Surry)
  • Ensures increased awareness of school-based health services that are reimbursable under Medicaid
  • Approved by the House Health Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Presentation to House Education K-12 Committee on Student Academic Gains

On Tuesday, the House Education K-12 Committee heard a presentation from DPI on recovery analysis showing that during the 2021-22 school year, NC students made significant gains in recovering from instructional time lost due to the COVID -19 pandemic. Signs of academic recovery are seen in almost every subject, with the most significant gains in middle and high school math. Click here for DPI’s press release on the presentation, which explains that some students were as much as 15 months behind where they would have been in a typical year, but this latest report shows clear signs of academic recovery. Click here for the 530-page analysis report. Click here for an article on the presentation.

Last Friday, April 14, Superior Court Judge James Ammons agreed with parties that $677 million remains to be appropriated for years two and three of the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger previously claimed that the remaining appropriation is actually $377 million. Judge Ammons’ order is in response to a November 2022 directive by the then democrat-majority State Supreme Court to recalculate the transfer amount based on what funds were accounted for in the 2022 State budget. Not included in the order is a requirement that state officials transfer funds to comply with the Plan, as this action was blocked in March by the current republican-majority State Supreme Court.

The State Supreme Court is expected to act next on the Leandro case. Click here for the April 14 order. Click here and here for articles on the order.

The House public/statewide bill filing deadline was this past Tuesday, April 18, the Senate public/statewide bill filing deadline was earlier this month, and the local bill filing deadlines for both the House and the Senate were in March. The appropriations and finance bill filing deadline for the House is next Tuesday, April 25. The following are additional education-related bills that were filed this week and last week.

Statewide Bills

• HB 602: K-3 Class Size Waiver (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Sarah Crawford, D-Wake; Rosa Gill, D-Wake)
  • Identical to SB 432
  • Allows a waiver on the class size requirements for k-3 grades when there is a shortage of qualified, licensed teachers available to teach in a grade level for the number of classrooms required at each school, and/or inadequate classroom space or facilities that would require facility expansion, construction, or relocation
• HB 605: School Threat Assessment Teams (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Requires public school units (PSUs) to adopt policies for establishing threat assessment teams in consultation with the policies developed by DPI’s Center for Safer Schools
  • Establishes peer-to-peer counseling in PSUs
• HB 609: Phoebe’s Law/Speed Measurement in School Zones (primary sponsors: Representatives Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland; Maria Cervania, D-Wake; Zack Hawkins, D-Durham)
  • Authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a pilot program installing speed enforcement cameras in 25 school zones across the State
  • Requires fines from the violations go to the School Technology Fund in an effort to pay the back monies owed to the Fund
  • Aligns with a priority on NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda

• HB 615: NC Highway Safety Act of 2023 (primary sponsors: Representative Maria Cervania, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Authorizes DOT to establish a pilot program installing speed enforcement cameras in 25 highway work zones across the State
  • Requires fines from the violations go to the School Technology Fund in an effort to pay the back monies owed to the Fund
  • Aligns with a priority on NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda

• 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)
  • Similar to a section in the House Budget
  • Changes the Charter Schools Advisory Board to the Charter Schools Review Board
  • Gives the State Board of Education (SBE) an appellate role in the charter school approval and renewal process
  • Allows 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

• HB 619: Learning AAPI Contributions in Schools (primary sponsors: Ya Liu, D-Wake; Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg; David Willis, R-Union; Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson)
  • Starting in elementary school and ending in high school, requires all history courses to include instruction on Asian American and Pacific Islanders and their impact on American history

• HB 639: Railroad Safety Omnibus Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Howard Penny, R-Harnett; Mike Clampitt, R-Swain)
  • Requires additional training and safety measures related to school buses and railroad tracks for school bus drivers
• HB 640: Career Path Options Transparency Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Todd Johnson, R-Union; Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Steve Tyson, R-Craven; Erin Pare, R-Wake)
  • Enacts the Career Path Options Transparency Act
  • Requires the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to collaborate with the Department of Commerce and Department of Labor in collecting data for local boards of education to provide sophomore students to enable them to make informed decisions about postsecondary education choices and their futures
  • Requires each local board of education to provide a program for students in their sophomore year with information contained on the “Know Before You Go” website and the information complied by DPI to allow students to make informed decisions about postsecondary education choices and their professional futures
• HB 646: Fines and Forfeiture/Payment to Schools (primary sponsors: Representatives Terence Everitt, D-Wake; Rosa Gill, D-Wake)
  • Directs excess receipts in the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund to be transferred to the School Technology Fund in the same fiscal year and any capital funds for school technology to be used toward payment of the 2019 court judgements on civil penalties, fines, and forfeitures
  • Directs the Legislative Research Commission to study ways to satisfy the remainder for judgement
  • Aligns with a priority on NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda
• HB 653: Plant-Based Lunch Options (primary sponsors: John Autry, D-Mecklenburg; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford)
  • Requires public school units to offer a plant-based meal option as each school meal
• HB 672: Restores State Emp/Teacher Retiree Med Benefit (primary sponsors: Representatives Frances Jackson, D-Cumberland; Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Ray Jeffers, D-Person; Charles Smith, D-Cumberland)
  • Prevents the elimination of retiree medical benefits for members first earning service under the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System
• HB 675: Health and High Performing Schools (primary sponsors: Representatives Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford; Zack Hawkins, D-Durham; Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe)
  • Enacts the North Carolina Health Schools Act of 2023
  • When economically feasible, requires public school units to establish a green cleaning policy and exclusively purchase and use environmentally sensitive cleaning products
  • Requires DPI, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and a panel of stakeholders, to establish basic guidelines and specifications to healthy and environmentally sensitive cleaning and maintenance products for use in school facilities
• HB 678: Excused Absences for 4-H Participation (primary sponsors: Representatives Wayne Sasser, R-Stanly; David Willis, R-Union; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke)
  • Authorizes excused absences from public school for participation in 4-H activities or programs
• HB 686: Civil Rights Education (primary sponsors: Representatives Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Amos Quick, D-Guilford)
  • Provides comprehensive civil rights education to every student in the State by requiring it to be included in the standard course of study
• HB 687: Clarify Vacancy Filling Partisan Bd. of Ed. (primary sponsor: Representative Jon Hardister, R-Guilford)
  • Clarifies the process to fill a vacancy on a local board of education elected using the partisan method of election
• HB 705: Build Safer Communities and Schools Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Vernetta Alston, D-Durham; Frances Jackson, D-Cumberland; Carolyn Logan, D-Mecklenburg; Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Identical to SB 713
  • Allows schools to contract for psychologist services
  • Codifies school safety grants
• HB 716: Career Course for Middle Schools (primary sponsors: Representatives David Willis, R-Union; Destin Hall, R-Caldwell; Jake Johnson, R-Polk; Karl Gillespie, R-Macon)
  • Adds a career pathways course to the standard course of study
  • Requires the completion of career plans in schools
• HB 729: Add Segregation Score to School Report Cards (primary sponsors: Representatives Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford; Allen Buansi, D-Orange)
  • Incorporates measures of proportionality and equality into state accountability models
• HB 730: Funds for the Expansion of NC Pre-K (primary sponsors: Representatives Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford; Brandon Lofton, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Appropriates funds to expand access to participation in the NC Pre-K program
• HB 746: Oversight of Home Schools (primary sponsors: Representatives Marcia Morey, D-Durham; Rosa Gill, D-Wake; Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe)
  • Requires annual notification of home school operation
  • Prohibits establishment of home school by individuals convicted of certain crimes
• HB 756: Standards Advisory Commission (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth)
  • Identical to a section in the House Budget
  • Creates the Standard Course of Study Advisory Commission to recommend academic standards to the State Board of Education for approval

• HB 758: Youth CERT Preparedness K-12 Training (primary sponsors: Representatives Maria Cervania, D-Wake; Carson Smith, R-Pender; Charles Miller, R-Brunswick; Caleb Rudow, D-Buncombe)
  • Provides for emergency preparedness education in schools
• HB 762: School Social Workers/Master’s Pay (primary sponsor: Representative Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Identical to SB 524
  • Provides that school social workers are eligible to receive education-based salary supplements regardless of whether a master’s degree is required for licensure
• HB 763: Limit School Counselor Ratios (primary sponsor: Representative Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Limits the number of students assigned to one school counselor
• HB 765: Public School Medical Assistants (primary sponsors: Representatives Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg; Frank Sossamon, R-Granville)
  • Establishes a pilot program for allowing school medical assistants to provide school nursing services in public schools under supervision of a certified school nurse
• HB 766: DPI to Control Pre-K Literacy Curriculum (primary sponsor: Representative Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Provides authority to the Department of Public Instruction to make decisions over all pre-kindergarten literacy curriculum including studies of dyslexia
• HB 767: Expanding Workforce and Education Act (primary sponsor: Representative Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Identical to SB 683
  • Expands North Carolina’s workforce by providing in-state tuition to North Carolina high school graduates who meet certain criteria
• HB 776: Free Lunch for Some Students/Stop Lunch Shame (primary sponsor: Representative Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford)
  • Appropriates funds to provide free lunch to students eligible for reduced-price lunch and enacts an anti-stigmatization and anti-discrimination policy in school nutrition
• HB 777: Universal No-Cost School Meals (primary sponsors: Representatives Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford; John Autry, D-Mecklenburg; Amos Quick, D-Guilford; Rosa Gill, D-Wake)
  • Provides breakfast and lunch in public schools at no cost to students through an allocation based on school food authority evaluations
• HB 780: State ID Cards of High School Students (primary sponsors: Representatives Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg; John Torbett, R-Gaston; Ray Pickett, R-Watauga)
  • 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
• HB 786: Youth Health Protection Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort; Mark Brody, R-Union; Neal Jackson, R-Moore)
  • Protects minors from administration of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and other related actions, procedures, and treatments to prohibit obscenity on smart phones for minors
• HB 793: Public School Open Enrollment (primary sponsors: Representatives John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; Allen Chesser, R-Nash)
  • Allows students to attend any school within the local school administrative unit in which the student is domiciled
• HB 799: Local Government Audits (primary sponsors: Representatives Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba; Howard Penny, R-Harnett; Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth)
  • Requires that annual audits of local government and local school administrative units be conducted by an accountant certified by the state auditor
  • Appropriates funds to the council of state governments to assist local governments with financial record keeping
• HB 800: Public School Part-Time Enrollment (primary sponsors: Representatives John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; David Willis, R-Union; Terry Brown, D-Mecklenburg; Allen Chesser, R-Nash)
  • Requires local school administrative units and charter schools to allow part-time enrollment of students that otherwise attend non-public school
• HB 802: Biannual Back to School Sales Tax Holiday (primary sponsors: Representatives Maria Cervania, D-Wake; Garland Pierce, D-Scotland; Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson)
  • Reenacts the sales and use tax holiday for school supplies and extends the holiday to the first weekend in January
• HB 806: Protect School Journalists (primary sponsors: Representatives Tim Longest, D-Wake; Diamond Staton-Williams, D-Cabarrus; Allen Buansi, D-Orange; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe)
  • Clarifies the free speech rights of student journalists in public schools, constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina, and community colleges
• HB 824: Teacher License Reciprocity from Every State (primary sponsors: Representatives Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes)
  • Grants a continuing professional license to any teacher licensed in another state
• HB 825: Teaching Fellows Expansion (primary sponsor: Representative Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)
  • Studies expansion of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program
• HB 833: Increase Minority Male Teachers/Program Study (primary sponsors: Representatives Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson; Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg; Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford)
  • Appropriates funds to study and report on programs focused on increasing minority male teachers

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

April 17, 2023, Weekly Report

Headlines for this edition include:

• Education Department Proposes New Rules for Transgender Athletes Under Title IX
  • Earlier this week, the Education Department proposed a rule that would establish that policies violate Title IX when they categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are
  • The proposed rule also recognizes that in some instances, particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments, some schools may adopt policies that limit transgender students’ participation
  • The proposed rule would provide schools with a framework for developing eligibility criteria that protects students from being denied equal athletic opportunity, while giving schools the flexibility to develop their own participation policies
  • There is a 30-day public comment period before the rule is finalized
    • To provide a comment, click here
  • Education Department Produces Guidelines on Health Records
    • New guidelines have been published to help school officials protect students’ health information
    • The document provides general information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), with a particular focus on student health records maintained by educational agencies and institutions and by third parties acting on their behalf

Additional national news:

• US House Passes Transgender Athlete Ban
  • The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation that would ban transgender athletes who identify as female from competing in women’s sports
  • The Protection of Women & Girls in Sports Act, sponsored by Representative Greg Steube (R-FL), amends Title IX to bar schools from receiving federal funding if they allow people “whose sex is male” to participate in women’s sports
  • The bill defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth”
  • The legislation is not expected to be considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate

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

State News

• BestNC – Facts & Figures of Education in North Carolina
• Carolina Journal – ‘Media advisory’ boards would review complains over certain books in schools
• EdNC – CEOs push for higher teacher pay, more NC Pre-K funding
• Carolina Journal – Head of NC teachers group drops lawsuit challenging Opportunity Scholarships
• EdNC – Kimberly Jones of Chapel Hill named NC’s 2023 Teacher of the Year
• EdNC – The ‘transformation is real’ as the science of reading takes hold across public schools
• WRAL – As shootings and threats rise, NC forms parent group on school safety
• WRAL – Audit finds state reporting errors for NC schools’ pandemic funds
• EdNC – Governor Cooper Proclaims April as STEM Education Month in North Carolina
• EdNC – State Advisory Council on Indian Education calls for department-level position, removal of mascots
• EdNC – Perspective: School meal debt has no place in North Carolina

National News

• Brookings – Racial disparities in the high school graduation gender gap
• Pew Research Center – School District Mission Statements Highlight a Partisan Divide Over Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in K-12 Education
• Education Week – Students Want to Feel Safe at School. Here’s What They’re Asking for
• Education Week – Schools Used ESSER Funds for After-School Programs. What Happens When the Money Runs Out?
• K-12 Dive – 6 budget considerations for districts as ESSER fiscal cliff looms
• Fox News – North Carolina GOP move on school choice with new supermajority after Dem’s stunning party switch

Tuesday, April 25

9:00 am – House Finance – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 162: Living Donor Protection Act.

1:00 pm – House Education K-12 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 23: Gooru Contract.
• HB 185: Clarifying Sex Ed Time Frame.
• HB 219: Charter School Omnibus.
• HB 432: Principal Licensure Changes.
• HB 531: Charter Sch. Tuition – Out-of-State Students.
• HB 605: School Threat Assessment Teams.
• HB 618: Charter School Review Board.
• HB 756: Standards Advisory Commission.
• HB 780: State ID Cards for High School Students.

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

Rebekah Howard
Advocacy Coordinator
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

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

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

The House passed its version of the State budget this week on a 78-38 vote. This is the earliest the first version of the State budget has passed its designated chamber in several years. The House’s 2023-25 budget appropriates $29.8 billion in 2023-24 (6.5% increase) and $30.9 billion in 2024-25 (additional 3.75% increase). The House’s K-12 education budget is $11.7 billion for 2023-24 (4.1% increase) and $12.3 billion for 2024-25 (additional 4.5% increase).

Prior to passage, numerous amendments were presented and voted on. The following are two adopted education amendments to note:

• Amendment 12 – postpones the requirement in Section 7.21 to reduce fourth and fifth grade class sizes until the 2024-25 school year (was the 2023-24 school year)
• Amendment 3 – requires DPI to study how to better provide for children with disabilities with intensive needs

Education amendments that failed include pausing the expansion and increase in funding of the Opportunity Scholarship Program and removing Section 7.10 Academic Transparency and Section 7.11 Modernize Selection of Instructional Materials.

The following are K-12 education highlights of the House budget:

• An average 10.2% teacher raise over the biennium (including step increases, master’s pay, and other supplements)
• Reinstates master’s pay for teachers
• Provides across-the-board salary increases of 4.25% in 2023-24 and 3.25% in 2024-25 for school district personnel
  • (These salary increases are included in the average 10.2% teacher raise)
  • Gives bus drivers an additional 2% raise in 2023-24
• Provides funds for an additional 120 school nurse, psychologist, social worker, or counselor positions
• Includes $40 million for school safety grants
• Expands eligibility and increases funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program

Click here for NCSBA’s summary of House education budget provisions and click here for NCSBA’s summary of House education budget appropriations. Our summaries include most (not all) of the House education budget.

Click here for the House budget bill and click here for the House budget money report.

Now the House budget will be sent to the Senate where Senate budget writers will release their own version, followed by collaboration between the two chambers to reach a budget compromise.

One of the highlights of this week was the passage of the House budget. Additionally, on Wednesday, Representative Tricia Cotham, who was elected as a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, announced that she is changing her party registration, which will give Republicans a supermajority in the House. This means that Republicans now have supermajorities in the House and the Senate, making both chambers vetoproof. Click here for an article that explains the potential ramifications of this new supermajority on public schools.

HB 219: Charter School Omnibus continues to sit in the House Rules Committee without a scheduled committee hearing. We encourage you to reach out to your House members to share your opposition to section 7 of this bill, which will take millions from local school districts each year. Here is a fact sheet that includes talking points and background information. As a reminder, we drafted a resolution in opposition to HB 219 for your board to utilize and tailor to your specific district.

Notable Bills Filed

On Thursday, SB 729: CBBC Working Group Changes (primary sponsors: Senators Jim Burgin, R-Harnett; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; Carl Ford, R-Rowan) was filed. NCSBA had been in negotiations with the State Retirement System for roughly 18 months to improve the anti-pension spiking contribution-based benefit cap (CBBC) law. It was clear from the outset that we were not going to get all that we wanted.  However, SB 729 is the compromise both sides agreed to, which we believe is a significant improvement to the existing law. Click here to access NCSBA’s summary of SB 729.

On Monday, SB 499: School Calendar Compliance Act (primary sponsors: Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Dean Proctor, R-Catawba; Lisa Barnes, R-Nash) was filed. This bill does the following:

• Allows citizens and/or the State Superintendent to bring declaratory judgement actions against local school districts that are not in compliance with the school calendar law
• Allows the State Superintendent to establish a pilot program of 10 school districts to participate in a remote instruction flexibility pilot program, allowing participating districts to establish a calendar for schools that use up to five days or 30 hours of remote instruction to administer exams prior to December 31

On Thursday, SB 670: Create New Weighted Student Funding Model (primary sponsors: Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Lisa Barnes, R-Nash) was filed. This bill repeals all existing school funding allotments and changes the school funding model to a weighted student funding model.

On Tuesday, SB 573: School Finance Officer Employment Terms (primary sponsors: Senator Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck; Kevin Corbin, R-Macon; Mike Woodard, D-Durham) was filed. This bill changes the terms of employment for school finance officers to mirror those of assistant and associate superintendents and deletes language that requires school finance officers to serve at the pleasure of the superintendent. This change reflects one of NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda priorities, and you can read more about the issue in our School Finance Officer Issue Brief.

House Education Bill that Passed the Senate

On Wednesday, HB 149: Remote & Virtual Charter/CC Pres Confirmation (primary sponsors: Representatives Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; Erin Pare, R-Wake) passed the Senate on a 29-18 party-line vote. HB 149 does the following:

• Extends the pilot program for the State’s two virtual charter schools from 10 to 11 years, ending the pilot with the 2025-26 school year
  • Authorizes increased student enrollment in each remaining year of the pilot program
  • At the end of the pilot program, allows the two virtual charter schools to apply to the State Board of Education (SBE) for a charter renewal
• Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, allows new remote charter academy applications and charter modifications to include a remote charter academy to be submitted to SBE for approval.

The remote charter academy enrollment guidelines, approval process, operational and renewal requirements, and evaluation mirror requirements for local school district remote academies established in SL 2022-59.

Prior to approval of the bill by the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee on Tuesday, two amendments were approved.

• Amendment 1
  • Removes language that would have allowed the two virtual charter schools in the pilot program to receive funding over the current $790 per student cap
  • Allows a nonprofit that has a school code for in-person instruction and a school code for a remote charter academy to provide all financial reporting for both school codes jointly
• Amendment 2
  • Requires the General Assembly to hold confirmation proceedings after the State Board of Community Colleges elects the president of the Community Colleges System

Much of the pushback from Democrats on HB 149 came from extending the virtual charter school pilot program and increasing those schools’ enrollment because of their continuously low-performing status. Republicans argued that there are many low-performing schools across the State, but these two virtual charter schools provide parents with a choice regarding their child’s education. Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bills that Passed the House

Statewide Bills

On Tuesday, the following two bills unanimously passed the House and were sent to the Senate.

• HB 172: Samantha Rose Davis Act (primary sponsor: Representative Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort)
  • Requires medical condition action plans for certain students and medical emergency plans in public school units
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 253: Prevent Students From Harm Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus; Donna White, R-Johnston; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford)
  • Incorporates character education to address bullying and harassing behavior
  • Authorizes experienced nonprofits to provide child sexual abuse and sex trafficking training programs for educators
  • Provides age-appropriate information and resources on the prevention of suicide, abuse, and neglect as part of the health education curriculum
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Local Bill

On Tuesday, HB 452: Franklin Co. Bd. of Ed. Election Method (primary sponsor: Representative Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin) passed the House on a voice vote and was sent to the Senate. This bill 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 Bill that Became Session Law

On Monday, HB 11: Schools for the Deaf and Blind (primary sponsors: Representatives Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson; Erin Pare, R-Wake; Dianne Wheatley, R-Cumberland) became law without the Governor’s signature, following 10 days of the Governor taking no action to sign or veto the bill. HB 11 does the following:

• Establishes local boards of trustees to govern each of the State’s schools for the deaf or blind, taking away the State Board of Education’s authority as the sole governing agency and DPI’s administrative responsibilities and oversight of these schools
• Upon request, for any prospective student the local superintendent is required to share current evaluation data and the current or proposed individualized education plan for that student
• Allows these boards of trustees to collaborate with local boards of education in the development of rules, curriculum, and other matters

Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bills Approved by House Committees

Statewide Bills

On Tuesday, HB 445: Closed Session Reminder (primary sponsors: Representatives Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Sam Watford, R-Davidson; Ben Moss, R-Richmond; Celeste Cairns, R-Carteret) had its first committee hearing when the House Local Government Committee approved the bill and referred it to the House Judiciary 1 Committee. HB 445 requires the presiding chair of all open meetings to remind the public body of the limited nature of discussion during a closed session. Click here for an official bill summary.

On Thursday, the following bills were approved by the House State Government Committee.

• HB 201: DST Admin Changes.-AB (primary sponsor: Representative Carson Smith, R-Pender)
  • Makes administrative and conforming changes to the laws governing the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) and other related statutes, as recommended by the Department of the State Treasurer
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 203: DST Technical Corrections.-AB (primary sponsors: Representatives Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland; Carson Smith, R-Pender)
  • Makes technical corrections and other conforming and clarifying changes to the laws governing TSERS and other related statutes, as recommended by the Department of the State Treasurer
  • Click here for an official bill summary

School Calendar Bills

Two statewide and 23 local school calendar bills have been filed during this legislative session. Both statewide bills were filed in the House, as well as 16 local bills. 12 of those local bills passed the House and were sent to the Senate. Seven local bills were filed in the Senate, and none of those local bills have had a committee hearing.

All local school calendar bills that were filed affect 56 school districts – nearly half the school districts in the State. Click here for a list of the affected school districts. Click here for a list of these school calendar bills.

The legislature is taking a spring break next week, but two notable education bills are scheduled to be heard in the House Education K-12 meeting on Tuesday, April 18, at 12:00 pm (livestream). These bills were previously scheduled to be presented during the Committee’s meeting on Tuesday, April 4, but that meeting was cancelled. The April 18 Committee meeting will be the first hearing for both bills.

HB 38: Entry Fees for HS Interscholastic Events (primary sponsors: Representatives Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham; Jason Saine, R-Lincoln; Ben Moss, R-Richmond; Charles Miller, R-Brunswick) requires cash to be an accepted form of payment when there is a fee to attend a high school interscholastic athletic event. This bill also requires the acceptance of a senior citizen’s “Tar Heel Card”, which is issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, for free admission to high school interscholastic athletic events. HB 38’s primary sponsor told NCSBA the motivation behind the bill is to ensure no student is turned away because they do not have a card to pay with or a phone with apps. Additionally, we believe HB 38 will be amended to remove the “Tar Heel Card” requirement. If you have concerns about the requirements in HB 38, we encourage you to contact your House member.

HB 314: Public School Ethics Training (primary sponsors: Representative Howard Penny, R-Harnett; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland; Donna White, R-Johnston; Joseph Pike, R-Harnett) requires all employees of a local school district who are involved in the making or administering of contracts to receive a minimum of two hours of ethics training within 90 days of assuming the responsibility of making or administering contracts and continuous training in every odd-numbered year thereafter. This issue is included in NCSBA’s 2023-24 Legislative Agenda, and you can read more about in NCSBA’s Administrator Ethics Training Issue Brief.

The State Board of Education met for its monthly meeting on Wednesday and Thursday and was presented with the following:

• Read to Achieve data
• Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids
• Transforming Educator Learning in NC: Realizing the Potential of Micro-Credentials
• Report on supplemental funds for teacher compensation

Read to Achieve data: Board members were presented with mid-year Read to Achieve data that show North Carolina’s K-3 students continue to make gains in literacy skills during the second full year of the science of reading initiative. The data shows the percentage of NC students performing at or above the 2022-23 school year benchmark was both higher than beginning-of-year assessments and higher than results from other states or districts using the same assessment. Additionally, fewer NC students were well below benchmarks and in need of intensive interventions at the middle of the year versus the beginning of the year. Click here for a DPI press release on this data. Click here for an article on the data.

Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids: The Board heard a presentation about work to be done in public schools to identify and restrict/mitigate exposure to lead in water, lead-based paint, and asbestos hazards. Approximately 3,100 public schools will be tested and assessed using federal funds. To enroll for the program, click here. Priority will be given to (i) elementary schools, (ii) schools with more than 50% free and reduced lunch students, (iii) schools with more than 50% non-white students, and (iv) schools built prior to 1988.

Transforming Educator Learning in NC: Realizing the Potential of Micro-Credentials: The Board heard a presentation about micro-credentials and their potential to improve teacher retention and student learning. A high-quality micro-credential is “a verification of proficiency in a job-embedded discrete skill or competency that an educator has demonstrated through the submission of evidence assessed via defined evaluation criteria.” Presenters noted that the difference between micro-credentials and traditional professional development is that micro-credentials focus on verifiable outcomes, not just getting credits and completing a course. DPI’s digital learning grants, which began in 2017, include micro-credentials as a priority. Presenters stated that the 23 local school districts that have benefited from these grants serve as a valuable resource for expanding micro-credentials across the State. For more information, click here to access the report submitted to the Board.

Report on supplemental funds for teacher compensation: Board members were presented with a report on teacher supplements that were included in the 2021 and 2022 State budgets. In 2021, a new allotment was created to provide teachers, instructional support personnel, and qualifying school administrators salary supplements based on a county’s respective tax base, median household income, and effective tax rate. Click here for the report, which includes the average salary supplement per local school district. DPI was not able to report on the effect the salary supplements had on retention rates, as this report was the first on these new supplements.

Click here to access all meeting materials. Click here for an article on the meeting.

The local bill filing deadline for both the House and the Senate has passed. The public/statewide bill filing deadline for the Senate was yesterday, April 6, (extended from the original April 4 deadline) and the public/statewide bill filing deadline for the House is April 18 (House appropriations and finance bills must be filed by April 25). The following are additional education-related bills that were filed this week.

Statewide Bills

• HB 562: Addressing the Workforce Housing Crisis (primary sponsors: Representatives John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford)
  • Establishes workforce housing developments to address critical housing shortages for teachers, as well as firefighters, law enforcement officers, nurses, first responders, and other vital workers and first-time homebuyers
• HB 566: Give State Retirees 2% COLA/Funds (primary sponsors: Representatives Rosa Gill, D-Wake; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland; Howard Penny, R-Harnett)
  • Provides a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for retires of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System
• HB 574: Fairness In Women’s Sports Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Jennifer Balkcom, R-Henderson; Karl Gillespie, R-Macon; Erin Pare, R-Wake; Kristen Baker, R-Cabarrus)
  • Identical to SB 631 (primary sponsors: Senators Kevin Corbin, R-Macon; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell)
  • Prohibits students recognized as biological males at birth from competing on women’s and girl’s sports teams
  • Provides public school units, their representatives, or their employees the right to legal recourse for harm suffered from complying with these new requirements
• HB 581: Investing in North Carolina Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Rosa Gill, D-Wake; Charles Smith, D-Cumberland; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe)
  • Identical to SB 652 (primary sponsors: Senators Val Applewhite, D-Cumberland; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford; DeAndrea Salvador, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Provides raises for teachers and State employees
    • Creates a new teacher salary schedule with a starting salary of $41,000
  • Provides cost-of-living increases for retirees
    • 5% in 2023-24
    • 3% in 2024-25
  • SB 462: Highway Safety Omnibus/Additional Magistrates (primary sponsors: Senators Rachel Hunt, R-Mecklenburg; Natasha Marcus, R-Mecklenburg)
    • Identical to HB 527
    • Revises certain penalties for failure to stop for a school bus
  • SB 472: School Psychologists Omnibus (primary sponsors: Senators Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico; Kevin Corbin, R-Macon; Jim Burgin, R-Harnett)
    • Identical to SB 448 and SB 504
    • Also identical to HB 585 (primary sponsors: Kristen Baker, R-Cabarrus; David Willis, R-Union; Destin Hall, R-Caldwell; Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Provides salary supplements for school psychologists
    • Establishes the School Psychologist Grant Program within DPI to help school districts recruit and retain school psychologists
    • Adds a position in DPI for a recruitment and retention coordinator
    • Establishes an internship program for school psychologists
    • Creates a virtual school psychology training program at Appalachian State University
    • Increases funds for school psychologist training programs at Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, NC State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Western Carolina UniversitySB 483: $17/hour Minimum Pay for Noncertified School Employees (primary sponsors: Senators Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford; Kandie Smith, D-Pitt)
      • Appropriates $144.7 million to raise the salary of noncertified school employees to at least $17 per hour

• SB 485: Study Cell Phone Use in School (primary sponsors: Senators Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake; Jim Burgin, R-Harnett)
  • Instructs DPI, in conjunction with NCSBA and other education groups, to compile a list of policies on cell phone use in schools
  • Instructs DPI to assess impacts of these policies on learning, cyber bullying, and school safety
• SB 493: Go Big for Early Childhood Education (primary sponsors: Senators DeAndrea Salvador, D-Mecklenburg; Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg; Sydney Batch, D-Wake)
  • Increases funds above the base budget for NC Pre-K and NC Partnership for Children, Inc.
  • Raises the base reimbursement rates for NC Pre-K sites by 3% for FY 2023-24
  • Provides a tax credit for certain early education teachers and directors
• SB 502: Modify School Performance Grades (primary sponsors: Senators Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg; Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg; Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake)
  • Modifies school performance grades to provide that all schools receive a grade for school achievement and a grade for school growth
• SB 522: Informational Literacy Bill (primary sponsors: Senators Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham; DeAndrea Salvador, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Requires instruction of informational literacy in schools
    • Informational literacy means a set of skills that enable an individual to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and use the needed informat,ion effectively, including, but not limited to digital, visual, textual and technological literacy
  • SB 523: Increase School Psychologists (primary sponsor: Senator Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Increases the number of school psychologist positions funded by the State to 675
  • SB 524: School Social Workers/Master’s Pay: (primary sponsor: Senator Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Provides education-based salary supplements for school social workers, regardless of whether a master’s degree is required for licensure
  • SB 528: Public School HVAC Replacements (primary sponsors: Senators DeAndrea Salvador, D-Mecklenburg; Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe; Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Establishes the Clean Air Grant Program, which requires DPI to provide grants to qualifying public school units to replace aging heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in schools
  • SB 532: Restore State Employee/Teacher Retiree Medical Benefit (primary sponsors: Senators Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth; Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg; Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Identical to HB 333
    • Prevents the elimination of retiree medical benefits for members first earning service under the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement Systems
  • SB 535: Pension Forfeiture Due to Criminal Acts (primary sponsors: Senators Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; Carl Ford, R-Rowan; Ted Alexander, R-Cleveland)
    • Causes the forfeiture of benefits under the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System for committing certain criminal offenses while in office
  • SB 558: Broadband Affordability Prog./Digital Equity (primary sponsor: Senator Natalie Murdock, D-Durham)
    • Establishes the North Carolina Broadband Assistance Program to provide funds to eligible low-income families to help make broadband access more affordable
  • SB 561: Repeal Collective Bargaining Ban (primary sponsor: Senator Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Identical to HB 243
    • Repels the state ban on collective bargaining for public employees
  • SB 567: School Mental Health Support Act (primary sponsors: Senators Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford; Paul Lowe, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Establishes the School Mental Health Grant Program to increase student access to mental health support personnel
    • Establishes the Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program
  • SB 598: Healthy Students – A Nurse In Every School (primary sponsors: Senators Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Kandie Smith, D-Pitt)
    • Requires at least one school nurse in every school in a local school district and appropriates funds to meet that requirement
  • SB 618: TAs to Teachers (primary sponsor: Senator Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
    • Creates a Teacher Assistant Tuition Reimbursement Program to assist teacher assistants in completing an educator preparation program by providing funds to allow local school districts to pick five teacher assistants to receive an award of up to $4,500 per year
  • SB 634: Cap Charter Schools (primary sponsor: Senator Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
    • Caps the total number of charter schools operating in the State at 225
  • SB 636: School Athletic Transparency (primary sponsors: Senators Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
    • 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
      • Prohibits students of male sex from competing in sports designated for females, women, or girls
    • Recodifies and reorganizes current interscholastic athletics statutes
  • SB 645: Add Homeschools to Opportunity Scholarship (primary sponsor: Senator Jim Burgin, R-Harnett)
    • Identical to SB 665: Add Homeschools to Opportunity Scholarship (primary sponsors: Senators Jim Burgin, R-Harnett; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth)
    • Permits opportunity scholarships to be awarded to students in home school and phases in increased award amounts for home schoolers over time
  • SB 653: Access to Sports and Extracurriculars for All (primary sponsors: Senators Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell; Carl Ford, R-Rowan; Amy Galey, R-Alamance)
    • Permits students who attend a public school, private school, or home school without an interscholastic athletics program in a given sport or particular extracurricular activity to participate in that activity at a public high school
  • SB 675: Land Use Clarification and Changes (primary sponsors: Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; David Craven, R-Randolph; Amy Galey, R-Alamance)
    • Allows the siting of schools via special use permit for areas zoned for commercial use
  • SB 683: Expanding Workforce and Education Act (primary sponsors: Senators Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe)
    • Expands North Carolina’s workforce by providing in-state tuition to North Carolina high school graduates who meet certain criteria
  • SB 688: Child Care Act (primary sponsors: Senators Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham)
    • Expands the NC Pre-K Program
    • Provides lunch in public schools at no cost to students through an allocation based on school food authority evaluations
    • Requires a report on the feasibility and advisability of a high school child care apprenticeship program
  • SB 694: Funds for Ready for School, Ready for Life (primary sponsor: Senator Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)
    • Appropriates funds to Ready for School, Ready for Life to continue state financial support of an integrated data system for early childhood development programs
  • SB 698: Expand Academic Trans. Pathways/Sophomore HS (primary sponsor: Senator Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
    • Expands academic transition pathways for sophomore high school students
  • SB 708: School Meals for Every Child (primary sponsors: Senators Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham; Mary Bode, D-Granville)
    • Provides breakfast and lunch in public schools at no cost to students through an allocation based on school food authority evaluations
  • SB 713: Build Safer Communities and Schools Act (primary sponsors: Senators Natalie Murdock, D-Durham; Mary Bode, D-Granville; Gale Adcock, D-Wake)
    • Allows schools to contract for psychologist services
    • Codifies school safety grants
  • SB 720: Reenact Educational Sales Tax Holiday (primary sponsors: Senators Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg; Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth)
    • Reenacts the sales and use tax holiday for school supplies
  • SB 734: Constitution Quote at School Entrances (primary sponsors: Senators Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck; Timothy Moffit, R-Henderson)
    • Requires display of section one of article IX of the North Carolina Constitution at the entrance to all elementary and secondary schools
  • SB 740: Fully Fund School Psychologist & Counselors (primary sponsors: Senators Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg; Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham)
    • Fully funds school psychologist and school counselor positions per the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan

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

April 3, 2023, Weekly Report

Headlines for this edition include:

• Education Secretary Urges Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools
  • US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona wrote a Dear Colleague letter to the nation’s governors, chief state school officers, and school district and school leaders urging them to end corporal punishment in schools
  • School corporal punishment is currently permissible in 23 states, including North Carolina
  • Click here to read the letter
• House Oversight Committee Examines Impact of Pandemic School Closures
  • The House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing titled, “The Consequences of School Closures: Intended and Unintended”
  • Chairman Brad Wenstrup’s (R-OH) opening statement noted that the intent of Tuesday’s hearing was to examine school closures related to the pandemic response so that the Select Subcommittee could “conduct further investigations, learn from policy failures, discover and apply best practices, and improve readiness for future pandemics”
  • Click here for a recording of the hearing

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

State News

• WUNC – NC Teaching Fellows’ Return to HBCUs is ‘Small But Mighty’ and the Program Could Continue To Grow
• EdNC – How to be An Effective Advocate Given the Republican Supermajority
• EdNC – Perspective: The Business Case for Early Childhood Education in North Carolina

National News

• Politico – Biden’s Education Secretary is Done Sitting ‘Idly’ Among Schools Fight
• USA Today – Garland – School Board Memo Aimed at Violence, Not Parent Protests
• The Hill – Designating Schools as Critical Infrastructure Could Help Keep Students Safe
• New York Times – The School Where the Pandemic Never Ended

The legislature is taking a spring break next week and will resume regular business the next week starting on April 17. We may not send a Legislative Update next Friday, April 14, due to the legislature’s absence.

Tuesday, April 18

12:00 pm – House Education K-12 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 38: Entry Fees for HS Interscholastic Events.
• HB 314: Public School Ethics Training.

Wednesday, April 19

10:00 am – House Judiciary 2 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 421 (livestream)

• HB 534: Protecting School Employees.

Correction on Last Friday’s Legislative Update

Last Friday, we said that SB 90: Searches of Student’s Person requires all student searches (including searches of property), to take place in private and to be conducted by two adults who are the same sex as the student being searched. The bill as amended only applies that requirement to searches of a student’s person.

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

Rebekah Howard
Advocacy Coordinator
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

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

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

The House conducted its own version of March Madness this week, just in time for tomorrow’s Final Four. House budget writers unveiled the House’s proposed State budget for the 2023-25 fiscal biennium on Wednesday, followed by meetings of various House appropriations committees on Thursday morning. The meeting of the full House Appropriations Committee began at 10:00 am on Thursday and lasted until 5:00 pm. During this meeting, dozens of amendments were offered by members of both parties, and 17 amendments passed. Click here for an article on some of the proposed amendments concerning education.

The House’s plan is to hear the amended budget in various House committee meetings next Tuesday, April 4, then vote on the budget on the House floor on Wednesday, April 5, and Thursday, April 6.

The House budget appropriates $29.8 billion in 2023-24 (6.5% increase) and $30.9 billion in 2024-25 (additional 3.75% increase). The House’s K-12 education budget is $11.7 billion for 2023-24 (4.1% increase) and $12.3 billion for 2024-25 (additional 4.5% increase). The following are K-12 education highlights of the House budget:

• An average 10.2% teacher raise over the biennium (including step increases, master’s pay, and other supplements)
• Reinstates master’s pay for teachers
• Provides across-the-board salary increases of 4.25% in 2023-24 and 3.25% in 2024-25 for school district personnel
  • (These salary increases are included in the average 10.2% teacher raise)
  • Gives bus drivers an additional 2% raise in 2023-24
• Includes $40 million for school safety grants
• Increases the Needs-Based Capital Grant maximum amount by $10 million
• Requires public school units to post lesson plans and instructional materials to their website
• Expands eligibility and increases funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program
• Redesignates the School Psychologist Allotment as the School Health Personnel Allotment
  • Transfers school nurse, counselor, and social worker positions to this allotment
  • Provides funding for an additional 120 school nurse, psychologist, social worker, or counselor positions
  • This change reflects one of NCSBA’s Legislative Agenda priorities

Click here for NCSBA’s summary of House education budget provisions and click here for NCSBA’s summary of House education budget appropriations. Our summaries include most (not all) of the House education budget. We expect some provisions and appropriations to change prior the House’s final approval that is expected next Thursday. We will provide you with updated summaries in next week’s Legislative Update.

Click here for the House budget bill and click here for the House budget money report. Click here for an article on House education budget highlights.

Following the House’s anticipated approval of their budget next week, it will then be sent to the Senate where Senate budget writers will release their own version, followed by collaboration between the two chambers to reach a budget compromise.

The highlight of this week was the release of the House budget. Another bill that would significantly change the State’s voucher program was filed – SB 406: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future. Senate Leader Phil Berger announced the bill’s filing in a press release, and you can read more about SB 406 below.

Also, this week, both the House and Senate voted to override Governor Cooper’s veto of SB 41: Protect Religious Meeting Places (primary sponsors Senators Danny Britt, R- Robeson; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; Jim Perry, R-Lenoir), which in a gun bill that includes a section allowing guns on property that is both a school and place of religious worship during certain hours. SB 41 does not apply to property owned by a local board of education or county commission. This veto override was possible because of the Senate’s vetoproof Republican majority, and the House being able to obtain a vetoproof Republican majority because three Democrats were absent. SB 41 was chaptered in SL 2023-8.

HB 219: Charter School Omnibus continues to sit in the House Rules Committee without a scheduled committee hearing. We encourage you to reach out to your House members to share your opposition to section 7 of this bill, which poses a huge threat to local school district funding. Here is a fact sheet that includes talking points and background information. As a reminder, we drafted a resolution in opposition to HB 219 for your board to utilize and tailor to your specific district.

Another Voucher Bill to Watch

In addition to HB 420: Expand & Consolidate K-12 Scholarships, which was filed last week, we want to highlight SB 406: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future, which was filed on Wednesday.

The primary sponsors of SB 406 are Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), Lisa Barnes (R-Nash), and Amy Galey (R-Alamance) who all chair Senate education committees. According to a press release from the office of Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) SB 406 – if enacted – would be the “largest expansion of school choice” since the Opportunity Scholarship Program was founded 10 years ago.

SB 406 bill provides vouchers for every family in the State. It replaces 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

SB 406 does not include stabilization funds for local school districts that will lose significant funding due to a reduction in average daily membership. Click here for an article on SB 406.

Education Bills that Passed the Senate

On Tuesday, the following bills unanimously passed the Senate and have been referred to the House Rules Committee.

• SB 90: Searches of Student’s Person(primary sponsors: Senators Michael Lazzara, R-Onslow; Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Vicki Sawyer, R-Iredell)
  • Requires public school units to adopt a policy on school officials searching students consistent with State and federal law

• • Requires ALL searches to be conducted in private by one school official and one adult witness who are the same sex as the student being searched, including searches of backpacks, vehicles, etc.
  • Prior to passage on the Senate floor, a friendly amendment proposed by NCSBA to the bill’s primary sponsor was adopted that allows an exception for searches conducted using a walk-through metal detector, handheld wand, or similar minimally intrusive device designed to detect weapons and regularly used for security scanning
  • Click here for an official bill summary

• SB 193: Career Development Plans(primary sponsors: Senators Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Michael Lee, R-New Hanover)
  • Requires middle and high school students to complete career development plans
  • During bill presentation to a committee, it was noted that this is an initiative from the State Superintendent and DPI that would not require additional personnel or funding
  • Click herefor an official bill summary

Education Bills that Passed the House

The following bills unanimously passed the House and have been sent to the Senate.

Statewide Bills

• HB 142: Protect Our Students Act.-AB (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus; Jake Johnson, R-Polk; Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort)
  • An agency bill supported by DPI and the State Superintendent
  • Increases penalties for failure of school administrators to report certain misconduct to the State Board of Education
  • Increases penalties and modifies definitions for certain sex offenses against students
  • Requires public school units to show 6^th– 12^thgrade students a video produced by DPI’s Center for Safer Schools containing age-appropriate information about sexual abuse, as recommended by DPI
  • Defines conduct directly related to the office or employment as it pertains to the forfeiture of retirement benefits
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 382: Registered Nurses in Schools(primary sponsors: Representative John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; Donna White, R-Johnston; Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg; Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Allows any person licensed as a registered nurse who has at least two years of licensed experience in a hospital or health clinic to be employed as a school nurse and not be required to possess or promise to obtain any other certification or license as a condition of employment in that role
  • Requires school nurses not certified by a national organization recognized by the State Board of Education (SBE) to continue to be paid based on the noncertified nurse salary range established by the SBE
  • Click here for an official bill summary
  • Click here for an article on the bill
• HB 190: Dept. of Health and Human Services Revisions.-AB (primary sponsor: Representative Larry Potts, R-Davidson)
  • Makes technical, conforming, and other modifications to laws pertaining to the Department of Health and Human Services
  • Removes language requiring the inclusion of the anonymous safety tip line application on a document and display that are shared with students in public school units concerning child abuse and neglect
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Local Bill

• HB 306: School Calendar Flexibility/Granville & Vance(primary sponsor: Representative Frank Sossamon, R-Granville)
  • Allows the Granville County and Vance County boards of education to open schools no earlier than August 1 and, if the first semester ends prior to December 31, allows the boards to administer assessments prior to the end of that semester
  • Prior to passage on the House floor, an amendment was adopted that adds Montgomery County, Person County, and Stanly County schools to the bill and encourages community colleges serving these five counties to cooperate with their local boards of education to develop a school calendar that best suits the needs of students who attend class in both the school district and the community college
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Education Bills Approved by House Committees

Statewide Bills

The following two bills had their first committee hearing when they were approved by the House Education K-12 Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee.

• HB 172: Samantha Rose Davis Act(primary sponsor: Representative Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort)
  • Requires medical condition action plans for certain students and medical emergency plans in public school units
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 253: Prevent Students From Harm Act(primary sponsors: Representatives Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus; Donna White, R-Johnston; Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford)
  • Incorporates character education to address bullying and harassing behavior
  • Provides child sexual abuse and sex trafficking training for educators
  • Provides age-appropriate information on the prevention of suicide, abuse, and neglect as part of the health education curriculum
  • Click here for an official bill summary

On Wednesday, HB 205: Transparent Governance & Integrity Act.-AB (primary sponsors: Representatives Howard Penny, R-Harnett; Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Jennifer Balkcom, R-Henderson) had its second committee hearing when it was approved by the House Finance Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee. This bill mandates financial management education for certain local government officials and makes changes to various local government finance laws. Click here for an official bill summary.

Local Bills

On Tuesday, HB 262: School Assignment Zones (primary sponsors: Representatives Phil Shepard, R-Onslow; George Cleveland, R-Onslow; Carson Smith, R-Pender) had its second committee hearing this week when it was approved by the House Local Government and referred to the House Rules Committee. This bill requires student assignment zones that allow students the opportunity to attend the schools closest to their residence in Onslow County Schools. A roll call vote was requested for Committee approval, and the vote was 7-5 along party lines with Democrats claiming this sets bad precedent, and the issue should be handled at the local level. Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bill Approved by Senate Committees
SB 286: Make Pamlico Board of Education Partisan (primary sponsor: Senator Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico) had its first two committee hearings this week when the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee and the Senate Rules Committee approved the bill. SB 286 changes the election for the Pamlico County Board of Education from nonpartisan to partisan. Click here for an official bill summary.

School Calendar Bills

Two statewide and 23 local school calendar bills have been filed during this legislative session. There will be no more local calendar bills filed this session because the local bill filing deadline for the Senate was March 9, and the local bill filing deadline for the House was yesterday, March 23.

As was mentioned under Education Bills that Passed the House, HB 306: School Calendar Flexibility/Granville & Vance passed the House yesterday, following adoption of an amendment that added three more school districts to the bill. All local school calendar bills that have been filed affect 56 school districts – nearly half the school districts in the State. Click here for a list of the affected school districts. Click here for a list of these school calendar bills.

The local bill filing deadline for the Senate was March 9, and the local bill filing deadline for the House was March 23. The public/statewide bill filing deadline for the Senate is next Tuesday, April 4, and the public/statewide bill filing deadline for the House is April 18 (House appropriations and finance bills must be filed by April 25).

The following are additional education-related bills that were filed this week.

Statewide Bills

• 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)
  • Requires schools and public buildings to fly the POW flag, provided there is space for the flag on an existing flagpole
• HB 493: Funds for Rutherford Athletic Training (primary sponsor: Representative Jake Johnson, R-Polk)
  • Appropriates $1.25 million for new athletic training equipment and upgrades of athletic facilities in Rutherford County Schools
• HB 498: K-5 Art and Music (primary sponsors: Representatives Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Kyle Hall, R-Surry; Erin Pare, R-Wake)
  • Specifies instruction on music and visual arts in elementary schools
• HB 500: NCCWBTC/Medicaid-Related Recommendations (primary sponsor: Representative Sarah Stevens, R-Surry)
  • Ensures increased awareness of school-based health services that are reimbursable under Medicaid
• HB 509: Reduce School Lunch Debt (primary sponsors: Representatives Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg; Dean Arp, R-Union; Mark Brody, R-Union; Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Appropriates $3.2 million to satisfy any outstanding school nutrition program debt
• HB 510: School Supplies Act of 2023 (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Rosa Gill, D-Wake; Terence Everitt, D-Wake; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake)
  • Appropriates $82.3 million in recurring funds for the classroom materials/instructional supplies/equipment allotment

• HB 518: Equality for All (primary sponsors: Representatives Vernetta Alton, D-Durham; Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford; Allen Buansi, D-Orange; Renee Price, D-Orange)
  • Identical to SB 398 (primary sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake; Natasha Marcus, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Requires local boards of education to adopt a policy on nondiscrimination in schools, among other requirements to protect all North Carolinians against discrimination
• HB 526: Turning High Achieving Students into Teachers (primary sponsors: Representatives Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Gloristine Brown, D-Pitt; Terry Brown, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Appropriates funds to the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children to be used for the North Carolina Teacher Cadet Program with the goal of improving development of the teacher pipeline
• HB 531: Charter School Tuition/Out of State Students (primary sponsors: Representatives Sarah Stevens, R-Surry; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Mark Brody R-Union; Reece Pyrtle, R-Rockingham)
  • Allows charter schools to admit nonresident students if the school is not operating at capacity
  • Allows the charter school to charge the nonresident student tuition
• HB 534: Protecting School Employees (primary sponsors: Representatives Neal Jackson, R-Moore; Carson Smith, R-Pender; Sarah Stevens, R-Surry; Brian Biggs, R-Randolph)
  • Increases the punishment for a person who commits a second or subsequent offense of assaulting a school employee or school volunteer
• HB 543: 2023 Youth End Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Maria Cervania, D-Wake; Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake)
  • Identical to SB 116 (primary sponsors: Senators Kevin Corbin, R-Macon; Gale Adcock, D-Wake; Jim Burgin, R-Harnett)
  • Establishes the Tobacco Use Prevention Fund
  • Provides training for schools regarding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention evidence-based tobacco use prevention and cessation interventions
• SB 384: Carbon Monoxide Detectors/School Buildings (primary sponsors Senators Michael Lee R-New Hanover, Amy Galey R-Alamance, Julie Mayfield D-Buncombe)
• Studies the installation of carbon monoxide detectors and the implementation of radon testing in schools
• SB 391: NCSSM Plate (primary sponsors: Senators Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; Mike Woodard, D-Durham)
  • Authorizes a special license plate for the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
• SB 411: Students in House School Take PSAT/AP (primary sponsors: Senators Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell)
  • Allows home school students to participate in AP exams and the PSAT at a school within the local school district which the student would be assigned to if the student attended public school
  • Allows the local school unit to charge the home school student the cost of the test
  • Requires a local board of education to provide information on the registration for advanced exams for home school students at the request of a student or parent
• SB 419: Carolina’s Guarantee Scholarship Program (primary sponsors: Senators Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford; Val Applewhite, D-Cumberland)
  • Establishes the Community College Promise Scholarship Program and appropriates funds for that purpose
  • Within the funds available, requires the Authority to partner with the Community Colleges System Office and local school districts to place higher education advisers in secondary public schools throughout the State and provide outreach to high school students on the Community College Promise Scholarship Program
• SB 421: State Employees/Paid Parental Leave (primary sponsors: Senators Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford; Mary Bode, D-Granville)
  • Provides eight weeks of paid parental leave to all State employees
• SB 422: Homes of Heroes (primary sponsors: Senators Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford; Kandie Smith, D-Pitt)
  • Creates a Homebuyers’ Assistance Program with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency for first-time homebuyers who work as public servants, including teachers
• SB 432: K-3 Class Size Waiver (primary sponsors: Senators Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake)
  • Adds waivers for local school districts on K-3 class size requirements, provided there is a shortage of available licensed teachers or inadequate classroom space
• SB 440: Increase Minimum Wage Act (primary sponsors: Senators Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg; Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Increases the North Carolina minimum wage to $15 per hour
• SB 448: School Psychologist Omnibus (primary sponsors: Senators Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico; Jim Burgin, R-Harnett; Kevin Corbin, R-Macon)
  • Provides salary supplements for school psychologists
  • Establishes the School Psychologist Grant Program within DPI to help school districts recruit and retain school psychologists
  • Adds a position in DPI for a recruitment and retention coordinator
  • Establishes an internship program for school psychologists
  • Creates a virtual school psychology training program at Appalachian State University
  • Increases funds for school psychologist training programs at Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, NC State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Western Carolina University

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

March 27, 2023, Weekly Report

Headlines for this edition include:

• North Carolina Gets Extension to Spend COVID Relief Funds Directed at LEAs
  • The US Department of Education has announced that NC, six other states, and DC have been granted a 14-month extension past the original January 28, 2023, deadline to spend federal COVID relief funds
  • The funding, known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 1 (ESSER1), provided $122 billion to states in order to safely reopen and maintain schools during the pandemic, while mitigating the effects of the pandemic on budget operations
    • NC’s portion of that was $3.6 billion
  • The ESSER 1 funds must now be spent by March 30, 2024
  • The spending deadlines for the second and third rounds of ESSER funding remain unchanged, at January 28, 2024, and January 28, 2025, respectively
  • According to reporting in K-12 Dive, the states who were granted the extensions, “cited the need for extending spending for a wide range of activities, including general instructional services and materials, cleaning supplies, technology and technology infrastructure, HVAC and construction materials and services, and contracts for other services like behavioral health and staffing”
• USDA Proposes Lower Threshold for Schools to Qualify for Free Meals
  • The US Department of Agriculture has proposed an expansion of access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allowing high poverty schools to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students, without requiring families to fill out an application
  • The proposal lowers the percentage of low-income students needed for school to qualify for CEP from 40% to 25& percent
  • The public comment period on the proposed rule change ends May 8, 2023

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

State News

• EdNC – Perspective: $1B out of public schools will hit rural communities hardest
• EdNC – After the pandemic, how much do NC school districts have in savings?
• WUNC – State teacher pay hasn’t kept pace with inflation. Teachers call it the ‘NC teacher tax’

National News

• EdNC – USDA announces plan to expand access to school meals
• National Public Radio – What We Do (and Don’t) Know About Teacher Shortages and What Can Be Done About Them
• K-12 Dive – What Potential Cuts to the US Department of Education Could Look Like

Tuesday, April 4

9:00 am – Senate Education/Higher Education – Legislative Offices Building, rm 544 (livestream)

• HB 149: Remote Charter Academies.

10:00 am – House Local Government – Legislative Building, rm 1228/1327 (livestream)

• HB 452: Franklin Co. Bd. of Ed. Elect. to Nov.

10:00 am – House Health – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 134: SHP Claims Administrator Changes.-AB

2:00 pm – House Education K-12 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 38: Entry Fees for HS Interscholastic Events.
• HB 314: Public School Ethics Training.

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

Rebekah Howard
Advocacy Coordinator
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

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

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

Efforts to combat HB 219: Charter School Omnibus continued this week. We have drafted a resolution in opposition to HB 219 for your board to utilize and tailor to your specific district. As a reminder, we sent a fact sheet last week that includes talking points and background information to guide your communication with House members.

House budget writers spent many hours finalizing their proposed State budget this week, which is expected to be shared with the public next week. Education bills continued to be filed, including two bills that significantly impact the State’s voucher program – HB 420: Expand & Consolidate K-12 Scholarships and SB 368: Enabling Opportunity Scholarship Reporting. Read more about these voucher bills, other education bills with action this week, and the State budget below.

House Budget Expected Next Week

According to media reports, House Speaker Tim Moore said the House’s first draft of the State budget will be released next Wednesday, March 29. During this Wednesday’s House session, Representative Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, told fellow lawmakers the budget should be voted out of the House before Easter, prior to both chambers taking a weeklong break starting on April 10. Following the House’s passage of the budget, the Senate will create its own budget, and then legislative leaders will collaborate with the goal of coming to a budget compromise by mid-June.

While House and Senate leaders previously agreed on spending amounts, $29.7 billion for 2023-24 (6.5% increase) and $30.8 billion for 2024-25 (additional 3.75% increase), Speaker Moore said they have not reached an agreement on salary increases. Moore did not say what raises will be included in the House budget but did say the House is taking “a responsible approach to giving pay raises that we know are very much needed and that we can afford to do.”

Two Voucher Bills to Watch

HB 420: Expand & Consolidate K-12 Scholarships (primary sponsors: Representatives Donnie Loftis, R-Gaston; David Willis, R-Union; John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg) was filed on Tuesday. The following are highlights of this 13-page bills:

• Consolidates the Personal Education Student Accounts (PESA) and the Opportunity Scholarship Program in the 2026-27 school year
  • Students in the program will receive 100% of the state per-pupil allocation based on average daily membership (ADM) for the previous year
• Currently, PESA is funded at $48 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year
  • Annual funding continues to increase before and after consolidation of the two programs, reaching $1.5 billion by the 2032-33 fiscal year
• Expands eligibility for PESA by opening the program beyond disabled students to any North Carolina student
• PESA funding is based on varying percentages of ADM from the previous fiscal year
  • Home school students are eligible for up to 28%
  • All other nonpublic school students are eligible for up to 33% funding, which will increase to up to 66% in the 2025-26 school year
• Eliminates the Opportunity Scholarship grant fund reserve by the 2026-27 fiscal year and reverts those monies to the General Fund

SB 368: Enabling Opportunity Scholarship Reporting (primary sponsors: Senators Graig Meyer, D-Orange, Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake; Dan Blue, D-Wake) was filed on Thursday. This bill requires the administration of a common exam to a sample of certain nonpublic and public students for the purposes of enabling opportunity scholarship grant program reporting and provides funds for this evaluation. This bill supports an item on NCSBA’s 2023-24 Legislative Agenda, and you can read more about the issue in our Opportunity Scholarship Issue Brief.

Education Bills that Passed the House

Statewide Bills

On Wednesday, the following two bills passed the House and were sent to the Senate.

• HB 187: Equality in Education (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; David Willis, R-Union; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland)
  • Passed 68-49, with no Democratic support, meaning it is one vote short of a guaranteed veto override
  • Almost identical to a 2021 billvetoed by Governor Cooper
  • Lists 13 concepts that are prohibited from being promoted in public schools, including:
    • One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex
    • An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive
    • An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex
    • The United States was created by members of a particular race or sex for the purpose of oppressing members of another race of sex
  • Requires public school units (PSUs) to notify DPI and post to their website information about:
    • Instruction regarding the 13 concepts
    • Contracting with, hiring, or otherwise engaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and other persons for the purpose of discussing the 13 concepts
  • Lists examples of what the 13 concepts and the PSU requirements do NOT apply to, including:
    • Speech protected by the First Amendment
    • Materials or supplemental instruction that include impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history and impartial instruction on historical oppression of particular groups of people
    • Materials accessed on an individual basis for research or independent study that advocate one or more of the 13 concepts
  • Click herefor an official bill summary
• HB 282: Trade Schools Study(primary sponsors: Representatives Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Dean Arp, R-Union; Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth)
  • Passed 115-0
  • Compiles information regarding the trades workforce and future training, including the current options for high school students to become workers practicing trades
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Local Bill

On Wednesday, HB 308: Alexander Co. Bd. of Ed. Referendum (primary sponsor: Representative Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes) passed the House on a voice vote. This bill requires Alexander County to conduct a referendum on whether to change the election method for the Alexander Board of Education from nonpartisan to partisan. Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bills that Passed the Senate

On Tuesday, the following two bills unanimously passed the Senate and were sent to the House.

• SB 83: No High-Risk Apps/Gov’t Networks & Devices(primary sponsors: Senators Timothy Moffit, R-Henderson; Jim Perry, R-Lenoir; Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck)
  • Prohibits the use of TikTok, Telegram, and WeChat on government-issued devices.
  • Applies to “any employee, elected official, or appointee of a public agency”
  • Click herefor an official bill summary
• SB 187: Teacher Licensure Changes(primary sponsors: Senators Tom McInnis, R-Moore; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Lisa Barnes, R-Nash)
  • Makes limited teacher licenses renewable if certain criteria are met, including proof of teacher effectiveness by meeting or exceeding expected growth according to the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS)
  • Encourages a teacher with a limited license to continue to pursue a continuing professional license (CPL)
  • Click herefor an official bill summary

Education Bill Sent to the Governor

On Tuesday, HB 11: Schools for the Deaf and Blind (primary sponsors: Representatives Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson; Erin Pare, R-Wake; Dianne Wheatley, R-Cumberland) passed the Senate on a 29-17 vote and was sent to the Governor. This bill does the following:

• Establishes local boards of trustees to govern each of the State’s schools for the deaf or blind, taking away the State Board of Education’s authority as the sole governing agency and DPI’s administrative responsibilities and oversight of these schools
• Upon request, for any prospective student the local superintendent is required to share current evaluation data and the current or proposed individualized education plan for that student
• Allows these boards of trustees to collaborate with local boards of education in the development of rules, curriculum, and other matters

Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bills Approved by Senate Committees

On Tuesday, SB 90: Searches of Student’s Person (primary sponsors: Senators Michael Lazzara, R-Onslow; Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Vicki Sawyer, R-Iredell) had its third committee hearing when it was approved by the Senate Rules Committee. SB 90 does the following.

• Requires public school units to adopt a policy on school officials searching students consistent with State and federal law
• Requires ALL searches to be conducted in private by one school official and one adult witness who are the same sex as the student being searched, including searches of backpacks, vehicles, etc.
  • All searches include instances when students are going through metal detectors

NCSBA will continue to work with the bill sponsors to improve SB 90. The next stop for SB 90 is the Senate floor where NCSBA anticipates the bill will be amended. Click here for an official bill summary.

Education Bills Approved by House Committees

On Tuesday, the following three bills were approved by the House Pensions and Retirement Committee.

• HB 142: Protect Our Students Act.-AB(primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus; Jake Johnson, R-Polk; Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort) is an agency bill supported by DPI and the State Superintendent that does the following:
  • Increases penalties for failure of school administrators to report certain misconduct to the State Board of Education
  • Increases penalties and modifies definitions for certain sex offenses against students
  • Requires public school units to show 6^th– 12^th grade students a video produced by DPI’s Center for Safer Schools containing age-appropriate information about sexual abuse, as recommended by DPI
  • Defines conduct directly related to the office or employment as it pertains to the forfeiture of retirement benefits
  • Click herefor an official bill summary
  • Referred to the House Rules Committee, which will be HB 142’s fourth committee hearing
• HB 201: DST Admin Changes.-AB (primary sponsor: Representative Carson Smith, R-Pender)
  • Makes administrative and conforming changes to the laws governing the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) and other related statutes, as recommended by the Department of the State Treasurer
  • Click here for an official bill summary
  • Referred to the House State Government Committee
• HB 203: DST Technical Corrections.-AB (primary sponsors: Representatives Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland; Carson Smith, R-Pender)
  • Makes technical corrections and other conforming and clarifying changes to the laws governing TSERS and other related statutes, as recommended by the Department of the State Treasurer
  • Click here for an official bill summary
  • Referred to the House State Government Committee

On Wednesday, HB 188: Standards of Student Conduct (primary sponsors: Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; David Willis, R-Union; Diane Wheatley, R-Cumberland) had its second committee hearing when it was approved by the House Judiciary 1 Committee. HB 188 is similar to a 2021 bill that passed the House but was not taken up by the Senate. HB 188 does the following:

• Requires LEAs to use best practices in developing discipline policies that do not discriminate against students on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability
• Requires LEAs to include in their discipline policies measures that will be taken to support a student during suspension, including mitigating learning loss
• Deletes language that gives examples of conduct not deemed to be a serious violation

HB 188 was referred to the House Rules Committee. Click here for an official bill summary.

On Tuesday, HB 98: Medical Freedom Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Brian Biggs, R-Randolph; Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; Neal Jackson, R-Moore; Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth) had its first committee hearing when it was modified and approved by the House Health Committee. HB 98 does the following:

• Prohibits public school units (PSUs), community colleges, and UNC system institutions from requiring a student to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or to submit to a COVID-19 vaccination unless it is required for participating in a program of study or fulfilling education requirements in a facility certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Prohibits State agencies, local governments, and political subdivisions of the State from discriminating against persons based on their refusal to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or to submit to a COVID-19 vaccination unless it is required as a condition necessary to receive federal funding, is a federal requirement of CMS, or is required by the Department of Health and Human Services Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities

The following was removed from HB 98 prior to being approved by the Committee:

• Prohibits PSUs from (i) adopting policies gregarding the use of face coverings and (ii) quarantining healthy students
  • States that if a PSU violates this section, the student who is subject to the violation or the student’s parent may bring a civil action against the governing body of the PSU

HB 98 is scheduled to be heard in the House Judiciary 1 Committee meeting next Wednesday, March 29, at 12:00 pm (livestream). Click here for an official bill summary.

On Tuesday, HB 205: Transparent Governance & Integrity Act.-AB (primary sponsors: Representatives Howard Penny, R-Harnett; Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Jennifer Balkcom, R-Henderson) had its first committee hearing when it was modified and approved by the House Local Government Committee. This bill mandates financial management education for certain local government officials and makes changes to various local government finance laws. HB 205 was referred to the House Finance Committee. Click here for an official bill summary.

On Thursday, HB 134: SHP Claims Administrator Changes.-AB (primary sponsor: Representative Edward Goodwin, R-Chowan) was approved by the House State Personnel Committee and referred to the House Health Committee. This bill allows the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees to access and utilize its own claims payment data while continuing to protect the confidentiality of the information, as recommended by the Department of the State Treasurer. Click here for an official bill summary.

School Calendar Bills

Two statewide and 23 local school calendar bills have been filed during this legislative session. There will be no more local calendar bills filed this session because the local bill filing deadline for the Senate was March 9, and the local bill filing deadline for the House was yesterday, March 23. HB 306: School Calendar Flexibility/Granville & Vance is scheduled to be heard in the House Education K-12 Committee next Tuesday, March 28, at 1:00 pm (livestream). All local school calendar bills that were filed affect 54 school districts – nearly half the school districts in the State. Click here for a list of the affected school districts. Click here for a list of these school calendar bills.

The local bill filing deadline for the Senate was March 9, and the local bill filing deadline for the House was yesterday, March 23. The public/statewide bill filing deadline for the Senate is April 4, and the public/statewide bill filing deadline for the House is April 18 (House appropriations and finance bills must be filed by April 25).

The following are additional education-related bills that were filed this week.

Statewide Bills

• HB 430: Governor’s Budget (primary sponsors: Representatives Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth; Jason Saine, R-Lincoln; Dean Arp, R-Union)
  • Includes the contents of Governor Cooper’s recommended 2023-25 State budget
  • Click here to access last week’s Legislative Update for education highlights of the proposed budget
• HB 432: Principal Licensure Changes (primary sponsors: Representatives David Willis, R-Union; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg; John Torbett, R-Gaston)
  • As recommended by DPI, updates principal licensure requirements, develops a portfolio assessment, and studies methods to improve principal preparation and licensure processes
• HB 439: RBG Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Deb Butler, D-New Hanover; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Maria Cervania, D-Wake)
  • Identical to SB 353 (primary sponsors: Senators Natasha Marcus, D-Mecklenburg; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham; Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake)
  • Removes statutory language (pertaining to the State Health Plan for Teachers and State employees) that bars coverage for abortions for which state funds cannot be used
• SB 347: Revise, Study, and Fund LEP Allotment (primary sponsors: Senators Graig Meyer, D-Orange; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham; Natasha Marcus, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Revises the students with limited English proficiency (LEP) allotment
  • Requires the State Board of Education to study the students with LEP allotment
  • Appropriates funds to the students with LEP allotment
• SB 348: Extended-Year Teacher Contracts (primary sponsors: Senators Graig Meyer, D-Orange; Gladys Robinson, D-Guilford; Natalie Murdock, D-Durham)
  • Provides for extended-year contracts for initially licensed teachers, mentor teachers, teachers in low-performing schools, and certain veteran teachers
• SB 349: Whiz Kids/Slow Pokes Voter Registration (primary sponsors: Senators Graig Meyer, D-Orange; Kandie Smith, D-Pitt)
  • Engages overachieving teenagers in voting by recodifying the program to preregister individuals 16 and 17 years old
  • Encourages DPI to improve outreach to high school students on voter registration and preregistration programs
• SB 351: Statewide Year-Round School Study (primary sponsor: Senator Jim Burgin, R-Harnett)
  • Directs DPI to study the feasibility and potential outcomes of a statewide year-round school calendar
• SB 366: Ban Delta 8 & Delta 9 On School Grounds (primary sponsors: Senators Michael Lazzara, R-Onslow; Jim Perry, R-Lenoir; Tom McInnis, R-Moore)
  • Mandates public school units to adopt policies banning the use of hemp products at all times on any public school property

Local Bills

• HB 452: Franklin Co. Bd. of Ed. Elect. to Nov. (primary sponsor: Representative Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin)
  • Changes the date of the nonpartisan Franklin County Board of Education election to November
• HB 457: Union/Mecklenburg County Boundary (primary sponsors: Representatives Dean Arp, R-Union; Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg; David Willis, R-Union; Mark Brody, R-Union)
  • Enables the transition of properties along the common boundary between Mecklenburg County and Union County
  • Requires local boards of education to ensure a transition that provides students with a choice to remain in their current school system until graduation from high school if they reside in an affected residence
  • Provides the counties’ elected and appointed officials and employees immunity from liability – under any local or State statute, law, ordinance, rule, or regulation – for any act or failure to act relating to school attendance or any other governmental function as it relates to the currently used boundary line of Union County and Mecklenburg County
• HB 468: Camera Enforcement of Greensboro School Zones (primary sponsors: Representatives Ashton Clemmons, D-Guilford; Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; John Faircloth, R-Guilford; Amos Quick, D-Guilford)
  • Authorizes the city of Greensboro to establish a pilot program for the use of electronic speed-measuring systems to detect speed limit violations in school zones

As we covered in last Friday’s Legislative Update, Superior Court Judge James Ammons held a hearing on March 17, during which parties in the case agreed that $677 million remains to be appropriated for years two and three of the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan. The attorney representing legislative intervenors, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger, claimed the remaining appropriation is actually $377 million. Click here for an article on the hearing, which includes more about the arguments and links to additional resources.

In the January 27 Legislative Update, we included information about arguments heard by the Supreme Court in Perez vs. Sturgis Public Schools. This case dealt with how school districts handle dispute resolution under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The legal question centered around whether individuals who enter into an IDEA settlement must exhaust the administrative process before pursing further legal action under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Supreme Court resoundingly answered that question with a unanimous vote in favor of the plaintiff, Miguel Luna Perez, a deaf student who alleged that the Sturgis Public Schools had failed to provide him with an adequate education. According to a Washington Post article on the ruling, “The justices ruled that after Perez and his family settled a complaint against the school system — with officials agreeing to pay for additional schooling and sign language instruction — they could pursue money damages under a different federal law.”

This morning, the US House of Representatives passed HR5 – Parents Bill of Rights Act on a 213-208 vote with five Republicans joining every Democrat who voted in opposition.

Key parts of the legislation include:

• Local school districts must publish their curricula publicly
• Schools must provide parents with a list of books and reading materials available in the school library
• Teachers must offer parents two in-person meetings per year
• Schools must provide parents with notice of violent acts occurring on school grounds or at school-sponsored events

The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce chaired by North Carolina’s Virginia Foxx (R-05) has published a fact sheet on the legislation. It is not expected to be taken up for consideration by the Democratic-controlled US Senate. Click here for an article on the bill’s passage.

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

March 20, 2023, Weekly Report

Headlines for this edition include:

• Senate Budget Committee Holds First Hearing on Biden Budget
• House Democrats File Competing Bill of Rights for Students and Parents
  • Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) filed legislation intended as a Democratic response to the Republicans’ Parents Bill of Rights, which just passed the House. Representative Bonamici posted a summary of the Bill of Rights for Students and Parents to her Congressional website
• Learning Policy Institute Publishes Guide To Federal and State Resources for Students Experiencing Homelessness

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

State News

• Public School Forum – Local School Finance Study
• WRAL – Many NC kids aren’t reading well. How teacher colleges are racing to fix the problem
• EdNC – Perspective: House Bill 188 undermines efforts to reduce long-term suspension and expulsion

National News

• Washington Post – Schools Sue Social Media Companies Over Youth Mental Health Crisis
• National Public Radio – With Gun Control Far From Sight, Schools Redesign for Student Safety
• Washington Post – Covid Changed Parents View of Schools – And Ignited the Culture Wars

Tuesday, March 28

10:00 am – House Local Government – Legislative Building, rm 1228/1327 (livestream)

• HB 262: School Assignment Zones.

1:00 pm – House Education K-12 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 643 (livestream)

• HB 172: Sam’s Law.
• HB 253: Prevent Students From Harm Act.
• HB 306: School Calendar Flexibility/Granville & Vance.
• HB 314: Public School Ethics Training.
• HB 382: Registered Nurses in Schools.

Wednesday, March 29

12:00 pm – House Judiciary 1 – Legislative Offices Building, rm 423 (livestream)

• HB 98: Medical Freedom Act.

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

Rebekah Howard
Advocacy Coordinator
NC School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org

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

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