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NCSBA Legislative Update – May 27, 2022

NCSBA Legislative Update – May 27, 2022

May 27, 2022 Ramona Powers

 

Parents’ Bill of Rights

This week four “Parents’ Bill of Rights” were introduced. The first was HB 755: Parents’ Bill of Rights, which was approved by two Senate committees and is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 31, at 12:00 pm (livestream).

Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, held a press conference on Tuesday to introduce the new version of HB 755, but it was not available to the public on the General Assembly’s website until after discussion was already underway in the Senate Education Committee meeting on Wednesday. The original bill language of HB 755 was replaced with the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” and is sponsored by Senators Berger; Deanna Ballard, R-Watauga; and Michael Lee, R-New Hanover.

The 9-page bill creates new rights for parents regarding their child’s education, while also listing numerous existing rights. From a legal perspective, HB 755 is poorly written and includes vague language that will be difficult to implement and potentially enforce.

While bill sponsors say that HB 755 prioritizes parental involvement and gives parents more control, critics claim that the bill will cause harm to students. Concerns about the bill include the requirement that school staff inform parents if their child chooses to change their name or pronouns or if they seek mental health services. There was also pushback on a section of the bill that prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3 curriculum.

Click here and here for articles on HB 755, which include information on the contents of the bill and committee meeting discussions.

The following three “Parents’ Bill of Rights” were filed later this week and have not been scheduled for committee hearings.

Budget Talk

This week, House Speaker Tim Moore stated that House and Senate senior budget writers had agreed on a spending amount, and they are currently negotiating salaries and benefits. He also said that appropriations subcommittees could begin budget hearings as early as next week.

As a reminder, last week Speaker Moore said that this year’s budget adjustments will most likely be introduced in a conference report, which is a pre-negotiated compromise. This means that the budget adjustments could not be amended once they are brought before each chamber for an up or down vote.

 

The following is a list of additional education-related bills that have been filed or introduced since the beginning of the legislative short session. The deadline to file local bills is Tuesday, May 31, and the deadline to file all other bills was yesterday, May 26.

Statewide Bills

Local Bills

Click here for a list of education-related bills that NCSBA is tracking for this legislative biennium.

 

Tuesday, May 31

12:00 pm – Senate Rules – Legislative Building, rm 1027/1128 (livestream)

Wednesday, June 1

9:00 am – House Pensions and Retirement – Legislative Offices Building, rm 415 (livestream)

2:00 pm – Senate Judiciary – Legislative Offices Building, rm 544 (livestream)

Additional Education Meeting

The State Board of Education will meet for its monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 1, and Thursday, June 2. Click here for the meeting agenda and click here for the meeting livestream.

 

 

 

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

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

Ramona PowersNCSBA Legislative Update – May 27, 2022