The big education news of this week is the filing of HB 219: Charter School Omnibus. Below we explain how this bill is a major threat to school districts’ funding. Other education bill filings include five more local school calendar bills. Additionally, joint meetings of the House and Senate appropriations committees continued this week as legislators prepare to write the 2023-25 State budget. More budget requests were approved by the State Board of Education on Thursday, including a 10% raise for all teachers. You can read about this and other important actions taken by the Board under “SBE Monthly Meeting.”

Charter Schools Bill Could Cost LEAs Millions

On Tuesday, HB 219: Charter School Omnibus was filed. We sent an alert earlier this week explaining that this is the bill we have been sounding alarms about for months that will cost school districts millions of dollars per year. HB 219 includes seven sections, with sections 6 and 7 containing high-priority issues.

Section 6 authorizes counties to provide capital funds to charter schools. This is problematic because counties are currently unable to meet their statutory obligation of providing LEAs with sufficient capital funding. With a backlog of more than $13 billion statewide, this provision makes no sense when counties don’t have enough resources as it is.

HB 219 gives charter schools easy access to much more of school districts’ funds. Section 7 creates unfair funding requirements and drastically tips the scale in favor of charter schools. It requires school districts to share with charter schools a percentage of the following:

1. Federal reimbursements
   • e.g., reimbursements for Medicaid programs and school nutrition programs (if charters offer these programs, they get the same reimbursements)
2. Fees for actual costs
   • e.g., renting part of a facility (charters will keep 100% of fees they receive)
3. Tuition
   • e.g., after-school care (charters will keep 100% of tuition they receive)
4. Sales tax refunds
   • Charters currently receive state and local sales tax refunds, while LEAs only receive local tax refunds
   • HB 219 requires LEAs to share a portion of their refund, while charters will keep 100% of theirs
5. Gifts and grants
   • e.g., a technology grant received by a 10^th grade club (LEAs will have to share a portion of their funds, and charters will keep 100% of theirs)
6. Federal appropriations made directly to LEAs
   • e.g., for programs like JROTC (why should a school have to share JROTC money with a school that doesn’t have JROTC?)
7. Funds received for pre-k programs
   • These funds must be used for these programs, therefore, the LEA will be required to share funds from day-to-day operations
8. Fund balance
   • Will charters have to share a portion of their fund balance with the LEA? Answer: NO!
9. Interest income
10. Supplemental taxes
    • These are currently shared with charters located within the tax district
    • HB 219 expands it to all charters outside of the tax district if they enroll students who reside within the tax district where the taxes are levied
11. Sales tax revenues distributed using the ad valorem method (this affects 15 school districts)

It’s worth repeating, charter schools will NOT be required to share any of these 11 pots of monies with school districts. The bottom line is that charter schools want more of your funds that are not rightfully theirs.

Sections 1-5 of HB 219 also raise concerns, but at this point, NCSBA is focused on Sections 6 and 7, as they pose the highest threat to school districts.

HB 219 is sponsored by Representatives John Torbett, R-Gaston; John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; David Willis, R-Union; and Jason Saine, R-Lincoln.

Please let us know if you have any questions about HB 219. Additionally, click here to access NCSBA’s webinar on LEA and charter school funding to learn more about this issue.

School Calendar Bills with Action This Week

The following local school calendar bills were filed this week and referred to the House Education K-12 Committee:

• HB 221: School Calendar Flexibility/Yadkin & Davie Co. (primary sponsor: Representative Julia Howard, R-Davie)
  • Allows Yadkin and Davie County boards of education to align their calendar with Surry Community College or Davidson-Davie Community College calendars

• HB 236: School Calendar Flexibility/Carteret (primary sponsor: Representative Celeste Cairns, R-Carteret)
  • Allows the Carteret County Board of Education to align its calendar with the Carteret Community College calendar
• HB 239: School Calendar Flexibility/Johnston Co. (primary sponsors: Representatives Larry Strickland, R-Johnston; Donna White, R-Johnston; Howard Penny, R-Harnett)

• Allows the Johnston County board of education to open schools no earlier than August 10 and, if the first semester ends prior to December 31, allows the board to administer assessments prior to the end of that semester

• HB 257: School Calendar Flexibility/Multiple Counties  (primary sponsors: Representatives Renee Price, D-Orange; Allen Buansi, D-Orange)
  • Allows the Caswell County, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City, and Orange County boards of education to open schools no earlier than August 11 and, if the first semester ends prior to December 31, allows the board to administer assessments prior to the end of that semester

Additionally, one local school calendar bill was filed in the Senate this week and referred to the Senate Rules Committee:

• SB 170: School Calendar Flexibility/Multiple Counties (primary sponsor: Senator Kevin Corbin, R-Macon)
  • Allows the Asheville City, Buncombe County, Cherokee County, Clay County, Graham County, Haywood County, Jackson County, Macon County, Swain County, and Transylvania County boards of education to have local control over the school calendar

It is important to note that Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, has stated his opposition to moving any school calendar legislation in the Senate.

So far during this legislative session two statewide and nineteen local school calendar bills have been filed. These bills give more control to local boards of education to create a school calendar that better fits the needs of their students and community. All local school calendar bills filed so far this session affect 48 school districts Click here for a list of the affected school districts. Click here for a list of these local bills.

House and Senate Joint Education Appropriations Committee Meetings

The House and Senate Education Appropriations Committees wrapped up their joint meetings this week. The committees were presented with the following:

• A more in-depth presentation of DPI and the State Board of Education’s budget requests that were first presented last week
• NC Community College System budget requests
• UNC System budget requests
• NC Independent Colleges and Universities System budget requests

DPI also presented how it is spending federal COVID relief funds. There were three rounds of COVID relief funds appropriated to NC education agencies between March 2020 and March 2021, totaling $5.5 billion. School districts must spend all federal COVID funds by September 30, 2024.

Statewide Education Bills That Passed the House

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 House on a 71-45 party-line vote on Wednesday. HB 11 does the following:

• Upon request, for a student who has applied to a school for the deaf or blind, requires the local superintendent to share current evaluation data and the current or proposed individualized education plan for any child enrolled in that superintendent’s PSU
• Establishes boards of trustees to govern 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
• Allows these boards of trustees to collaborate with local boards of education in the development of rules, curriculum, or other matters and to enter memorandums of understanding or joint contracts with local boards of education to engage in joint undertakings or purchases

Since these schools are comprised of students from across the State, Democrats think they should continue to be overseen by a statewide board. Republicans claim that the current oversight structure is not working, which is why HB 11 creates local boards to govern the schools. Click here for an official bill summary.

HB 60: SUDEP Awareness Week (primary sponsors: Representatives Dennis Riddell, R-Alamance; Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort; Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson; Ben Moss, R-Richmond) unanimously passed the House on Wednesday. The bill encourages local school boards to develop and provide seizure awareness training for all teachers and school personnel who may be responsible for students with epilepsy or students that are predisposed to seizures. Click here for an official bill summary.

Statewide Education Bills Approved by Committee

SB 52: Open Meetings/Administering Organizations (primary sponsors: Senators Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Tom McInnis, R-Moore) had its second committee hearing this week when the Senate Rules Committee approved the bill. SB 52 says that an administering organization of high school interscholastic athletics is subject to the provisions of the open meetings law. Click here for an official bill summary.

HB 166: American Indians Graduating with Honors Act (primary sponsors: Representatives Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson; Karl Gillespie, R-Macon; Brenden Jones, R-Columbus; Mike Clampitt, R-Swain) had its first committee hearing this week when the House Committee on Federal Relations and American Indian Affairs approved the bill. HB 166 allows American Indian students to wear cultural objects at public school graduation ceremonies. Click here for an official bill summary.

Local Education Bills with Action This Week

The following local education bills were approved by the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee and referred to the Senate Rules Committee:

• HB 27: Elect Thomasville City Bd. of Ed. (primary sponsor: Representative Sam Watford, R-Davidson)
  • Changes the Thomasville City Board of Education from appointed members to elected members
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 30: Reduce Length of Granville Bd. of Ed. Terms. (primary sponsors: Representatives Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin; Frank Sossamon, R-Granville)
  • Reduces the term length on the Granville County Board of Education from six years to four years
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 31: Rowan-Salisbury Board of Educ. Filing Period. (primary sponsor: Representative Harry Warren, R-Rowan)
  • Changes the filing period for candidates running for the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education to between the first and third Friday in July before the general election
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• HB 88: Omnibus Local Elections (primary sponsors: Representatives Jon Hardister, R-Guilford; John Faircloth, R-Guilford)
  • Clarifies the filling of vacancies on the Guilford County Board of Education
  • Makes elections partisan for the Ashe County, Cabarrus County, Henderson County, McDowell County, and Mitchell County boards of education
    • These election changes were added by the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee’s proposed committee substitute
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• SB 103: Partisan Elections Henderson County Board of Education (primary sponsor: Senator Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson)
  • Makes the Henderson County Board of Education elections partisan
  • Click here for an official bill summary
• SB 150: Make McDowell County Board of Education Election Partisan (primary sponsor: Senator Warren Daniel, R-Burke)
  • Changes the election of the McDowell County Board of Education from nonpartisan to partisan
  • Click here for an official bill summary

Additionally, HB 66: Catawba/Newton-Conover/Hickory Bd of Ed Elect (primary sponsors: Representatives Jay Adams, R-Catawba; Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba) was scheduled for a vote on the House floor on Wednesday but was withdrawn prior to a vote and referred to back to the House Rules Committee. HB 66 changes the method of election for the Catawba County, Hickory City, and Newton-Conover City boards of education from nonpartisan to partisan. Click here for an official bill summary.

 

The State Board of Education (SBE) met this week on March 1 and 2 for its monthly meeting. Board members were presented with the following:

• Request to the General Assembly to authorize new teacher licensure system pilot program
• Updated 2021-22 Educator Preparation Program performance report
• Center for Safer Schools 2021-22 consolidated data report

Request to the General Assembly to authorize new teacher licensure system pilot program: The SBE approved a motion to send a written statement from the Board to the General Assembly requesting authorization of a six-year pilot program of the new teacher licensure/salary model. The request includes (i) a statement of need/policy, (ii) required elements of the proposed pilot, and (iii) additional items that need to be in the pilot legislation. The Board’s motion also included receipt of recommendations for the pilot program from DPI’s Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC), which include the following:

• Advanced teaching and leader roles
• New professional learning tools and structures
• New pathway entry points
• Measures of teaching effectiveness

This new model would pay teachers based on performance, effectiveness, and years of experience, rather than exclusively on years of experience. The model is expected to provide higher salaries for most, if not all, teachers.

Additionally, in a separate motion, the Board approved a request to the General Assembly to raise teacher pay up to 10% for all teachers. The motion stated a need for investment in beginning teacher pay to make NC a leader in teacher pay among the southeastern states. Click here for an article on the SBE’s approved motions regarding teacher pay.

Updated 2021-22 Educator Preparation Program performance report: The Board received an updated 2021-22 EPP performance report. Last month, DPI staff stated there was a 42% drop in new EPP enrollments between 2021 and 2022. That number is actually 24% based on what DPI staff said are data adjustments for specific EPPs (slide 9), removing from the data already-licensed candidates who are pursuing additional teaching licenses (slide 10), and a correction in how year-to-year differences in enrollment are calculated (slides 11 and 12). DPI staff again stated this decline in enrollment will have an employment impact in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. Board members approved this 2021-22 EPP performance report to be sent to the General Assembly, as well as the 2021-22 State of the Teaching Profession report that was also presented last month and was largely unchanged prior to approval this month.

Center for Safer Schools 2021-22 consolidated data report: The SBE received an annual report on school crime and violence, suspensions and expulsions, use of corporal punishment, reassignments for disciplinary reasons, alternative learning placements, and dropout rates. 2021-22 data was compared to pre-pandemic data from the 2018-19 school year. Report findings include:

• 9% increase in total number of crimes
  • Possession of a controlled substance was the highest reportable crime
• 2% increase in short-term suspensions
• 1% increase in long-term suspensions
• 3% decrease in in-school suspensions
• No reported use of corporal punishment

Click here to access the presentation, which includes breakdowns of this data by student subgroups. Board members expressed concern about this data and the need to look at what schools are doing to reduce their numbers. Board members also explained the need to create consistency in student codes of conduct across the State and include students in conversations about writing disciplinary policies and procedures. Click here for a DPI press release on this data.

Click here to access all meeting materials.

 

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

Statewide Bills

• HB 222: No CV19 Vaccine Mandates for North Carolina Students (primary sponsors: Representatives George Cleveland, R-Onslow; Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba; Mark Pless, R-Haywood; Edward Goodwin, R-Chowan)
  • Prohibits state and local public health agencies and officials from requiring that North Carolina students be vaccinated against COVID-19
• HB 230: Study State Travel Allowances and Reimbursements (primary sponsor: Representative Harry Warren, R-Rowan)
  • Creates a commission to study the modernization of current state travel allowances for several categories of state employees and elected officials, including school board members and teachers
• HB 243: Repeal Collective Bargaining Ban (primary sponsors: Representatives Carolyn Logan, D-Mecklenburg; Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford; Zack Hawkins, D-Durham; Nasif Majeed D-Mecklenburg)
  • Repeals the state ban on collective bargaining for public employees
• 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
• SB 177: Teacher License Reciprocity (primary sponsor: Senator Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Grants a continuing professional license to teachers licensed in other states with substantially similar requirements
• SB 184: Restore Master’s Pay for Teachers and Instructional Support Personnel (primary sponsors: Senators Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg; Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg; Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Appropriates funds to reinstate education-based salary supplements for teachers and instructional support personnel
• SB 185 Restore Educator Longevity (primary sponsors: Senators Joyce Waddell, D-Mecklenburg; Rachel Hunt, D-Mecklenburg; Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg)
  • Appropriates funds to restore longevity pay for teachers and instructional support personnel
• SB 187: Teacher Licensure/Retired Educator Program (primary sponsors: Senators Tom McInnis, R-Moore; Todd Johnson, R-Union; Lisa Barnes, R-Nash)
  • Changes teacher licensure requirements and expands the use of retired educators in high need schools
• SB 193: Career Development Plans (primary sponsors: Senators Amy Galey, R-Alamance; Michael Lee, R-New Hanover)
  • Requires school districts to create a career development plan for each middle and high school student

Local Bills

• HB 244: Partisan Board of Education Elections McDowell/Mitchell (primary sponsors: Representatives Dudley Greene, R-McDowell; Jake Johnson R-Henderson)
  • Changes the McDowell County and Mitchell County board of education elections from nonpartisan to partisan
• HB 256: Muddy Sneakers (primary sponsor: Representative Jake Johnson, R-Henderson)
  • Appropriates funds to Muddy Sneakers, Inc., to support its experiential learning programs that aim to improve the science aptitude of fifth grade students through supplemental, hands-on field instruction of the State science standards
• HB 262: School Assignment Zones (primary sponsors: Representatives Phil Shepard, R-Onslow; George Cleveland, R-Onslow; Carson Smith, R-Pender)
  • Requires student assignment zones that allow students the opportunity to attend the schools closet to their residence in Onslow County Schools
• SB 173: Dual Track Diploma Pilot (primary sponsor: Senator Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck)
  • Establishes a pilot program in the Currituck County Schools to provide a vocational graduation pathway for students
• SB 178: Greensboro/School Zone Electronic Enforcement (primary sponsors: Senators Gladys Robinson, D-Guilford; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)
  • Allows the city of Greensboro to establish a pilot program using electronic speed measuring systems to detect speed limit violations in school zones
• SB 180: Edgecombe County School Nurses (primary sponsor: Senator Kandie Smith, D-Pitt)
  • Appropriates funding to provide a school nurse for every school in Edgecombe County
• SB 181: Pitt County School Nurses (primary sponsor: Senator Kandie Smith, D-Pitt)
  • Appropriates funding to provide a school nurse for every school in Pitt County

 

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

February 27, 2023, Weekly Report

Headlines for this edition include:

• Congress Begins Work on Budget
• Department of Education Releases Resources to Help School Athletic Departments Comply With Title IX

 

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

State News

• North Carolina Law Review – Who’s in Charge?: The Constitutional Confusion Challenging North Carolina’s Public School System
• ABC 13 News – State opens ‘first of its kind’ school safety training facility with plans to expand
• DPI – NCDPI Joins NC Businesses for 13^th Annual Students@Work Program
• EdNC – Cooper celebrates literacy at a school celebrating diversity, inclusion, and the science of reading

National News

• ABC News – Parents Would Have New Power Over Their Kids Education Under House GOP Bill
• AP News – US has a teacher shortage. HBCUs are helping to change that
• Brookings – Survey: What purpose do suspensions serve? Principals don’t seem quite sure
• New York Times – A Video-Gaming School Stumbles Upon a Way to Get Dropouts Back in Class
• Smart Brief – 3 Ways to Enhance Your District’s Cybersecurity Approach
• Washington Post – The GOP’s Tortured Spin on DOJ and School Boards

 

Tuesday, March 7

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

• HB 174: Stagger Winston-Salem/Forsyth Bd. of Ed. Term.
• HB 179: Pamlico Bd. of Ed. Elect. Partisan.

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

• HB 136: Arts High School Diploma Endorsement
• HB 149: Remote Charter Academies
• HB 86: School Calendar Flexibility/Statewide
• HB 195: School Calendar Flexibility/Roanoke Rapids.
• HB 239: School Calendar Flexibility/Johnston Co.

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

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