Of the 29 that were sitting on Gov. Cooper’s desk:

• 23 were signed into law
• 1 became law after 10 days without Gov. Cooper’s signature
• 5 were vetoed

Of the 24 that became law:

• 4 directly impact LEAs
• 2 indirectly impact LEAs

Summaries of those 6 bills are further down in this Legislative Update.

The adjournment resolution, SJR 916, provides the General Assembly with the option of reconvening each month through the rest of the year. If there’s no business to address on these scheduled dates, each chamber will hold skeletal sessions (i.e., just a few members), as was witnessed this past Wednesday – the Senate session lasted only 1 minute and 34 seconds.

Speaker Tim Moore stated during Wednesday’s House session that his chamber “will be taking up the overrides and any other matters” during their next scheduled session between July 29 and August 1. Three of the five recent Governor vetoes have already been placed on the House calendar during that time.

To summarize the short session scorecard to date:

Of the 45 new laws:

Included below are the summaries of K-12 education-related bills passed during the short session. Also provided is the updated edition of the Legislative Session Summary for the 2023-2024 biennium

HB 250/S.L. 2024-43: Public Safety/Other Changes (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Dean Arp, R-Union)

• Section 5. Authorizes local boards of education to acquire easements through eminent domain, which include for water, sanitary, sewer, electric power, broadband, and telecommunications services.

HB 900/S.L. 2024-31: Certain CIHS Partners/Regulate Tabacco Prod

• Section 1. Allows Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy and Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy to maintain their cooperative innovative high school statuses. Requires the State Board of Education to approve the substitute of a new partner higher education institution for the Wake Young Men’s and Women’s Leadership Academies, no later than the 2025-2026 school year.

HB 942/S.L. 2024-27: SHALOM Act (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Time Moore, R-Cleveland; Stephen M. Ross, R-Alamance; Tricia Ann Cotham; Erin Paré, R-Wake)

• Assumes the Working Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, as the North Carolina definition of antisemitism.
• The G.A. intends the definition to be used as a tool and guide for training, education, recognizing, and combating antisemitic hate crimes or discrimination and for tracking and reporting antisemitic incidents.

HB 971/S.L. 2024-26: Human Trafficking Changes

• Section 7. Prohibits the viewing of pornography on government networks of public agencies, including public school units, and specifically prohibits elected officials, employees, and students from viewing and storing pornography on devices owned, leased, maintained, or controlled by these agencies.
• Mandates public school units to adopt a policy governing the use of its network and devices. Specifies that each policy is required to delineate the disciplinary actions that will be taken in response to a violation of that policy.
• Lists certain activities that exempt an official or employee if performed while conducting official duties.
• Requires public school units to annually report incidents of unauthorized viewing or attempted viewing of pornography on their networks to the State Chief Information Officer (CIO) no later than August 1 in a format required by the CIO.
• Requires any employee, elected official, appointee, or student of a public agency with pornography saved to a device owned, leased, maintained, or otherwise controlled by that public agency to remove, delete, or uninstall the pornography no later than January 1, 2025.
• Effective October 1, 2024.

Statewide Senate Bills Passed into Law

SB 332/S.L. 2024-39: 2023 Appropriations Act Changes

• Authorizes pay increases from S.L. 2023-134 (HB 259: 2023 Appropriations Act) that included intent language. In summary:
  • Provides beginning teacher pay at $41,000.
  • Provides an average 3% increase for employees on the Teacher Salary Schedule.
  • Provides a 3% increase for all other school employees.
  • Provides principal bonuses.
• Defines the supplanting factor for each local school administrative unit as the lesser of the following:
  • The total non-State funds expended for salary supplements for teachers in the 2020-2021 fiscal year divided by the total State and non-State funds expended for salaries for teachers in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
  • The total non-State funds expended for salary supplements for teachers in the 2021-2022 fiscal year divided by the total State and non-State funds expended for salaries for teachers in the 2021-2022 fiscal
• If the State Board of Education finds a unit has supplanted non-State funds, the unit will only continue to receive State funds if it has remedied the deficiency in funding.

SB 375/S.L. 2024-40: Adjustments to the 2023 Appropriations Act

• Section 4. Allows SEAA (Authority) to allocate unused funds set aside for administrative costs associated with the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve to be used to cover additional administrative costs of the Personal Education Student Accounts for Children with Disabilities Program.

• Why Portrait of a Graduate (POG) Skills Matter to NC Employers – A Quantitative Analysis of Occupations: In a study on the alignment of POG durable skills with North Carolina occupations, the NC Department of Commerce LEAD (Labor and Economic Analysis Division) found that POG durable skills are important at some level (very important, important, somewhat important) to all occupations in North Carolina. To view the full presentation from LEAD, click here.

Updates:

• Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB): The CSRB provided an update that they approved the amendment recommended last month by the SBE to add language to prevent unprotected sex-discrimination in their 2024 Revised Charter Agreement (see here). The CSRB also reported 7 new remote charter school approvals (within current brick and mortar charter schools). The total number of charter schools will remain 210 for the upcoming school year (2 will close and 2 will open – 1 in Union and 1 in Craven).

Approved Items:
All the following items were put to a vote and passed:

• Parental Concern Hearings: The now approved rule on parental concern hearings does not differ from the temporary rule in place but outlines the requirement for public school units to pay ~$200/hour for hearing officers in the case of parental concern hearings.
• State Advisory Council on Indian Education (SACIE): The SBE approved nominees for membership on SACIE. Click here to view.
• Academically or Intellectually Gifted Definition: SBE approved the use of the existing definition to be adopted as the statewide definition. Click here for the policy amendments.
• SBE Policy Amendment – Local Academically or Intellectually Gifted (ACIG) Programs Guidelines: The SBE approved revisions to the AIG Program standards to be used by local units to create their Local AIG Plans. Click here to review them.
• SBE Policy Amendment – High School Diploma Endorsements: Click here to view. The two new proficiencies relate to art and NC citizenship.
• Read to Achieve Alternative Assessment and Twice Retained Definition: The Board approved this policy change that was discussed last month. See the presentation here and the policy with changes highlighted here.
• 2024-25 Comprehensive Plan for Reading Achievement (CPRA) Implementation Guide: Click here for the working copy.
• 2023-24 Education Preparation Program (EPP) – Science of Reading: View here.
• Approved Updates to the Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act: View the presentation here and the course objectives here.
• Approved K-12 World Language Standards: View here.
• Approved K-12 Arts Standards: View Dance here, Music here, Visual Arts here, and Theater here.
• Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) Recommendations: The Board approved recommendations from PEPSC related to: North Carolina Principal Portfolio-Based Assessment (NCPPA) (view here); Pedagogy for Residency Licensure (RL) Programs, Preservice Training & Field Experiences for RL Teachers, & Preservice Training for Temporarily Licensed Teachers (view here); Appropriate Courses to Calculate the Grade Point Average for Admission to an Educator Preparation Program (EPP) (view here); and Preprofessional Skills Test Requirement for Entry into an Educator Preparation Program (view here).
• SBE Policy Amendment – Healthy Active Children Policy: One of the components of the approved policy directs districts to provide students in high school with the opportunity to participate in physical activity during the school day for 60 minutes weekly. The policy also strongly encourages school board members to participate regularly in DPI’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) meetings. To read more, click here.
• Rules Update: SBE approved the repealing of certain rules governing Schools for the Deaf and Blind. View supporting documents here, here, and here.
• Funding for New and Renewed Charter Schools: 14 renewed charter schools and 2 new charter schools were approved for funding.
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Program Cohort 17 Competitive Grant Program Competition Results: A total of 60 applications are being recommended for funding (totals over $25 million); a majority are non-LEAs, but they are required to be partnered with local districts. All awarded organizations must attend mandatory on-boarding training or otherwise potentially forfeit their award. View the grant recipients here.
• Report from Alternative Educator Preparation Program (EPP) Subcommittee: The Subcommittee found that all 8 existing alternative EPPs are consistent with traditional models. The Subcommittee recommended retaining CAEP, resuming SBE, and adding AAQEP as pathways to approval of applications. They also recommended that DPI review CAEP standards to ensure they align with the NC EPP standards. Click here to view the report.
• SBE Appoints Interim Superintendent and Finance Officer:  Dr. Rodney Shotwell was approved by the SBE as the interim superintendent and finance officer of Weldon City Schools. In this role he will work for the State Board and report to the State Board. For more information on this action taken by the State Board of Education, please click here to watch the Weldon City Schools Board of Education meeting from Tuesday night, July 9, 2024.
• SBE Meeting Change: The SBE approved moving the Board’s fall planning and working session to Dec 2 – Dec 4, 2024.

• Education Funding Bill Approved by Appropriations Subcommittee: The House Appropriations Committee released its 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill. The Subcommittee approved the measure about 24 hours later on a party-line vote without amendments. The bill recommends $72 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Education, which is $10 billion below President Joe Biden’s budget request. In a press release, Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) noted that the bill cuts funding for over 40 education programs and eliminates more than 50 others. The bill also contains multiple education policy restrictions related to who can use funding and why. The bill is expected to be marked up by the full Appropriations Committee on July 10.
• Special Education Advocates Promote Full Funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): The IDEA Full Funding Coalition, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the Council for Exceptional Children, and others held an event to promote fully funding IDEA. They call for further resources for special education teachers, stronger access to vital technologies, and enhanced educational opportunities for students. IDEA became law in 1975 and has historically been underfunded, with Congress currently funding only 13% of their promised 40%. Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) provided pre-recorded comments and asserted that the IDEA Full Funding Act is his highest legislative priority. Ultimately, the event called for Congress to “honor their commitment” and fully fund IDEA.

To read more about national education funding and other topics, click here for the full July 1 report.

State News
News & Observer: NC teachers to get previously planned raises after Cooper signs bill
WFAE: Legislative cliffhangers and new details on the Trinitas Charter mystery
DPI Press Release: NC Portrait of a Graduate Skills Meet Critical Workforce Needs, NC Commerce Analysis Finds
Public Ed Works: Public education does the public good (on new NCSBA campaign)
WRAL: NC should drop entry exam requirements for prospective teachers, State Board of Education recommends
WRAL: ‘We need a million more’: Access to mental health care in NC schools is growing
WFAE: NC voucher expansion has GOP support, but didn’t materialize in state budget
Carolina Journal: Top NC court rejects pension spiking cases from Harnett, Wilson counties
EducationNC: SREB takes the lead on AI and education in the South. What are the takeaways so far?
EdNC: Drones are cool, but workforce pathways like this one are the game changer
WFAE: Upheaval — and one constant — in 22 years of education coverage
NC Newsline: First tenants move into Bertie County Schools workforce housing
Carolina Journal: School districts scramble as federal funding dries up
EducationNC: Perspective | TOY Leah Carper issues call to action to state leaders: ‘You work for our students’
EducationNC: Perspective | Superintendent Don Phipps: An open appeal and four issues where advocacy could make a difference
NC Health News: New program aims to ease summer hunger for NC children
AXIOS Raleigh: NC GOP pours $5.6 million into three swing state Senate seats

National News
ProPublica: Conservatives Go to War — Against Each Other — Over School Vouchers
Associated Press: How will Louisiana’s new Ten Commandments classroom requirement be funded and enforced?
NPR: Congress poured billions of dollars into schools. Did it help students learn?
New York Times: Why U.S.Schools Are Facing Their Biggest Budget Crunch in Years
K-12 Dive: House committee approves 25% cut to Title I
NPR: Disabled students are struggling to get what they need at school
K-12 Dive: Education Department considers IDEA accountability updates as more states miss mark
New York Times: The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling
K-12 Dive: Virginia to curb student cellphone use in schools
The 74: When Was the Golden Age of American K-12 Education? And How Can We Tell?
Washington Post: Schools face a math problem: Money is running out and kids are still behind