The other relevant bill is 131 pages and used up much of the oxygen in the legislative building this week. It’s SB 382: Disaster Relief -3/Budget/Various Law Changes. The first 13 pages are dedicated to Hurricane Helene relief and support. An additional $227 million was transferred to the Helene Fund where most of it will remain unspent until appropriated by the General Assembly. The remaining 118 pages are a hodgepodge of policy changes and appropriations, such as an additional $33.7 million to fund child care stabilization grants through March 2025. Below is a more comprehensive breakdown of the sections directly and indirectly impacting K-12.

Also – in case you’re wondering – state lawmakers are scheduled back in Raleigh for another session on December 2. Stay tuned.

These summaries highlight notable legislative additions and changes. Expanded details will be provided in the updated Legislative Session Summary (forthcoming).

Bills Passed into Law

S.L. 2024-55/HB 10: Require ICE Cooperation & Budget Adjustments

• Expands the Opportunity Scholarship Program and provides an additional $463 million dollars for this school year.
• Appropriates $825 million in recurring funds for the Opportunity Scholarship Program by the 2032-2033 fiscal year.
• Provides $95 million dollars in recurring funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to be allocated to the ADM Contingency Reserve to fund growing public school units (PSUs).

Bills Sent to the Governor

SB 382: Disaster Relief-3/Budget/Various Law Changes

• Sec. 2A.8. NC COLLABORATORY TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE THE OFFICE OF LEARNING RESEARCH (OLR)
  • Sec. 2A.8.(a): OLR Established: Beginning in 2024-25, appropriates $1.5 million in recurring funds to the NC Collaboratory to establish and operate the Office of Learning Research (OLR). A portion of the funds are to be used to provide information and support needed by elementary and secondary public schools.
  • Sec. 2A.8.(d): Access to Information: Requires public school units (PSUs), DPI, and the State Board of Education provide “reasonable access” to records, data, processes, personnel, and any other information deemed relevant by the OLR or the Collaboratory (see Sec 2A.8(a)).
• Sec. 3J.10. CHARTER SCHOOL APPEAL CHANGES: Removes State Superintendent’s authority to appeal decisions by the Charter School Review Board to the State Board of Education.
• Sec. 3J.11. NEW COOPERATIVE INNOVATIVE HIGH SCHOOLS: Waives approval requirements and permits Dare Early College High School and Rockingham County CTE Innovation High School to operate as cooperative innovative high schools and requires them to be evaluated as such beginning with the 2024-25 school year.
• Sec. 3J.12. CHANGES TO THE AI SCHOOL SAFETY PILOT PROGRAM: Requires the two participating districts, New Hanover County Schools and Davidson County Schools, to contract with the same vendor to implement a school safety system that integrates AI technology into existing cameras, video management systems, and alerting protocols. Lists a new set of required performance capabilities.
• Sec. 3J.13. CHANGES TO THE SPECIAL NEEDS PILOT PROGRAM: Replaces the LEAs in the pilot from Alamance County Schools, Catawba County Schools, and Nash County Schools to Cabarrus County Schools, Union County Schools, and Vance County Schools, with the goal of increasing opportunities for students with special needs. DPI must now provide an interim report on the results of the Program to the General Assembly by June 20, 2025. The final report is due to the General Assembly by October 15, 2027.
• Sec. 3J.14. EXPAND AVAILABILITY AND ELIGIBLE CREDITS OF SPARKNC PILOT: Expands the program eligibility to all public school units (was 18 school districts). Completion of the competency-based elective credit of a High-Tech Learning Accelerator satisfies the computer science requirement for high school graduation. Students may earn up to four credits in Learning Accelerators (High-Tech or Health Science Learning Accelerator) but may not complete the same learning experience more than once for credit. Appropriates nonrecurring funds through the 2025-26 fiscal year.
• Sec. 3J.15. PRINCIPAL LICENSURE PORTFOLIO WAIVER: Requires the State Board of Education to waive the portfolio requirement for an administrator license for any individual who meets the following criteria:
  • Completed at least one course as part of an approved administrator preparation program by August 31, 2025.
  • Meets all licensure requirements in State law, rule or policy.
  • Does not otherwise qualify for a waiver of administrator license requirements.
• Sec. 3J.16. UPDATE ADVANCED TEACHING ROLES PROGRAM: Amends 115C of the General Statutes by adding “Article 20A. Advanced Teaching Roles.”
  • Classroom excellence teachers no longer have to be on the team of teachers led by an adult leadership teacher. However, they must still serve in an advanced teaching role (ATR) and maintain responsibility for at least 20% of additional students.
  • Reduces the number of job responsibilities to choose from for advanced teaching roles.
  • Modifies annual deadlines for the State Board of Education to issue their request for proposals for ATR plans (was September 15, now July 15), for local boards of education to submit proposed ATR plans (was October 15, now August 15), and for the State Board to review proposals and select participants (was December 15, now October 15).
  • Clarifies that voluntary relinquishment of an advanced teaching role will not be considered a demotion.
  • Increases compliance review requirements for the State Board of Education of each ATR unit. Following each five-year review, the State Board of Education has full discretion in renewing or terminating the plan of any ATR unit or schools that fail to meet established criteria.
  • Requires DPI to provide guidance and support to ATR units that are identified by the State Board of Education as struggling to implement that unit’s ATR plan.
  • If State funds are insufficient to cover the full dollar amount of ATR supplements, the State Board of Education and the ATR may disburse supplements in proportion to their available funding. ATR units are encouraged but not required to fund the remainder of the supplement from alternate funding sources.
• Sec. 3J.17. TRANSFER CENTER FOR SAFER SCHOOLS: Transfers the Center for Safer Schools (Center) from the Department of Public Instruction to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). The Center’s Executive Director will now be appointed by the Director of SBI. Repeals the Task Force for Safer Schools.  Grant applications will now be submitted to the Executive Director of the Center.
• Sec. 3J.23. REPORTS ON OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP TESTING: The Office of Learning Research (OLR) is required to study and recommend, to the extent practicable, only one nationally standardized test for use in third grade and one test for use in eighth grade. The purpose of the tests is to compare the performance of students in private schools receiving Opportunity Scholarships (vouchers) with students attending public school units. That study and report are due to the General Assembly by December 31, 2025. The recommended nationally standardized tests would replace the current end-of-grade assessments for third and eighth grade. 

During the Delegate Assembly at this year’s Annual Conference, delegates from local school boards around the state amended and ultimately approved NCSBA’s 2025-2026 Legislative Agenda, which will guide the advocacy and lobbying efforts of the Governmental Relations team. To view the approved agenda for the 2025-2026 legislative biennium, click here.

The following highlights are summaries directly based on the Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA) Federal Education Report and reflect information and ideas provided by the Consortium. Click here to read more about the following topics and others in their November 18th report.

Funding the 2025 Fiscal Year: The current spending measure funding the federal government is temporary and expires on December 20^th. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said that there won’t be a holiday-time omnibus bill, which suggests that FY 2025 spending will be handled by another continuing resolution (CR) through March. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is still intent on forcing action on FY 2025 spending bills by the end of the year. Additionally, during the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, the White House and GOP leadership on Capitol Hill are expected to try to reauthorize the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through the reconciliation process. This effort may impact school choice initiatives, most likely establishing a substantial tax-credit program, expected to be similar to the Educational Choice for Children Act.

What’s Next for the U.S. Department of Education (ED): The continuing existence of ED has come into question with the re-election of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire for its elimination. Yet, eliminating the ED would be complicated and require Congressional cooperation that would be unlikely in the Senate. While it’s complete elimination is all but impossible, there will likely be agency changes in other ways. Political appointments in the ED may be purposefully left vacant and a return to a full in-office work week could lead to attrition with no further recruiting efforts in place. Further, the Musk-Ramaswamy Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) effort will likely include ED recommendations, but it remains unclear how those would be implemented.

Examining the Future of Standardized Testing: FutureEd hosted a webinar on certain challenges that nationwide standardized testing presents. While statewide standardized testing provides necessary insights into school performance and can drive improvement, federally mandated testing has become increasingly divisive by complicating new initiatives and stalling a national conversation on raising academic standards. The webinar examined improvements to school assessment systems that are student-centered while also providing parents and teachers with necessary information on student learning outcomes. Each state has a different approach to standardized testing, with certain states like Montana moving toward a series of student assessments throughout the year, as opposed to a single year-end assessment. The discussion also touched on matrix sampling, a method that assesses students across a wide range of subjects, with experts emphasizing that standardized testing should provide scores in all subjects to fully address the learning needs of every student. Funding is often the primary obstacle to creating a comprehensive and valuable test, and the perfect solution for accurately assessing students remains a question.

On November 19, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Linda McMahon to serve as Secretary of Education, the role responsible for leading the U.S. Department of Education and serving as the primary advisor to the President and federal government on policies, programs, and activities related to all education in the country.

Though she has spent much of her life based in Connecticut, the nominee for Education Secretary was born, raised, and educated in North Carolina. Linda McMahon (née Edwards) was born in New Bern, North Carolina to parents who both worked at Marine Corps Station Cherry Point. McMahon attended Craven County Schools’ New Bern High School and later graduated from East Carolina University in 1969 with a bachelor’s in French.

State News
EdNC: General Assembly passes new bill with regulatory changes, child care grants, and Helene aid
WUNC: NC Senate leader defends move to strip power from Democrats as bill heads to governor
NC Governor’s Press Release: Governor Cooper Announces $1 Million in Field Trip Funding for Public Schools
EdNC: Could helping to rebuild their communities offer students real-world learning and academic credit?
News & Observer: Should lawmakers ban students from having phones in school? Why NC superintendent says no.
EdNC: After ESSER funds, State Board discusses how to serve low-performing schools, districts
News & Observer: State board moves ahead with allowing NC public school athletes to sign NIL deals
WRAL: Students can’t choose pass/no pass for core NC high school classes, state board votes
EdNC: DPI releases a new NC art education resource hub for the 2024-25 school year
Great Minds: North Carolina’s Nash County Public Schools ‘Knocking It Out of the Park’ in English Language Arts
EdNC: Teach for America highlights progress in Edgecombe County Public Schools
NCDHHS Press Release: Increasing Crisis Counseling Services for People Impacted by Hurricane Helene; NCDHHS Receives Federal Funding to Expand Hope4NC and Help People Rebuild and Recover

National News
NC Newsline: 3 states blunt school choice momentum
The 74: Michigan Moves Closer To Universal Pre-K—But It’s Not Quite So Universal Yet
NPR: Trump picks business executive Linda McMahon to lead the Education Department
K-12 Dive: Demand for $200M FCC cybersecurity pilot far exceeds capacity
New York Times: Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Classrooms
The 74: Our Schools Were Victims of Mass Shootings. We Know What Congress Needs to Do

The General Assembly’s last opportunity to formally convene during this legislative biennium (per HJR 1081) will be Monday, December 2, through Friday, December 13, 2024.