If the legislative short session can be compared to an airplane takeoff, we’ve taxied down the runway and the wheels are off the ground, but there’s a ways to go until we reach cruising altitude.

Several of the “pilots,” – the Appropriations Chairs in both the House and Senate – are meeting behind closed doors to negotiate the adjusted budget for FY 2024-25. NCSBA Governmental Relations (GR) team is hearing that those budgetary modifications may be released as a Conference Report – one piece of legislation which is agreed to by certain members from both chambers. As such, the budget  would require a simple yes or no vote and cannot be amended on the floor of either chamber

Early in the week, Governor Roy Cooper held a press conference to highlight opposition to voucher expansion. House Democrats, meanwhile, filed HB 993, putting a moratorium on the voucher program and requiring accountability from private schools receiving public monies.

Things on Jones Street have been relatively quiet with budget negotiations taking up much of the oxygen. One noteworthy bill filing to highlight is HB 1032 Academic Transparency, which requires LEAs to post all teacher lesson plans, course materials, training materials, and much more on the school’s website. For more on that bill and others filed in the last week, read below.

Also of note, more than 400 people attended the Public School Forum’s annual Eggs & Issues event on May 7, 2024, including NCSBA’s Governmental Relations (GR) team and Executive Director. The event, which focuses on “pressing issues” facing public schools in NC, kicked off with speeches from Governor Roy Cooper and outgoing State Superintendent Catherine Truitt. Truitt’s speech particularly highlighted the “contentious wedge issue” that education has become in politics. To read the full speech, click here. The event also saw multiple candidate forums, including one for State Superintendent. Democratic candidate Maurice “Mo” Green attended and answered questions. Organizers say his opponent, Republican candidate Michelle Morrow, was invited to speak live or through recorded video but chose not to participate.

Education Bills This Week

Conference Committee Report (Compromise Between Chambers):

HB 31 Rowan-Salisbury Board of Educ. Partisan (Primary Sponsor: Representative Harry Warren, R-Rowan)

• Local bill establishing a voter referendum for the November 2024 general election on making the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education elections partisan.
• If approved by Rowan County voters, the partisan elections become effective December 1, 2026.
• Passed the Senate by 42-0 vote. No House vote scheduled yet.

Statewide House Bills Filed:
(Deadline to file most Statewide Bills: May 2)

HB 963 Aggie Academy Learning Lab/Funds (Primary Sponsor: Amos L. Quick III, D-Guilford)

• Allocates funds North Carolina A&T University to be used to support Aggie Academy, a UNC lab school for grades 3-5.

HB 976 Workforce Development Program (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Robert T. Reives II, D-Chatham; James Roberson, D-Wake; Ashton Wheeler Clemmons, D-Guilford; Kanika Brown, D-Forsyth)

• Expands funding for new cooperative innovative high schools. The level of funding for the new school is determined by whether the school is located in a Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III county.

HB 981 Funds For Certain Preschool Aged Youth (Primary Sponsor: Representative Amos Quick, D-Guilford)

• Establishes grants for LEAs to use to identify children ages 2-5 who may have developmental disabilities.

HB 988 Retirement Technical Corrections (Primary Sponsor: Representative Carson Smith, R-Pender)

HB 993 (=S853) OPS Moratorium/OPS & PESA Accountability (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Robert T. Reives II, D-Chatham; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Diamond Staton-Williams, D-Cabarrus)

• Prohibits new Opportunity Scholarships for students who did not receive scholarship grant funds during the prior school year.
• Requires nonpublic schools to administer tests required by the State Board of Education for students in grade three and higher.
• Applies beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

HB 996 (=SB841) State Employees/Three Days Bereavement Leave (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Zack Hawkins, D-Durham; Dennis Riddell, R-Alamance; Vernetta Alsto,n D-Durham; Kristin Baker, R-Cabarrus)

• Provides up to three days of paid bereavement leave for public school employees upon the death of an immediate family member.

HB 999 (=S801) Healthy and Safe Students in Every School (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth; Diamond Staton-Williams, D-Cabarrus; Donna McDowell White, R-Johnston)

• Bipartisan bill which requires each public school to always have a school nurse available during instructional days.
• Requires LEAs to provide a supply of emergency naloxone nasal spray on school property.

HB 1011 (=S814) Healthy Students – A Nurse in Every School (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Terence Everitt, D-Wake; Vernetta Alston, D-Durham)

• Requires public school units (including schools for the deaf and blind) to ensure that each school is staffed by at least one full-time, permanent school nurse.

HB 1013 Teacher License Recipr. & DMV Add’l Languages (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Amos L. Quick III, D-Guilford; Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford; Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Ya Liu, D-Wake)

• Allows a continuing professional license to be granted to a teacher licensed in a foreign country who has at least three years of teaching experience and is in good standing with the outside jurisdiction.

HB 1014 Sixth & Ninth Grade Academy Pilot/Funds (Primary Sponsor: Amos L. Quick III, D-Guilford)

• Requires DPI to establish a Sixth and Ninth Grade Academy Pilot Program for up to 10 LEAs with the purpose of providing comprehensive support to transitioning sixth and ninth grade students transitioning from elementary school to middle school and middle school to high school.

HB 1016 Gambling Education  (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Joe John, D-Wake; Wesley Harris, D-Mecklenburg; Amos L. Quick III, D-Guilford; Cynthia Ball, D-Wake)

• Requires instructing public middle and high school students in their health class on the addictive potential of gambling and potential consequences.

HB 1021 (=S826) School Mental Health Support Act (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Terence Everitt, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe)

• Requires DPI to establish a grant program to increase student access to mental health support personnel in public school units.

HB 1027 Revise Suspension & Parental Notice Policies (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Marcia Morey, D-Durham; Amos L. Quick III, D-Guilford; Rosa U. Gill, D-Wake; Marcia Cervania, D-Wake)

• Provides new definitions of suspension lengths and modifies policies.  Requires reporting requirements. Prevents governing bodies from certain forms of disciplinary action, and encourages boards to implement certain truancy and tardiness policies.

HB 1032 Academic Transparency (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Jake Johnson, R-Polk; David Willis, R-Union; Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke; Allen Chesser, R-Nash)

• Requires the governing body of a public school unit to ensure that the following is prominently displayed on the school’s website: lesson plans, all course materials assigned, instructional materials, supplemental materials, textbooks, videos, digital materials, websites, and other online applications.
• Allows a teacher or staff member to request that their personal title and last initial be used instead of their full name when posting publicly available material.

HB 1035 Support Students With Disabilities Act (Primary Sponsors: Representatives David Willis, R-Union; Brandon Lofton, D-Mecklenburg; John R. Bradford III, R-Mecklenburg; Zack Hawkins, D-Durham)

• A bipartisan bill which requires DPI to establish a grant program for LEAs to cover extraordinary costs of students with disabilities.

HB 1038 Diabetes Education for Parents (Primary Sponsor: Representative Tricia Ann Cotham, R-Mecklenburg)

• Requires schools to provide parents and legal guardians information containing six described components relating to type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the start of each school year.

HB 1040 Addressing NC’s Teacher Crisis/NTSP (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Julie von Haefen, D-Wake; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Gloristine Brown. D-Pitt)

• Appropriates funds for the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program (NC NTSP) to enable additional qualifying new graduates of alternative licensure programs or educator preparation programs (EPPs) at UNC constituent institutions who are teaching in North Carolina public schools to participate in NC NTSP without cost to local school administrative units.

HB 1044 County Tier Designation Study Bill (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Jake Johnson, R-Polk; Robert Reives, D-Chatham)

• Directs the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory at UNC-Chapel Hill to study changes to the county tier designation system.

HB 1045 Enhance Teacher Pipeline/Increase TF Program (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Cynthia Ball, D-Wake; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe; Garland E. Pierce, D-Scotland)

• Expands the program to individuals preparing to teach in the State’s public schools, rather than specified qualifying licensure areas.

HB 1047 DRIVE Recommendations/Teacher Diversity (Primary Sponsor: Representative Zack Hawkins, D-Durham)

• Provides funding to support the Grow-Your-Own and 2+2 teacher recruitment education programs.
• Implements various initiatives and program expansions to promote teacher diversity and increase teacher recruitment.

HB 1057 School Performance Grade Pilot (Primary Sponsors: Representatives Brian Biggs, R-Randolph; David Willis, R-Union; Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes; Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson)

• Establishes a two-year School Performance Grade Update Pilot Program to be implemented for a small group of public school units for the 2024-25 school year and all public school units for the 2025-26 school year. Proposes to change the school grading formula.

Local House Bills Filed:
(Deadline to file most Local Bills: May 7)

HB 1058 Jackson Co Bd of Ed Elections to Nov (Primary Sponsor: Representative Mike Clampitt, R-Swain)

• Shifts elections for the Jackson County Board of Education from the primary election date to the general election date.
• Applies to elections held in 2026 and thereafter.

HB 1067 (S=905) Employee Housing/Durham County (Primary Sponsor: Representative Vernetta Alston, D-Durham)

• Authorizes the Durham Board of Education and Durham County to provide and maintain affordable housing on property owned by the Board or the County for Durham Public Schools teachers, sworn law enforcement officers, or other first responders, as well as Durham Board of Education employees (if units remain available).
• Requires at least 75% of the housing to be reserved for teachers in the Durham Public Schools.

HB 1068 Partisan Bd of Ed Elections in Robeson Co. (Primary Sponsor: Representative Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson)

• Changes the elections for members of the Robeson County Board of Education to be held on a partisan basis.
• Applies beginning with elections held in 2026.

Statewide Senate Bills Filed:
(Deadline to file most Statewide Bills: May 2)

SB 817 Restore Educator Longevity (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Kandie D. Smith, D-Pitt; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Repeals building-in longevity payments for educators into their salary schedules.

SB 818 Restore Master’s Pay for Teachers & ISP (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Kandie D. Smith, D-Pitt; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Reinstate education-based salary supplements for teachers and instructional support personnel.

SB 819 School Psychologist Omnibus (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Provides for salary supplements to school psychologists in addition to any salary received under the teacher salary schedule.
• Provides funds to public school units for signing bonuses to recruit school psychologists subject to certain conditions.

SB 820 School Workers Fair Pay Act (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Sets the minimum hourly pay rate for all noncertified public school employees at $17/hour and requires the State Board of Education to make the necessary increases.

SB 825 Go Big for Early Childhood Education (Primary Sponsors: Senators Kandie D. Smith, D-Pitt; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Appropriates recurring funds to increase funding for the North Carolina Prekindergarten (NC Pre-K) program.

SB 839 State Employees/Give Leave for Pregnancy Loss (Primary Sponsors: Senators Natalie Murdock D-Durham, Val Applewhite D-Cumberland)

• Provides state employees and public school employees at least 56 hours of paid leave for the loss of a pregnancy.
• Applies to public school units that provide paid leave in accordance with the bill.

SB 846 Protect Our Schools (Primary Sponsors: Senators Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Kandie D. Smith, D-Pitt; Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake)

• Requires the DOT to annually consult with the governing body of each public school unit and certain nonpublic school units to designate school walk zones that include (1) lower speed limits and (2) ensuring appropriate actions are taken to effectuate the reduced speed limit.
• Increases criminal penalties for injuring a minor in school walk zones.

SB 862 Tier One County Assistance (Primary Sponsors: Senators Kandie Smith D-Pitt, Sydney Batch D-Wake, Michael Garrett D-Guilford)

• Appropriates $400 million in nonrecurring funds to provide development grants in tier one areas to promote self-sufficiency, infrastructure improvement, education, or workforce development.

SB 865 Study Cell Phone Use in Schools (Primary Sponsors: Senators Jay J. Chaudhuri, D-Wake; Jim Burgin, R-Harnett)

• Requires the Department of Public Instruction to consult with numerous groups including the NC School Boards Association to study cell phone policies in public school units.

SB 867 Superintendent of Public Instruction Min Reqs (Primary Sponsor: Senator Jay J. Chaudhuri, D-Wake)

• Specifies that to hold the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction the individual must have at least one year of experience either as a teacher or school administrator in the State or as member of a local board of education or the State Board of Education.

SB 870 Flags at Every School (Primary Sponsor: Senator Eddie D. Settle, R-Wilkes)

• Requires local boards of education to adopt policies for the display of the US and North Carolina flags on school grounds near the main entrance to each school and in each classroom.

SB 872 Failure to Stop for School Bus/Evidence (Primary Sponsor: Senator Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell)

• Allows recorded images from a school bus safety camera showing that a school bus was stopped and was displaying its mechanical stop signal or flashing red lights as evidence that an offender didn’t stop for the school bus.

SB 873 End Book Bans Act (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Removes the provision concerning initial challenges to media by community media advisory committees.
• Allows parents, teachers, and members of the public to challenge textbooks and supplementary instructional materials on the grounds that they are educationally unsuitable, pervasively vulgar, or inappropriate to the age, maturity, or grade level of the students.
• Allows local boards to establish community media advisory committees (CMAC) to investigate and evaluate appeals.
• Modifies the appeals process.

SB 895 Parents’ and Students’ Bill of Rights (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Establishes ten statutory rights of a parent related to the upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health of their minor child.

SB 896 Investing in North Carolina Act (Primary Sponsors: Senators Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Michael Garrett, D-Guilford)

• Increases salaries for staff paid off the teacher salary schedule.

Local Senate Bills Filed:
(Deadline to file most Local Bills: May 7)

SB 907 Move Caswell Co. Bd. of Ed. Elect. to Nov. (Primary Sponsor: Senator Graig Meyer, D-Orange)

• Requires elections for members of the Caswell County Board of Education to occur at the time of the general election and biennially thereafter. Members that are elected will take office at the first board meeting in December following the election.
• Changes the method of election to the nonpartisan plurality method.

SB 908 Orange Co Bd of Ed Election Changes. (Primary Sponsor: Senator Graig Meyer, D-Orange)

• Changes the method of election for the Orange County Board of Education to the nonpartisan plurality method from the runoff method.