General Assembly Returns to Session
State lawmakers returned to the legislative complex today, ahead of a court-ordered deadline of September 1 to redraw legislative district maps. It is anticipated that legislators will use this time mostly to create new maps to comply with legal requirements, although it is possible that other items may be considered. Reference the most recent adjournment resolution for details on what is eligible for debate during this session.
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 DPI Now Accepting Applications for Coding & App Development Grant Program
Session Law 2017-57, more commonly referred to as the State Budget, creates the Coding and Mobile Application Grant program to be administered by DPI. This competitive grant program will fund up to $40,000 per school that is awarded a grant to develop industry partnerships with local school administrative units and charter schools to design and implement computer science, coding, and mobile application development curricular programs for middle school and high school students.
On Thursday, Superintendent Mark Johnson announced that DPI is now accepting applications for this grant program. LEAs and charter schools are eligible to apply, and may use grant funds to purchase equipment, digital materials, and for other purposes, including teacher professional development. Applications and instructions are available at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/cte/. For more information on this program, please see this press release from DPI. Applications are due by October 15, 2017.
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Relevant Bills with Action
HB 770: Various Clarifying Changes
On Monday, Governor Cooper vetoed two bills, including HB 770 (“Various Clarifying Changes"). As covered in prior newsletters, this bill was originally focused on environmental regulations, but emerged during the August 3 session as a grab bag of changes to existing law. With regards to education, the bill makes conforming changes to statutes governing the calculation of school achievement and growth scores and school report cards to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The compromise version of HB 770 was passed by the General Assembly on August 3, and may be subject to a veto override.
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See this link for a complete list of bills impacting K-12 education.
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Friday, August 18
12:00
p.m.: House Session Convenes (Audio)
12:00
p.m.: Senate Session Convenes (Audio)
Tuesday,
August 22
4:00
p.m., Rm. 643 LOB: House Select Committee on Redistricting - Public
Hearing (Audio)
4:00 p.m., Rm. 643 LOB: Senate Committee
on Redistricting (Audio)
ONLINE RESOURCES:
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION CONTACT INFORMATION:
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Cecilia Holden – Director of Legislative Affairs and Special Initiatives | 919-807-4035
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Robb Jansen – Policy Development Analyst | 919-807-3407
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Anne Murtha – Legislative Specialist | 919-807-3403
To view previous 2017 Weekly Legislative Updates click here.
The NC Department of Public instruction offers a number of topics for subscription.
- To subscribe to the Weekly Legislative Update, click here.
- To subscribe to other NC Department of Public Instruction topics, click here.
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