A large number of teachers came to Raleigh Wednesday, May 16th, to meet with legislators and communicate their ideas on K-12 education funding and other opportunities for growth. In discussing Wednesday’s events, 2017 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Lisa Godwin, commented that she wants “to continue to build a bridge and help everyone see that we must work together to do what is best for our kids.” She went on to say, “I appreciate the investments that have been made to increase teacher pay. Unfortunately, our legislators are having to play ‘catch up’ due to the recession where teacher pay was frozen for several years. It’s hard. So, the salary increases are continually needed, in part to make up for freezes during the recession.”  

SB 718 extends the current hold harmless provision for principal pay, ensuring no principal will make less under the new 2017 principal pay plan than under the old principal pay plan. It also includes legislation to promote high performing principals moving to low performing schools by creating a 3 year hold harmless provision for principals who move to a low performing school.

This bill shifts the principal pay calendar from the current July 1 – June 30 schedule to Jan 1 - Dec 31 of each year. This is an effort to mitigate the uncertainty of a principal’s pay at the start of the school year due to the unknowns of growth and average daily membership at that time.

SB 718 consolidates two of the current principal pay bonuses into a single bonus, for principals who supervised schools in the top 50% growth.  In addition, it awards twice the amount for principal bonus recipients who supervised a D or F school. Finally, this bill clarifies the definition of demote with regards to school personnel. The bill was filed this week and was referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

This bill would appropriate $5 million and direct the Department of Public Instruction Center for Safer Schools, in collaboration with Public Safety and Emergency Management, to implement and maintain an anonymous safety tip line application.  This is to be implemented and made available statewide to public schools serving grades six or higher by July 1, 2019. It further requires the governing body of each public secondary school to develop and operate an anonymous tip line, in coordination with local law enforcement and social services agencies. The bill allows governing bodies to use their own developed tip line, provided they meet set guidelines, or use an application provided by the Center for Safer Schools. 

The purpose of this tip line is to receive anonymous information on internal or external risks to the school population, school buildings, and any school-related activities. Filed this week, HB 932 was referred to the House Education (K-12) Committee. If approved by that committee, the bill will next head to the House Appropriations Committee. 

Filed by Representatives Dobson, Torbett, Lewis and Lucas, HB 933 comes with the unanimous recommendation of the House Select Committee on School Safety, as a measure to recruit school psychologist to fill positions as quickly as possible in NC Public Schools.  

HB 933 would require the State Board of Education to issue a school psychologist license within 60 days to any individual who holds the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential issued by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

This aligns with the current standard for school psychologist licensing in NC and will expedite the licensing process. There are 32 states currently using the national certification as at least part of their licensure process. The bill was filed this week, passed by the House Committee on Health, and unanimously passed the House. The bill will now head to the Senate for approval.

HB 934 comes as a recommendation from the House Select Committee on School Safety, surrounding preventative programs at the local level. This bill requires the creation of local Threat Assessment Teams. This is an effort to provide guidance to students, faculty and staff with information about threats, and to identify members of the school community to whom threatening behavior should be reported.  

The threat assessment teams would be established by local superintendents, and would serve a role in determining whether a student poses a threat of violence or physical harm to themselves or others. These teams will also work to implement policies created by the governing board of the public school unit, which are local boards of education for local school administrative units.

The bill also directs local boards of education to require peer-to-peer student mentoring, counseling, and support programs at all schools with grades six and higher, and directs school counselors to coordinate and provide training for these programs. Finally, this bill defines "public school unit" within General Statute to include local school administrative units, charter schools, regional schools, and schools providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by various agencies.  

HB 934 was filed this week, and referred to the House Committee on Education K-12. If passed by this committee, it will likely be reviewed by the House Committee on Appropriations. 

HB 937 is also a recommendation from the House Select Committee on School Safety. The bill defines "school safety resource officer" (SRO) in statute, and requires the development of training and continuing education standards for SROs by January 15, 2019. The bill was filed this week and referred to the House Committee on Education (K-12). 

HB 941, as recommended by the House Select Committee on School Safety, appropriates $1,800,000 in recurring funds for the 2018-2019 fiscal year to be used toward grants for school resource officers in elementary and middle schools. 

The bill was filed this week and referred to the House Committee on Education (K-12). If passed by the Education Committee, the bill will next be reviewed by the House Appropriations Committee. 

HB 939, a recommendation of the House Select Committee on School Safety, directs LEAs to require each school to complete annual facility vulnerability assessments for each school building. These assessments are an effort to identify any areas in the facility that may pose safety risks to the schools. 

The bill directs the Department of Public Instruction to develop a tool to be used by LEAs when completing these assessments. Each LEA would be required to complete the first annual assessment before the end of the 2018-2019 school year. The bill was filed this week and referred to the House Committee on Education (K-12). 

SB 713 would reinstate the tax holiday for certain educational items, during the first weekend of every August. Items such as clothes, school supplies, instructional supplies, computers, computer supplies and some sporting equipment would not be subject to state sales tax during the tax holiday period. The bill was filed this week and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

2018 Short Session link for bills impacting K-12 education. 

2017 Long Session link for a complete list of bills impacting K-12 education including budget items.