Legislative Update - Friday, December 28, 2018

North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 12/28/2018 01:35 PM EST

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Vision: Every public school student will graduate ready for post-secondary education and work, prepared to be a globally engaged and productive citizen through access to needed resources and rigor.

Mission: The State Board of Education will use its constitutional authority to lead and uphold the system of public education in North Carolina that guarantees every student in this state an opportunity to receive a sound basic education.

December 28, 2018

The Week In Review and Looking Forward into the New Year

General Assembly Adjourns Sine Die

The 2017-2018 Legislative Session of the North Carolina General Assembly Ends Sine Die

The members of the 2017-2018 General Assembly gathered together as a legislative body for the last time on Thursday, December 27, 2018. SB 469 Technical Corrections and HB 1029 Bipartisan State Board Changes were calendared for veto overrides, both of which occurred. The General Assembly adjourned according to SJR 832 Adjourn 2017 General Assembly Sine Die which means “without assigning a day for a further meeting”.

Looking forward into next week and next year:

The 2019-2020 Long Session of the General Assembly convenes on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. Newly elected officials and those returning to office, will make up the new General Assembly body who will devise the biennium budget and legislation in 2019. To learn more about who represents you and how to contact your House and Senate representatives, see Who Represents Me? on the General Assembly website.

State Board of Education

The North Carolina State Board of Education will hold their first meeting of 2019 on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 10 a.m. and Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 9 a.m. Meeting agendas can be viewed here. Audio streaming of State Board of Education meetings can be accessed at this link.

For a list of the K-12 public education districts click here and for a list of State Board members for each district, click here.

Relevant Bills with Action

SB 469: Technical Corrections

The Governor vetoed SB 469 on December 21, 2018 and following the holiday break, the House and Senate returned to override the veto.

Here is an overview of the education items in SB 469:

Municipal Charter Schools: The board of directors of a municipal charter school may elect to participate in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees as a participating employer.

Principal ADM Hold Harmless: Expands eligibility for Principal ADM Hold Harmless from schools closed for at least 15 school days in September, October, and November 2018 due to Hurricane Florence to schools closed for at least 10 school days.

Principal Preparation Grant Program: Amends the Transforming Principal Preparation Grant Program to allow the NC Principal Fellows Commission to administer the program in collaboration with the State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA) beginning July 1, 2019.

Wayne County Board of Education: May apply to the State Board of Education no later than February 1, 2019 to adopt the restart model for Carver Heights Elementary Schools. If any of the following occur, Carver Heights Elementary School could still be transferred to the ISD:

Based on Wayne County’s Board of Education's application, the SBE does not authorize Carver Heights Elementary School to operate as a restart model school. The school would be transferred to the ISD beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
Carver Heights Elementary School is authorized by the SBE as a restart model school beginning with the 2019-2020 school year and, at the conclusion of the 2020-2021 school year, the school still meets the definition of a qualifying school for the ISD transfer.

Innovative School District: Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the State Board of Education may select up to five qualifying schools to transfer to the ISD. The State Board shall select five qualifying schools for transfer to the ISD no later than the 2020-2021 school year.

Bus Transportation: Allows public school buses to travel outside the State, provided the superintendent determines that the bus route is the most direct way to and from a school. Children with disabilities may be transported to and from the nearest appropriate private school having a special education program approved by the State Board of Education if the children to be transported are or have been placed in that program by a local school administrative unit as a result of the State or the unit's duty to provide such children with a free appropriate public education.