State Board of Education April Meeting

During the Thursday State Board meeting, SBE Members were inspired by high school seniors Greear Webb, SBE Office Legislative Intern, and Myles Cyrus, a fellow public school student.  These young men presented to the Board and focused on the value of public education, the powerful role teachers and parents play in student's lives, the need for equitable education, and the necessity of the student voice in decisions impacting their education.

Miles attends Fike High School in Wilson, NC and Greear attends Sanderson High School in Raleigh, NC. Myles will be attending Wake Forest University as a Joseph Gordon Scholar, and Greear will be attending UNC Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholarship recipient. Greear was also offered the full scholarship to attend Wake Forest University.  Their parents joined the SBE and audience in standing ovations to congratulate the outstanding academic career accomplishments of these young leaders.

The Board also focused on teacher hiring, including modifications to existing policy to make it easier for out-of-state teachers to get a NC teaching license, without lowering the standards of North Carolina’s high quality teaching license requirements. The Board also voted on Thursday to eliminate the NC Final Exams ("NCFEs") for science in fourth grade and for social studies in fourth and fifth grades.

• Video of Greear's presentation here.
• Text of Greear's speech here.
• Text of Myles' presentation here.
• SBE Agenda for April 3 here
• SBE Agenda for April 4 here
• SBE April Meeting Photos: April 2019 Photos

Excellent Public Schools Press Conference

On Monday, Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) held a press conference at the General Assembly to announce the filing of SB 438, entitled the "Excellent Public Schools Act of 2019." State education leaders standing alongside Senator Berger included State Board of Education member, J.B. Buxton, State Superintendent Johnson and Brock Womble, Executive Director for the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching.  This bill proposes changes to the Read to Achieve Program to further ensure that every third grader is proficient and reading at grade level.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) makes a push to help students across the stateincrease their reading comprehension. During the press conference, changes to the Read to Achieve program were announced as the bill, would make changes as to how reading is taught and how teachers are trained. Under the bill, DPI would be tasked with developing a Digital Children's Reading Initiative as well as developing a model curriculum to be used statewide. The bill also focuses on improving the quality of the teachers who work at the camps by offering $2,000 to retired educators to come back to work over the summer. 

SB 580 Press Conference

On Wednesday, state lawmakers announced legislation designed to send classroom supply funds directly to teachers. Sen. Andy Wells (R-Catawba), alongside Supt. Mark Johnson and others announced SB 580, a bill that would provide classroom supply funds directly to teachers. The bill would give teachers $400 a year to spend on classroom supplies and would create the Teacher Classroom Supply Program. The supplies would be purchased through vendor ClassWallet App to obtain classroom supplies directly or to get reimbursed for local supply purchases. Without additional funding for instructional supplies, the money would be taken from the roughly $47 million that is typically budgeted for classroom supplies. That money historically goes to districts, who decide from there how the money is best spent. Budget discussions are underway which could ultimately result in expansion funds for this bill.

Important Budget Resources:

• Education Items in the Governor's budget here. 
• Public School Capital Outlays Chart here.
• Highlights of the NC Public School Budget 2019 here.
• NC State Board of Education Budget Response here.
• NC Department of Public Instruction #NC2030 vision here.

Education Bill Crossover 

To date this session, 20 education bills have made crossover which is the long session date by which legislation without a financial component must pass from the originating chamber into the other chamber, in order for that legislation to be considered during the short session.  The 2019 Crossover Deadline is Thursday, May 9.

The bills that made crossover this week are listed below:

Student Testing Reduction Bill 

HB 377, sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Elmore (R-Wilkes) along with Reps. Hall (R-Surry), Conrad (R-Forsyth), and Bell (R-Wayne) would eliminate end-of-grade (EOG) testing for students in the 3rd through the 8th grades and replace them with shorter assessments throughout the school year. This bill would also replace high school end-of-course (EOC) exams, as well as NC Final Exams (NCFEs), with nationally recognized assessments. The bill has passed the House and is currently in the Senate Rules Committee. 

School Calendar Flexibility

Overview:  This week, lawmakers filed two more school calendar flexibility bills, pushing the total number of SCF bills to 59 for this session. 

Under current state law, North Carolina school districts are prohibited from starting the school year earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and ending it later than the Friday closest to June 11.

HB 79, one of several bills focused on allowing systems to start school earlier, passed the House last week and has been assigned to the Senate Rules Committee. This bill would let school systems across NC tie their start dates to local community college schedules. The Senate has traditionally not favored earlier start dates for K-12 schools.

SB 450: Study Statewide Year-Round School Calendar

Sponsor: Burgin

Counties: ALL/Public

SB 613: School Calendar Accommodation/Statewide

Sponsor: Ballard

Counties: ALL/Public

Digital Legislative Day

Students and teachers from across North Carolina took part in Digital Legislative Day on April 3, hosted by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

The goal of the day was to highlight how state education leaders are incorporating technology into classroom teaching. Speakers at the event included Supt. Mark Johnson, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union).  Members of the NCGA attended, as well as students and teachers.  Nearly 20 district schools and Charters from across the state were represented at this event.

Greear Webb, Now Official Morehead-Cain Scholar

Morehead-Cain Scholarship Acceptance

It is with great pleasure that we recognize our intern Greear Webb, a recent recipient of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Greear accepted this scholarship in mid-March. Greear is a founding student of the Sanderson High School Student Equity Team, serves as a member of his school's student government association, and recently co-founded two non-profits, both with a goal of elevating the student voice into conversations about topics that affect them. Greear also enjoys playing basketball and tennis in any spare time that he has. Greear will move into UNC Chapel Hill in the fall with the intent to focus on public policy.

Legislative Info and Acronyms 

This section includes details pertaining to acronyms and bill information referenced throughout the K-12 Education Legislative Update newsletters.

Biennium- A two-year term of legislative activity

Public Bill- Legislation enacted into law that applies to the public at large

Local Bill- Legislation put into law that has limited application (How many counties)- Local bills do not have to be signed by the governor

Sponsor- The legislator who presents a bill or resolution for consideration

Resolution- A document that expresses the sentiment or intent of the legislature or a chamber. Resolutions, when finalized, go to the Secretary of State

Glossary of Legislative Terms- LINK

DPI = NC Department of Public Instruction

LEA = Local Education Agency

NCGA = North Carolina General Assembly

LB/LOB = Legislative Building/Legislative Office Building 

SBE = North Carolina State Board of Education

AB = Agency Bill

HB/SB = House Bill/Senate Bill

JR = Joint Resolution

SL = Session Law

GS = General Statute 

PCS = Proposed Committee Substitute 

FY = Fiscal Year