The Week In Review and Looking Forward into Next Week

Quiet Week at the General Assembly

It has been very quiet at the General Assembly this week, with no activity on the budget, no movement on K-12 education bills in the House and only minor action by the Senate. SB 230 NC Military and Veteran Act of 2019 and SB 438 Excellent Public Schools Act of 2019 were presented to the Governor for signature; SB 295 Standards of Student Conduct was re-referred to the Senate Education Committee; SB 458 PTS Day/Cardiac Task Force/Titus's Law/Data failed to concur by the Senate and SB 690 Modifications to 2019 Appointments Bill was filed and referred to the Senate Rules Committee. 

The Governor held an Education Cabinet meeting on August 14^th, during which education leaders and stakeholders gathered to celebrate the launch of TeachNC, a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, BEST NC, TEACH.org. TeachNC is a statewide teacher recruitment initiative that employs both a broad media campaign and a robust web platform to support teacher candidates in their quest to become a teacher in North Carolina. Alongside other Cabinet members, Alan Duncan, SBE Vice Chair represented the Board and shared highlights of Board work this year intended to help address the teacher shortage in North Carolina.

During last week’s SBE meeting, the Board approved the 2025 Strategic Plan. The Plan centers around three primary goals: 1) Eliminate opportunity gaps by 2025; 2) Improve school and district performance by 2025; and 3) Increase educator preparedness to meet the needs of every student by 2025. Long-term the Plan will include other relevant details such as performance measures to ensure progress is being made with each of the goals. The Board will remain focused around the new goals and objectives as future items are brought before the Board for consideration.  

As of now, next week’s legislative calendar appears very minimal. The House is scheduled to convene Monday, August 19^th at 7 p.m. with HB 966 2019 Appropriations Act remaining on the calendar in the event they have the votes necessary to override the veto on the budget bill. On Tuesday, August 20^th, the Senate is calendared to convene Session at 9:30 a.m. and the House Appropriations is calendared for 9 a.m.  No Senate calendar has been published for Session; however, House Appropriations has SB 144 Allow In-State Tuition/Athletic Scholarships and HB 935 Social Services Reform on their agenda.  Next week’s Legislative Calendar can be found here.

Important Budget Resources HB 961: Ensuring Authorization of Federal Funds HB 111: Supplemental Appropriations Act DPI School Business: Operating after July 1 Without a Budget. K-12 Education Budget Overview here. Governor's Veto Statement here. HB 966: Ratified Conference Report Updated "Money" Report (Conference Report) here. Conference Committee Members here. DPI Financial & Business Services: Budget Comparison here.  DPI Financial & Business Services: Summary of Budget here. HB 966: 2019 Appropriations Act (Senate v6) "Money" Report - 3rd Edition (Senate) here. Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Amendments here. HB 966: 2019 Appropriations Act (House v4) Committee "Money" Report - 2nd Edition (House) here. Education Items in the Governor's budget 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. Public School Capital Outlays Chart here. North Carolina School Finances website here.

2019 New K-12 Education Laws

No new K-12 Education Bills have been signed by the Governor this week.

• List of New K-12 Education Laws and Chaptered Resolutions here.

• Complete List of Bills that are Session Law here.

• For complete bill history and summaries, click on the bill link.

Relevant Bills with Action

Education Bills Vetoed by the Governor

1. HB 966: 2019 Appropriations Act  VETO Message
   • Base budget appropriations for current operations of state agencies, departments, and institutions. Governor Cooper’s veto message states his disappointment in the budget based on differing priorities between the Governor and General Assembly.
2. SB 392: Various Charter School Changes  BILL SUMMARY   VETO Message
   • Makes various changes to the laws affecting charter schools. Governor Cooper’s veto message states his concern about the lift on enrollment caps for virtual charter schools due to the low performance of schools in this pilot.

Complete List of Bills Vetoed by the Governor here.

K - 12 Education Bills that Moved This Week 

• Passed the House - Sent to the Senate  

• None

• Passed the Senate - Sent to the House 

• None

• Conference Committee

• None 

• Bills that are filed, referred to a committee or calendared for the House or Senate Floor 

• SB 295: Standards of Student Conduct (Referred to Senate Education/Higher Education )  BILL SUMMARY
• SB 690: Modifications to 2019 Appointments Bill (Referred to Senate Rules)

• Presented to the Governor

• SB 230: NC Military and Veteran Act of 2019 -- Pres. To Gov. 8/15/2019
• SB 438: Excellent Public Schools Act of 2019 -- Pres. To Gov. 8/14/2019

• Other

• SB 458: PTS Day/Cardiac Task Force/Titus's Law/Data (Senate failed to concur)
• SB 681: Rur Hlth Care/Loc. Sales Tax Flex/Util. Acct. (Senate Failed to concur)

• For complete bill history and summaries, click on the bill link.

2019 Long Session LINK for bills impacting K-12 education. LINK to K-12 Public Education Bills that made Crossover. NCGA Crossover List - LINK.

Next Week's Education-Related Legislative Calendar

August 19 - August 23:  Legislative Meeting Calendar

Monday, August 19, 2019

  7:00 p.m.: House: Session Convenes                                                                    House | Audio           

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

  9:00 a.m.: House: Appropriations                                                                       643 LOB | Audio

  9:30 a.m.: Senate: Session Convenes                                                                  Senate | Audio

North Carolina General Assembly 

ONLINE RESOURCES:

• Highlights of the NC Public School Budget 2018
• DPI/SBE Reports to the General Assembly
• About the Legislature
• Who Represents Me?
• How a Law is Made
• House Member List
• Senate Member List
• North Carolina Constitution
• House Page Program
• Senate Page Program
• Governor’s Page Program
• Youth Legislative Assembly
• Educational Resources
• An Introduction to the NC General Assembly – Elementary School Ages
• NC Government – Middle School Ages

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   HB/SB = House Bill/Senate Bill JR = Joint Resolution SL = Session Law GS = General Statute  PCS = Proposed Committee Substitute

OFFICE OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Cecilia Holden  – Director of Government and Community Relations |  919-807-3406
• Anne Murtha  –  Legislative Specialist  |  919-807-3403

OFFICE OF THE NC SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Karson Nelson –  Legislative Assistant 

To view previous 2019 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.