State Board of Education Vision:Every public school student in North Carolina will be empowered to accept academic challenges, prepared to pursue their chosen path after graduating high school, and encouraged to become lifelong learners with the capacity to engage in a globally-collaborative society
State Board of Education Mission:The mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is to use its constitutional authority to guard and maintain the right of a sound, basic education for every child in North Carolina Public Schools.
November 9, 2020
NC SBE Director of Government and Community Affairs
Welcome to this edition of the NC State Board of Education's Legislative Update.
I wanted to begin this week’s newsletter with a heartfelt congratulations to our newly elected State Superintendent, Catherine Truitt, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, re-elected State Treasurer, Dale Folwell, and the many newly elected government officials, locally, statewide, and across our nation. We look forward to working with each of you individually, and to partnering with you collectively, as the SBE/ DPI continue to lead the state’s alignment of the strategic plan and action framework priorities. There is a rising hope of promise and partnership as we move into 2010 and we are excited to lift up and serve NC Public Schools as we transcend COVID-19’s impact on our communities. As newly elected Superintendent Truitt stated in a recent EdNC interview, “we have to put students at the center” and this echoes the work of so many of our educators across our great state and the mission and vision of our districts, or PSU’s, DPI, and our SBE members. Here is to the synergy possible and to the collaborative spirit embedded in this transformation. We welcome these elected officials and thank them for their committed service.
I also wanted to take a moment of personal privilege to lift up the veterans across North Carolina in honor of upcoming Veterans’ Day. As the older brother of a current armed forces service member, my sister who serves with the United State Navy in the Intelligence Division, currently at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi, India, I have witnessed her dedication and leadership in representing the multiple “pathways to prosperity” that are available to our students in NC through the “Three E’s”- Enlistment, Employment, and Enrollment. I have also been privileged to learn under the leadership of many veterans throughout my experiences as an educator, particularly through the mentorship and friendship of our current SBE Chair, Eric Davis, our legislative liaison, Anne Murtha, our NC TOY, Maureen Stover, over 20 DPI staff members, and over 30 General Assembly members who have served our country admirably. We thank them all for their service.”
"We Strive and Rise, Together."
Freebird McKinney
Election 2020 - Results
Check the North Carolina State Board of Elections Website - HERE for election results.
"As with every election, it takes 10 days to finalize tallies, a process that includes waiting on absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but which arrive days later in the mail. This is called the canvass, or certification."
"In the presidential race, you're technically not voting for a candidate but for a slate of "electors" who will meet Dec. 14 to choose the president and vice president. This is the Electoral College, and these electors, appointed by the political parties, express the will of the voters."
Board will finalize Budget Requests by January 2021.
Highlights from the November NC SBE Meeting
SBE/DPI Budget Presentation:
Phase 1 – November SBE Meeting “Legislative Budget Requests” Presentation – SBE Discussion on Budget Requests and Additional “Funding Requests Required”
Phase 2 – Hold Further Discussions on Budget Requests with SBE Committees and Division Directors – Prioritize Budget Requests in Tiers (Similar to June 4th Approved Budget Requests)
Phase 3 – Solidify Budget Requests and Priorities Moving Forward – December SBE Meeting, Begin Discussion of Policy Requests with Committees
Phase 4 – January SBE Meeting, Solidify Budget and Policy Requests – Begin Discussions with General Assembly Members
17 North Carolina school districts, located in Tier 1 and Tier 2 North Carolina counties were approved by the North Carolina State Board of Education to participate in the inaugural cohort of NC Education Corps:
1. Ashe County Schools 2. Camden County Schools 3. Clinton City Schools 4. Cumberland County Schools 5. Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools 6. Halifax County Schools 7. Hickory City Schools 8. Jones County Schools 9. Lexington City Schools 10. Mount Airy City Schools 11. Newton-Conover City Schools 12. Perquimans County Schools 13. Person County Schools 14. Pitt County Schools 15. Stanly County Schools 16. Vance County Schools 17. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
The State Board of Education heard a variety of presentations on everything from restart schools to advanced teaching roles. Here is a recap from the two-day meeting this week.
Budget priorities
The State Board heard an overview of preliminary legislative priorities for the Board and the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the funding needed to achieve them. Overall, the expense of fulfilling all the Board’s preliminary budget priorities would be more than $417 million, according to the presentation.
The cost of the legislative priorities includes:
More than $7.5 million for early grades reading
More than $143 million for teacher preparation, professional learning, and pay
More than $27.5 million for principal preparation, professional learning, and pay
More than $153 million for student mental health
Almost $45 million for school and district turnaround assistance
More than $9 million for “Connecting High School to Postsecondary and Career Opportunities”
More than $2 million for state Department of Public Instruction support positions
More than $29 million for “Other Agency Budget Requests
Emory thinks of herself as the “infrastructure lady.” Her mind was already moving to what kind of supports were going to be needed for DPI and districts. She had a lot of questions.
“How do we pull this off within this new environment? What does this look like? Who do we need to be involved in this?” she asked.
Through the spring, into the summer, and even now, Stegall and Emory helped lead DPI’s response to the pandemic, working to get virtual learning supports up and running, coming up with templates, guidelines, and scenarios for schools to reopen in the fall, and supporting districts as they juggled the various plans for schools at the start of the 2020-21 school year.
JackHoke, executive director of the North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association, said that Emory and Stegall were good about making sure superintendents got the information they needed. He said that if Stegall and Emory didn’t know an answer to a question, they would find it and get back to superintendents. He said they couldn’t do everything superintendents wanted or needed, but what they could do, they did do.
Emory, Stegall, and others worked over the summer to prepare a guidance document that helped districts navigate the various plans they might open with in the fall. When Cooper finally announced in July that schools could open under a hybrid model or a remote-only mode, they updated the guidance from DPI and the State Board.
At a time when so much of our world seems to be mired in chaos, it is important to lift up the good that we see. Dr. Dudley Flood, an educator and champion of school integration in our state, represents that light in our world. Throughout his career and ongoing work, Dr. Flood leads by example — demonstrating that understanding people, communicating with them, and bringing them together to work toward common goals are actions that lead to positive change and outcomes. In the years following the Brown v. Board of Education decision that mandated school desegregation in the United States, Dr. Flood traveled to every corner of our state to unite divided communities and work toward integrating our public schools. His legendary commitment to school integration and his belief that every child deserves equitable educational opportunity will serve as the foundation and beacon for the work of the Forum’s new Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity. I had the great honor of formally announcing the launch of the center last week. With Dudley by our side, we will continue to build upon his legacy.
We Invest in You. You invest in the future.
Receive up to $4,125 per semester for up to eight semesters.
Study at a premier educator preparation program in North Carolina.
Benefit from meaningful program activities to enrich your studies.
Teach in a Special Education or STEM field in a North Carolina public school.
Be a Teaching Fellow.
Important Dates
October 2020:
Application Available
January 11, 2021:
Application Deadline
March 2021:
Finalist Interviews
April 1, 2021:
Teaching Fellows Selection Notification
May 1, 2021:
Award Acceptance Deadline
Application and Selection Process
All applications must be submitted online by 11:59PM (EST) on Monday, January 11, 2021. Applications that are incomplete, including those that do not include all necessary documentation, will not be considered.
All applications will undergo an initial screening to verify eligibility. Applicants will be notified by email if their application is deemed ineligible.
Eligible applications will move forward for evaluation by the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission, who will select the applicants that will be invited for a finalist interview. Invitations to finalist interviews will be sent by the end of February.
Following the interviews, the NC Teaching Fellows Commission will conduct a final review to select those finalists who will be offered a Teaching Fellows award. All those offered an award will be notified by email by April 1, 2021.
Awardees must accept or decline their award by 11:59PM (EST) on May 1, 2021.
All applicants are strongly encouraged to review our Frequently Asked Questions page prior to submitting an application.
COVID-19 Response For North Carolina Public Schools
The COVID-19 Response for North Carolina Public Schools, issued by the North Carolina State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction, provides guidance to public school leaders in response to school closures resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Gov. Roy Cooper directed the North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE) in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to develop a plan to:
Ensure access to a quality education for students through the remainder of the school year;
Provide students with remote learning while school buildings are closed; and
Ensure that all school employees – including janitors, bus drivers, teaching assistants and cafeteria workers -- will work in safe environments and be paid.
Key COVID-19 Resources:
Drill down through these links for valuable information and tools
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
