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.
Friday, April 14, 2023
Highlights
FOX NEWS AP | April 7, 2023: North Carolina House budget approved, now heads to Senate - The proposed budget would spend $29.8 billion during the fiscal year starting July 1 and $30.9 billion starting in July 2024. The Senate will approve its own version of the budget later this spring. The two chambers ultimately will work out a final bill to present to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Charlotte Observer Jim Goodnight, Dale Jenkins | April 11, 2023: NC CEOs: Why addressing our teacher shortage is more critical than ever | Opinion - In our extremely tight labor market, and with the impacts from persistent inflation, companies across the U.S. are increasing employee pay and instituting changes to make working for those companies as attractive as possible. We need to do the same thing for our teachers. Jim Goodnight is CEO of SAS in Raleigh. Dale Jenkins is the retired CEO of Curi.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Thursday, April 13, 2023 | Contact: David Cobb
Representatives Cotham, Hall, Willis and Speaker Moore Move to Expedite Charter School Approvals
Raleigh, NC – Representatives Cotham (R- Mecklenburg), Moore (R- Cleveland), Destin Hall (R- Caldwell), and Willis (R-Union) have filed House Bill 618“Charter School Review Board.”
HB618 seeks to streamline decisions involving charter schools by eliminating the requirement that the State Board of Education (SBE) vote on every charter school application, amendment, renewal, and termination by assigning those duties to a new board titled the "Charter School Review Board" (CSRB).
Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) said, “One-size-fits-all in education is wrong for children. For many students, charter schools offer a more flexible environment for their educational needs. This legislation will help charter schools to better accomplish their missions to serve and educate students.”
Current procedure dictates that any decision regarding charter school applications, amendments, or renewals must first go to the existing Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB), which can only make recommendations. All recommendations are then referred to the SBE, which must review each a second time before issuing a final vote.
Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) said, “A single level of review for requests from charter schools is sufficient to properly ensure their compliance with existing state law. The members of the CSRB are all seasoned educators who have expertise operating charter schools.”
Current members of the CSAB would become initial members of the CSRB. The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction’s existing ex-officio designee on the board would be changed to a voting member, bringing the total board membership to 12.
The State Board of Education would maintain its authority to oversee educational functions and matters of policy and be provided with the ability to hear appeals of CSRB decisions, which may be filed either by the charter schools or the Superintendent of Public Instruction. New rules related to charter schools will first be reviewed and approved by the CRSB prior to adoption by the SBE.
Rep. David Willis (R-Union) said,“Requests from charter schools take months to gain approval under the current process. Oversight from the CSRB will speed up the process for requests from charter schools and grant those schools the ability to act more quickly in accordance with the CSRB Decisions.”
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NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Legislative Building | 16 West Jones Street | Raleigh, NC 27601 | 919-733-4111
State Board of Education May Planning & Work Session - UNC-Charlotte’s Cone Center
Planning - Tuesday, May 2nd and Wednesday, May 3rd
May Board of Education meeting - Thursday, May 4th
State Board in the News:
EdNC Hannah McClellan | :State Board of Education discusses school safety, literacy, and teacher prep - State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said survey data shows that parents’ biggest concern is consistently school safety. Board member Leah Carper, the 2022 N.C. Teacher of the Year, said it is on the forefront of teachers’ minds, too. More than $70 million in school safety grantshave been given to schools, Truitt said. She added that not all schools use the money for the same measures, mentioning school resource officers (SROs) as an example.
Chair respectfully requests that any proposed amendments be submitted to him prior to 6:00 p.m. on April 18th. Chair anticipates that this meeting may last beyond one hour. Public comments will be permitted; the number of speakers, and how long each speaker will have to comment, will be in the discretion of the Chair.
