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Some Upcoming Dates of Note:
See below for details
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Updating Homeless Liaison Contact Information
The McKinney-Vento Act requires all LEA[Charter Schools included in federal designation] to appoint a local homeless liaison to support the educational needs of their students experiencing homelessness. To ensure that your charter’s homeless liaison is receiving communications from our office, please review the Homeless Liaison Contact List. If the contact information is incorrect, the Liaison Contact Information Form must be completed as soon as possible.
Updating Contact Information for Foster Care Point of Contact
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires all LEAs to appoint a local foster care point of contact (POC) to support the educational needs of their students in foster care. To ensure that your charter’s foster care POC is receiving communications from our office, please review the NC Foster Care Local POC Directory. If the contact information is incorrect, the NC Foster Care Local POC Form should be completed as soon as possible.
Updated School Attendance and Student Accounting (SASA) Manual
This is a MUST HAVE resource for all charter school administrators.
2025 SASA Manual
Read to Achieve and K-5 Literacy Support
As you begin to prepare for the quickly approaching 2025-2026 school year, please review the information below and share as needed. The Office of Early Learning Charter Team will continue to provide professional development opportunities and literacy support for North Carolina Charter and Lab Schools.
Please see the Read to Achieve and K-5 Literacy resource document and share as needed.
We will continue to keep you informed and updated as we have additional guidance and information that pertains to NC Literacy efforts this year. If at any time you have questions or need support related to Read to Achieve and K-5 literacy, please contact tonia.parrish@dpi.nc.gov. OCS Presentations from the Wilmington conference:
Important DHHS Resources for Charter Schools
Please click on each link and read thoroughly.
2024-2025 School-Based Mental Health Policy Report
Dear Charter School Contacts,
In accordance with North Carolina SL 2019-245 and SL 2020-7 and with State Board of Education Policy SHLT-003, each K-12 school unit is required to upload a copy of their School Mental Health Improvement Plan for the upcoming school year and answer questions in the School Mental Health Policy Report.
In the online reporting portal, you will indicate that you are a charter school, and you will be directed to the SMH policy questions. To make it easier for you to assemble your report information prior to going online, a Word version and PDF of the online survey is attached to this email. Please complete the online survey to submit your report.
*New this year – Upon completion of your SMH report, you will be redirected to a separate Qualtrics survey titled “Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Annual Report - PSU Level”. If you are not prepared to complete your SMH report and the SISP Annual Report in the same sitting, you can use the following link to return to the SISP Annual Report at another time: https://ncdpi.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Ei0Qd21ZI944Z0. Word and PDF versions of this data collection are also attached, and more information is available on our School Mental Health Policy Reporting page. The best contact for questions related to the SMH report and the new SISP Annual Report is Pachovia Lovett, School Social Work Consultant, Pachovia.Lovett@dpi.nc.gov, 984-236-2821.
The survey platform is setup to allow respondents to leave the survey and resume their progress later, so long as they return on the same browser where they started the survey and do not wait longer than a month to return to the survey. This feature works by placing a cookie on the respondent’s browser that keeps track of the survey progress.
The information needed to complete the SMH progress report will come from your School Mental Health Improvement Plan, which is required to upload and must include the mental health training program and suicide risk referral protocol.
Please note the deadline to complete the School Mental Health Policy Report is September 15, 2025.
You can access the reporting portal through the link below.
2025 School-Based Mental Health Policy Report
If you have questions or challenges in completing this online survey, please contact Les Spell at Les.Spell@dpi.nc.gov.
We appreciate the time and energy spent in completing this report and look forward to reading each submission.
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School Business August 15, 2025
The FBS website continues to be updated with information related to School Business and our ongoing operations. Please check the FBS homepage regularly for updates. Please review the upcoming deadlines for due dates.
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Allotments Update
FY2025-26 Allotments - All PSUs
The following items of interest will be allotted this week:
- PRC 0079 – CTE: Education & Workforce Innovation Program (EWIP) - Innovation and Grade Expansion Grants
- PRC 0017 – CTE: Program Improvement
- GY2025 Reallocation of unexpended funds
- GY2026 Initial Allotments
Additional Allotment Reminders
HB125 (SL 2025-89) - All PSUs
School Business is still working on the State Initial Allotments adjustments (and thus dollars per ADM) per the SL 2025-89 technical adjustments. The adjusting revision is expected by next Friday.
FY2025 State At-Risk Fund Carryforward (PRC 0069) - LEAs Only
FY2025 State At-Risk Fund Carryforward (PRC 0069) ends August 31, 2025. Make sure you have recorded the appropriate eligible expenditures by that date.
Federal Grants Ending on or Before Sept 30, 2025 - All PSUs
Please be reminded that there are several federal grants whose period of performance ends on or before September 30, 2025. The funds at risk of being reverted can be identified using the DART PSU Report 103: PSU Remaining Allotment Balance and the list of grants has also been posted to our What's New page. Please review your federal allotments to ensure you have expended those funds before those grants end. This includes ensuring you have recorded all expenditures, and if needed eligible encumbrances, to the appropriate grant year in your system.
Reminder: Grant year reporting means that expenditures and cash draws are all accounted by grant year for the federal grant funds. These must align. Please work with your software vendors if you are still unclear how to appropriately account for these funds using the new grant year code segment in the Chart of Accounts (COA).
If you have general questions, please email allotments@dpi.nc.gov.
SS200 Full-Time Personnel Report – All PSUs
The SS200 Full-Time Personnel Report is an online system that collects race/ethnicity, gender, and fund source of full-time personnel employed through October 1 of the current school year. A Full Time Employee is defined as a person employed to fill a vacancy whose regular work week is the number of hours established as full-time for the class of work assigned, but not less than 30 hours per week. All Public School Units (PSUs) and Independent Public Schools (Charters, Regional, UNC Lab Schools) must complete this report by October 31, 2025.
An annual subscription (request to access) is required to access the reports. The individual submitting the
report will need an active North Carolina Identity Management Identification (NCID) to access the reports. If you (or your staff) need an NCID, or it has expired, you must contact your NCID administrator to set up an account for you. A directory of the LEA NCID administrators is available on NCDIT's website, as well as a directory of IPS/Charter NCID administrators. DPI cannot assign an NCID or reset NCID passwords. Please share this information with other staff that may be involved with data collection and reporting of this report. If you have questions related to the SS200, please contact David.Cauthorn@dpi.nc.gov.
Invalid Account Codes - MFR Period 1 – All PSUs
The MFR data for Period 1 (July 2025) have posted to the DART website.
Please check the report “102. PSU Invalid Codes – Current Reporting Period” under "PSU Reports" for the list of records which require corrections. The corrections should be submitted with the next MFR data file submission (due September 3, 2025). MFR expenditure amounts posted to invalid account codes are not loaded into the Cash App, which impacts the cash amounts for monthly zero-out.
Please DO NOT RESUBMIT the MFR data file for Period 1 or any other previous periods.
If there are questions or concerns on the data files, please contact SchoolFinancialReporting@dpi.nc.gov.
If you are experiencing difficulties or need access to the DART website, please contact SBSDART@dpi.nc.gov.
From the Office of School Facilities
Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund – FY25-26 Grant Application Schedule
NBPSCF Grant Applications [per G.S. 115C, Article 38B]
The application period for new FY25-26 NBPSCF Capital Grants will open on August 18, 2025. Program guidance and application materials will be available on the Capital Funding page of the School Planning website when the application period opens. The deadline for submitting applications and supporting materials is October 3, 2025.
Questions about the NBPSCF Grant program should be directed to Nathan Maune, AIA, via email: SchoolPlanning-NBPSCF@dpi.nc.gov.
Questions? Contact SBS
Deadline Reminders
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DUE DATE
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TOPIC
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NEWSLETTER
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10/31/2025
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Annual Audit Report
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07/17/2025
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Infinite Campus ML Data Reference Slides
As a reminder, the ML/Title III team has created Reference Slides for ML Data in Infinite Campus to support your work with multilingual learners. These slides serve as a centralized resource, offering clear guidance on how to access, interpret, and utilize ML data within the platform. Please don’t hesitate to contact Susan Walz at susan.walz@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions or require additional assistance.
Recently added:
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ML/Title III Charter Voices Field Team
The ML/Title III team is excited to announce the creation of the ML/Title III Charter Voices field team, a group of PSU leaders dedicated to strengthening support for charter schools serving multilingual learners.
Why join? As a member of this team, you will;
- Share your expertise and insights to help shape state-level planning.
- Collaborate with other charter school leaders to address challenges and celebrate successes.
- Provide feedback to improve resources, training, and guidance for charter schools statewide.
- Support the development of best practices for multilingual learner programs and compliance.
If you are passionate about ensuring high-quality programs for multilingual learners and want to contribute to meaningful collaboration across the charter community, we invite you to submit your interest.
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Join the ML/Title III Team for Beginning of the Year Updates!
These sessions are ideal for new ML Coordinators, ML Coordinators seeking a refresher, and ML Data Managers who are now using Infinite Campus.
NCED Connect Opt-In (formerly Home Base) is now OPEN!
The NC Department of Public Instruction is pleased to announce that the NCED Connect (formerly Home Base) Opt-in Process is now OPEN ! Finance officers and charter school directors/principals may begin opting into NCED Connect for their PSU once the window opens. Click on the following link to see the full announcement and share with the appropriate staff: hb_pricing_memo 2025-26.
Note: Only finance officers and charter directors/principals should opt-in for their PSU.
Please visit the Opt-in Website for detailed information concerning the NCED Connect Opt-in Process. Questions may be directed to ncedconnect@dpi.nc.gov or jennifer.causey@dpi.nc.gov. Charter schools have a dedicated SIS professional contact!
We are pleased to introduce Jennifer Fogleman as your new dedicated NCSIS Professional Learning Consultant for Charter Schools, effective immediately.
Jennifer brings a wealth of experience in the Student Information System (SIS) and is committed to providing you with the same high level of service you've come to expect from our team.
The NCSIS Professional Learning Consultant team is here to support you, please don't hesitate to contact Jennifer if you have any questions or concerns.
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BTAM Training
The Center for Safer Schools will hold virtual Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Trainings and in-person Active Assailant Simulation Training 2 in August. BTAM Training
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training assists public school units in reviewing legislative requirements and best practices in the implementation and development of BTAM teams.
Training will include building a required BTAM implementation and monitoring team (as required in Session Law 2023-78/House Bill 605), understanding behavioral threats, risk factors and warning signs, and assessment protocols. The training will also discuss the implementation and monitoring of the fidelity of behavioral threat assessments. A scenario-based approach will be discussed and shared to help participants understand the overall BTAM process and monitoring with fidelity.
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A full-day virtual BTAM Training will be held Friday, Aug. 22 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Click BTAM Full Day to register.
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A virtual two-part BTAM Training will be held from 9 a.m.-noon on Wednesday, Aug. 27 (Part 1) and Thursday, Aug. 28 (Part 2). Click Part 1 and Part 2 to register.
NOTE: In order to receive a certificate for a two-part BTAM Training, participants must complete both Parts 1 and 2.
For more information on Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Training, send an email to CFSS Assistant Director-Programs Michelle Guarino. Active Assailant Simulation Training 2
Active Assailant Simulation Training 2 will be held Monday, Aug. 25 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Center for Safer Schools Training Center in Moore County.
This course – for school resource officers and law enforcement – provides a simulation of active-shooter incidents. This course teaches Simunitions Training and Live Fire Training. Participants’ agencies must provide 100 rounds per student attending.
NOTE: In order to register for this course, participants must have completed Active Assailant Simulation Training 1.
Click Active Assailant to register. For more information on Active Assailant Simulation Training 2, send an email to CFSS School Safety Training Coordinator Jeff Branch. |
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Other Resources from DPI and beyond
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A New Path to Stronger, Ready-to-Lead Teachers
Want More? Do More! – Teacher Readiness Program
Interested in becoming a licensed teacher in North Carolina? Join the Want More? Do More! Teacher Readiness Program to get the training, support, and mentorship you need to succeed.
Upcoming info session: Tuesday, August 19 at 2:00 PM – Join our Zoom call HERE
Learn more in the attached one-pager and take the first step toward your teaching career today!
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GSNC Grant Opportunity
Charter school leaders: Great Schools North Carolina (GSNC) is opening the application window for its School Quality Grant from August 26 to September 9.
This 18-month program includes:
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Up to $150,000 in direct funding per school
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Cohort-based learning and community
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Tailored coaching and partnership support
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A full year of implementation resources to move your school from good to great
This opportunity is for independent, non-profit public charter schools that:
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Have a school leader in place for at least one year
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Have two years of state testing data (SY23–24 & SY24–25)
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Have a rating of D or higher on the most recent NC School Report Card
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Met or exceeded growth on the most recent NC School Report Card
Want to learn more? Join the Info Session on August 19 to explore how GSNC can support your next chapter. Register here!
Fall 2025 AI Webinar Series 🧑💻
NCDPI's Office of Digital Teaching and Learning offers a Wednesday webinar series to support AI literacy and the implementation of AI in North Carolina.
All webinars are held from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Upcoming offerings include:
- August 20 - Back-to-School with Custom GPTs: Time-Saving Tools for Teachers with Meredith Hill
- August 27 - AI and Assistive Technology with Josh Barton
- September 3 - Amazing AI Updates: Back to School 2025 with Vera Cubero
- September 17 - Part 1: Traditional to Transformative: Realizing the Promise of Education in an AI-Enabled World- with Vera Cubero
- September 24 - AI Literacy for K5 w/ RoboWunderkind
- October 8 - Part 2: Traditional to Transformative: Realizing the Promise of Education in an AI-Enabled World with Vera Cubero
Learn more about the webinar series and find registration links here.
Sign Up for NCDPI Newsletters
Did you know NCDPI produces a variety of newsletters on various topics across North Carolina K-12 education? Whether you’re looking for news on school counseling, digital teaching & learning resources, middle school science or K-12 education legislation updates, there is something for everyone.
A few examples of subscription offerings are:
- K-12 Education Legislative Update
- News Releases
- Digital Accessibility Newsletter
- Exceptional Children Information for Parents
Click here and enter your email address to see all the subscription lists and newsletters available to receive.
NC College Connect Informational Webinars for Educators, Parents and Students 🧑🎓
NC College Connect is a groundbreaking initiative offering direct college admission to eligible high school seniors across the state for the 2025–2026 school year! Open to public high school seniors with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher who meet course requirements, students will be matched with colleges where they already qualify — no traditional application needed. Eligible students will be notified this fall.
Check out the website to learn more, or attend one of the webinars below.
Educator Webinars
Student/Parent Webinars
Student/Parent Office Hours
NCVPS Live, Certified Instruction Now Available for Middle Schools
North Carolina Virtual Public School launched In-Real-Time (IRT) with tremendous success. This live, synchronous instruction program is designed specifically for middle school students. IRT brings certified NC teachers directly into your middle school classrooms—supporting schools that are facing vacancies, working with substitutes, or simply seeking stronger instructional options. With flexible scheduling and real-time lessons in core subjects, IRT is already helping districts deliver the teaching their students need—right when they need it.
👉 Learn more and register for our upcoming informational webinars: https://conta.cc/44jtmRW
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NCVPS 2025-2026 Enrollment Now Open!
NCVPS has opened registration early to support schools and districts as they prepare for the transition to the new statewide student information system. Schools and students can now explore our updated course catalog and plan for summer, fall, and spring enrollment. We recently added Honors 1 and 2 options for French, Latin, and Spanish, and we have a new filtering feature in our registration system to make finding courses easier. As you register, consider Early Start vs. Standard Start options to align with your school’s academic calendar. Don’t wait—secure your enrollments today! See all the details in our latest NCVPS E-lert.
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Share excellence in education!
Post exceptional student work or exciting happenings at your NC Charter School. Then tag or mention OCS on Social Media for others to see!
Remember when you share on social media to use #WeAreNCCharters or @NCCharterOffice
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Standards of Professional Conduct
Please download and distribute this OCS guidance document.
Charter School Job Postings
Job postings will include the posted date and will be deleted after two months. Schools may request early removal or extension. Contact Joseph.Letterio@dpi.nc.gov with a posting link.
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Ashley Baquero • Director, Office of Charter Schools
Please send general inquires to ocs@dpi.nc.gov
Contact information for area specialists can be found on the Office of Charter Schools Directory.
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