Highlights
Public School Forum of North Carolina - Host: Amos Fodchuk | February 9, 2026
Guests: Representative Alan Branson, Superintendent Don Phipps, Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, Representative Amos Quick, III, and Rachel Candaso, 2025 NC Teacher of the Year
Legislators in Schools Week is slated for the week of April 13, 2026. All members of the North Carolina General Assembly are invited to spend a day or a few days visiting the local schools they represent.
Education Matters aims to provide the public with real facts about the state of public education in North Carolina. The weekly television show explores everything from the history of public education to the impact of legislation and policy decisions on our public schools.
The Carolina Journal - Theresa Opeka | February 11, 2026
Building on being named the best state for business, economic development, and workforce development, North Carolina is allocating funds to a state program that will connect high school students with career opportunities through pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships.
Gov. Josh Stein announced on Tuesday that funds from the US Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act will be dedicated to NC Career Launch (NCCL), which will be used to grow youth apprenticeships across the state in a variety of industries and provide financial support for both employers and students, with a special focus on supporting youth apprenticeships in western North Carolina.
“Apprenticeships are one of the best ways to support students, businesses, and communities across the state,” he said during a Tuesday press conference. “Eleventh and 12th graders have important decisions to make about their futures. It’s our job to provide them with real options, options that offer meaningful career paths right in their home communities.”
NCDPI Press Release | February 13, 2026
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) has been awarded more than $11 million in federal funding to strengthen school-based mental health services, following a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Education. The two grants received will support school psychology training, recruitment and retention efforts, with a focus on high-need and rural school districts.
The Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant will provide $4.8 million over four years for the NC School Psychology Internship Program, known as NC SPIn. The project is designed to expand access to school psychologists by funding salary and housing stipends for school psychologist interns serving in high-need, primarily rural school districts. The grant also supports high-quality supervision for interns and provides training for interns and practicing school psychologists to implement both preventative and intensive mental health interventions for students.
North Carolina was also awarded $6.4 million over four years through the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant to support the NC School Psychologists Supporting our Students (SoS) project. This initiative will increase the number of school psychologists serving high-need districts by providing recruitment and retention stipends.
North Carolina State Board of Elections Press Release | February 10, 2026
In-person early voting for the 2026 primary election began on Thursday and ends at 3 p.m. February 28 in all 100 counties. Statewide, 319 early voting sites will open for voters in the primary, when voters will select candidates to move on to the general election ballot in November.
The following are 10 tips for voters as early voting begins:
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Early voting locations. Eligible voters may cast a ballot at any early voting site in their county. For sites and hours in all 100 counties, use the Early Voting Sites Search tool. Also see Early Voting Sites for the March 3, 2026 Primary Election (PDF).
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Sample ballots. Sample ballots for the primary are available through the Voter Search tool. Knowing your candidate choices in advance and being familiar with the ballot may help your voting experience go more quickly.
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Primary ballot styles. In a partisan primary, voters affiliated with a political party may only vote their party’s ballot and may not vote in another party’s primary. Unaffiliated voters may choose any one political party’s ballot or a nonpartisan ballot, if available in their jurisdiction, in a primary election.
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Same-day registration. Individuals who missed the regular voter registration deadline on February 6 may register and vote at the same time during the early voting period. For more information, visit Register in Person During Early Voting.
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Updating a registration. When you check in to vote at an early voting site, you may update your name or address within the same county, if necessary. You may not change your party affiliation at an early voting site during a primary election.
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Bring your photo ID. Voters will be asked to show photo ID when they check in to vote. More information about the photo ID requirement is available at BringItNC.gov.
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Free photo IDs. Any registered voter who needs a photo ID can get one for free from their county board of elections office during the early voting period, which ends on February 28. For details, go to Get a Free Voter Photo ID.
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Voter assistance. Voters in need of assistance may bring an eligible person to help them enter and exit the polling place or to help them complete their ballot according to the voter’s instructions. For more information, visit Curbside Voting.
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No ballot photos. North Carolina law prohibits photographing or videotaping voted ballots.
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Peace at the polls. The State Board asks that all voters respect the rights of others to participate in the election. Intimidating any voter is a crime. Voters who feel harassed or intimidated should notify an election official immediately.
For more information about early voting, please visit Vote Early in Person.
March State Board of Education Meeting
- Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 10 a.m.
- Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 9 a.m.
NC State Board of Education in the News:
EdNC - Sergio Osnaya-Prieto | February 9, 2026: North Carolina had the third-highest number of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses in the nation during the 2023-24 school year, according to a Department of Public Instruction (DPI) presentation, with 550,918 students participating in CTE courses. Relative to overall K-12 enrollment, the state ranked second for participation in these courses nationwide, with 36.1% of students enrolled in a CTE course.
The Board also heard a presentation from Geoff Coltrane, senior director of government affairs for DPI, on legislative priorities for the 2026 short session, which is set to convene on April 21. Coltrane said the superintendent, DPI, and the Board have an “overall” priority for fiscal year 2026-27 to strengthen public schools by raising all public school employees’ pay, with the goal of having the highest teacher salaries in the Southeast.
BEST NC estimated that after adjusting for cost-of-living, the state’s $58,292 average teacher salary ranked 10th in the Southeast, according to Coltrane’s presentation. Without that adjustment, the state ranked eighth in the region and 43rd nationwide during the 2023-24 school year.
Access all YouTube recordings of SBE meetings here.
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NCDPI Press Release | February 9, 2026
More than 23,000 public high school seniors have accepted direct admission offers from North Carolina colleges and universities through the NC College Connect program.
Between August 2025 and January 2026, students accepted more than 88,000 offers from participating colleges and universities in the second year of the direct admissions program.
That means approximately 21% of the Class of 2026 accessed higher education through NC College Connect.
Seniors at North Carolina public high schools are eligible for NC College Connect if they have a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above and meet certain course requirements. Based on their qualifications, each student was offered automatic admission to a select list of North Carolina colleges and universities – with no need to complete a traditional application.
This year, 11 of the state’s public universities participated, as well as 29 private colleges and universities and all 58 NC community colleges.
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Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026
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Presiding: Senator Overcash, Co-Chair
- Dr. John Hauser, President of Gaston College
- Jasmine Cox-Wade, Executive Director, Textile Technology Center
- Charles Heilig, President and CEO, Parkdale Mills
- Dr. Andrew G. Houlihan, Superintendent, Union County Schools
- Dr. John-Paul Smith, Executive Director, NC Education Corps
- Dr. Mike Ward, Chair, Board of Directors, NC Education Corps
- Hon. D. Craig Horn, Member, Board of Directors, NC Education Corps
- Emily Marsh, Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs
- Nina Walls, Director of Innovation/CTE, Rockingham County Schools
- Charles Perkins, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Rockingham County Schools
- Sylvia Cox, President, Rockingham Community College
- Maurice "Mo" Green, Superintendent, Department of Public Instruction (DPI)
- Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, Deputy Superintendent, DPI
- Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, Chief Academic Officer, DPI
- Dr. Kristi Day, Director for Office of Teaching and Learning, DPI
- Dr. Charles Aiken, Section Chief for Math, Science and STEM, DPI
- Geoff Coltrane, Senior Director of Government Affairs and Strategy, DPI
EdNC - Liz Bell | February 12, 2026
Educators are aiming to connect students not just with high-quality instruction, but with in-demand jobs. School and program leaders shared how they are aligning their work with employers’ needs with the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (JLEOC) on Wednesday. The committee consists of legislators from both chambers and typically meets in between legislative sessions to consider education issues.
Evolving math options based on goals after high school
The state’s education leaders are revising K-12 math standards, according to a presentation from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). These are the end goals of a course or grade, while curriculum encompasses how educators help students reach those goals, explained Kristi Day, director of the Office of Teaching and Learning at DPI.
The State Board of Education sets standards, while curricular choices are made at the local level.
Day said DPI started this process in 2024 and plans to have new standards in place by the 2028-29 school year. This summer, the state Board will vote on the changes. “The changes are coming based on workforce needs,” Day said. Day said the math standards revisions are aligned with Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green’s strategic plan through strengthening K-12 teaching and learning and boosting early learning.
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K-12 Education Bills
Bills To Watch
The following bills have been placed on the House Calendar for Monday, March 9, 2026, although no votes are expected at this time.
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HB 87 Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA).
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HB 171 Equality in State Agencies/Prohibition on DEI.
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SB 50 Freedom to Carry NC.
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SB 153 North Carolina Border Protection Act.
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SB 227 Eliminating "DEI" in Public Education.
Reminder: Bills ≠ Laws
Only a few dozen bills typically make it “across the finish line” and become law each legislative session.
- For the current 2025 legislative session, 1,800+ total bills were introduced.
- Of these, 108 bills have become law so far.
- Of these 108 new laws, NCGA staff have noted 42 laws relate to education in some way.
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