Friday, June 12, 2026
Highlights
Senate Adjourns in Recognition of North Carolina Students, Teachers, and School Staff
The following is a transcript of remarks made by Senator Michael Garrett (D-Guilford), who requested to adjourn the Senate Session on Wednesday, June 10 in recognition of the successful completion of the 2025-2026 academic year.
Senator Michael Garrett - Moment of Personal Privilege | June 10, 2026
Madam President, before we adjourn, I want to take a moment.
Today is the last day of school in Guilford County.
Right now, across my county, buses are making their final runs of the year. Classrooms are emptying out. Teachers are standing in doorways saying goodbye to a group of kids they spent ten months pouring everything into, kids who walked in last August as one version of themselves and are walking out today as someone older, someone more capable, someone more ready for what comes next.
That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of people. The teachers who stayed late. The bus drivers and the cafeteria staff and the custodians and the counselors. The principals who know every kid's name. The families who got them there every morning. It takes all of them, working together, to carry a child through a year.
I'll be honest with you, this one's personal for me today. My daughter Charlotte just finished kindergarten. Her first full year. And watching her come home this afternoon, proud of herself, already a little bigger than she was in the fall, that's the whole thing, right there. That's what all of this is for.
So to every student in North Carolina who gave it their best this year: congratulations. To every teacher and every staff member who gave them somewhere to do it: thank you. You did something that matters.
And you did something that lasts. Every one of you will be remembered, for years, for decades, long after the lesson plans are forgotten. I'm forty-one years old and I still remember Mrs. Karas, my kindergarten teacher. That's what this work does. A great teacher doesn't just get a child through a year. They become part of who that child is for the rest of their life.
Madam President, in their honor, I move that we adjourn in recognition of North Carolina's students, teachers, and school staff on the successful completion of the 2025–2026 academic year.
[Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger]: "I move the Senate to now adjourn, in recognition of, school personnel across the state of North Carolina and our North Carolina public school students."
[Lieutenant Governor Hunt]: "We are adjourning in honor of North Carolina's students, teachers, and school staff."
WUNC News - Adam Wagner | June 11, 2026
Senate leader Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Destin Hall have started meeting for the first time since May.
During recent conversations with reporters, both Berger and Hall have said progress is being made but expressed some pessimism that they will be able to pass a budget during the week of June 15, a date leaders had long circled.
"I'm not optimistic that we'll have something to release next week. I continue to feel that we should be on track to get a budget done before the end of the month," Berger told reporters on Wednesday.
Berger and Hall announced an agreement in early May on a range of high-level budget matters, including a plan that would see the state's income tax rate reduced over the coming years; raises for state employees and teachers; and funding for a planned children's hospital.
The General Assembly has not passed a comprehensive state budget since 2023, with state government functions continuing at the spending levels outlined in that plan.
Republican lawmakers remained optimistic this week that a full agreement is coming, insisting that slow but steady progress is taking place outside of the public's eye.
Berger said that he and Hall have a number of matters to discuss. Those include how much money to put in the state's rainy day fund for use in the event of a disaster and whether to give the NC Innovation effort to help university researchers bring their projects to market. "I'm not aware of any issue that I perceive to be unresolvable," Berger said Wednesday.
Legislative Democrats have insisted that any further delay in a finished budget is unacceptable, pointing to rising inflation rates; high vacancy rates in key state agencies like state prisons and State Highway Patrol; and rising premiums for employees who are on the State Health Plan.
EdNC - Ben Humphries | June 9, 2026
North Carolina is still operating on a mix of continuing budget resolutions after lawmakers failed to pass a full state budget last year. In 2025, North Carolina was the only state in the country not to pass a state budget, following disagreements between the Republican-led House and Senate about pay raises, personal income taxes, and other budget items.
Speaker Hall and President Pro Tempore Berger, in announcing the budget deal, did not release a bill draft or money report detailing all of the budget’s provisions. Those provisions are now being finalized through negotiations in a conference committee that includes lawmakers from both chambers.
July State Board of Education Meeting
- July 9, 2026 (Virtual Meeting)
Activities of the NC State Board of Education
Access all YouTube recordings of SBE meetings here.
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Celebrate the Good in Public Education
WCPS Staff | May 14, 2026
Goldsboro, N.C. - Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) has been recognized by the Education Scorecard as a 2026 “District on the Rise.” The Education Scorecard is a collaboration between two of the nation’s leading education research centers, the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University and the Educational Opportunity Project (EOP) at Stanford University. WCPS was one of just 16 districts in the nation - and the only district in North Carolina - recognized for outperforming similar districts in both Math and Reading.
“Our district is committed to high standards, strong instruction, and continuous improvement,” said Dr. Marc A. Whichard, WCPS Superintendent. “To be recognized by two highly respected research institutions as a ‘District on the Rise’ is more than just an honor. It is an affirmation that the hard work taking place behind the scenes and in our classrooms is making a measurable impact that is visible to both our stakeholders and to those analyzing school performance data from state to state.”
The Education Scorecard provides a real-time, publicly accessible window into how students in local school districts across the United States are learning and growing. This year, 26 school districts nationwide earned the “District on the Rise” distinction for academic performance improving, or “rising,” faster than similar districts in the areas of Mathematics, Reading, or both.
To be designated as a “District on the Rise,” school districts must meet several criteria, including enrollment of more than 1,200 students in grades 3-8, valid achievement estimates available for 2019, 2022, and 2025, and a comparison group of at least four similar districts with valid achievement estimates for the same years.
District leaders note this latest recognition reflects the district’s academic momentum, significant academic performance gains over two consecutive years, and continued progress across the school district.
“It was during my first week on the job in the summer of 2023 when I was informed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction that Wayne County Public Schools had been designated as a ‘Low Performing School District’ based on its academic performance results,” adds Dr. Whichard. “In my opening days as superintendent, I established clear, non-negotiable expectations designed to help move our schools and district forward. Through the hard work and commitment of our staff and students, our district moved out of low-performing status within one year and advanced from 91st out of 115 school districts statewide to 62nd in just two years. Our goal is to continue this momentum and be approaching a top-45 district ranking when this year’s school performance results are released next fall.”
According to EducationScorecard.org, the Education Scorecard uses data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), allowing for “apples-to-apples comparisons” of student achievement across districts and states regardless of the assessments used by individual states.
To view the complete list of 2026 “Districts on the Rise,” click on educationscorecard.org/districts-on-the-rise.
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Legislative Lookback: Week of June 8, 2026
The following education related bills had action this week:
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HB 301 Social Media & AI Safety.
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HB 1114 GSC Technical Corrections 2026.
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HB 1123 UNC Omnibus & Capital Contracting Law Changes.
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SB 445 Regulatory Reform Act of 2026.
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A Look Ahead: Week of June 15, 2026
At the time of this publication, no education committees had been scheduled to meet.
The NCGA legislative calendar is updated frequently, so be sure to check the NCGA Homepage for the most up-to-date information on committee meetings, voting sessions, press conferences, and more. Current Legislative Calendar
House Calendar | House Chamber Dashboard
Senate Calendar | Senate Chamber Dashboard
Bills in the News:
The Carolina Journal - Andrew Pomeranz | June 10, 2026
The North Carolina House gave final approval to a bill delaying the use of new property tax values in counties that conducted 2026 reappraisals, sending the measure to Gov. Josh Stein.
Under Senate Bill 889, the Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium, counties that conducted property revaluations this year would be required to ignore their newly updated property values for the 2026-27 fiscal year and instead continue using values from their previous reappraisal. Beginning in the 2027-28 fiscal year, counties would then adopt the 2026 reappraisal values and continue using them until their next scheduled reappraisal cycle.
During debate on the House floor, several Democrats spoke in opposition to the legislation.
“I strongly believe that this bill is shortsighted to attempt to ease short-term financial pain,” said Rep. Tracy Clark, D-Guilford. “It will cause catastrophic trickle-down effects to all of the vital services uplifting Guilford County, from our schools to our public safety and beyond.”
Clark suggested that the legislation would cost Guildford County Schools $58 million in the upcoming fiscal year.
“We continually, in this building, make our public schools do more with less, and the fact that we have no state budget and we’re now passing this moratorium to prevent our county from doing what they need to do to pass their budget,” said Clark, a public school parent. “Taking away $58 million from Guilford County schools? I think it is disgusting and a disgrace.”
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K-12 Education Bills
- SB 889 Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium.
Education Bills to Watch
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HB 443 Const. Amendment: Council of State Vacancies.
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HB 451 Diabetes Education for Parents.
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HB 496 Patriotic Youth Group Access.
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HB 832 Education Omnibus.
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HB 1026 Remote Instruction for Excess Emergencies.
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HB 1043 CHCCS Act.
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HB 1086 Child Care Initiative Funds/Reform/Study.
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HB 1110 Early Intervention School Attendance Pilot.
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HB 1124 Interstate Compact for School Psychologists.
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HB 1126 2026 DST Admin/Technical/Clarifying Changes.-AB
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HB 1143 Principal Fellows & MSA Intern Stipends.
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HB 1163 Workforce Act of 2026.
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SB 840 Teacher Licensure Modifications.
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SB 864 Safe and Responsible AI in Schools Act.
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SB 986 Workforce Act of 2026.
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SB 990 Students First Act.
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SB 991 Community College Workforce Readiness Act.
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SB 1006 K-12 Innovation and Transformation Act.
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SB 1044 Foundational Mathematics Act.
Vetoed Bills on the House Calendar for Reconsideration
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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.
- During the 2025-27 biennium, 2,300+ total bills have been introduced so far.
- Of these, 114 bills have become law.
- Of these 114 new laws, NCGA staff have noted 45 laws relate to education in some way.
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