Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

September 1, 2026

SECTION I: OCS PRIORITY ITEMS

Senate Bill 227 Annual Certification Due September 1, 2026

Senate Bill 227 Annual Certification of CompliancePursuant to Senate Bill 227 (Session Law 2026-20), Eliminating "DEI" in Public Education, each Public School Unit (PSU) is required to annually certify compliance with the requirements of the law.

Action: Please complete the SB 227 Annual Certification Form by 5:00 PM on September 1, 2026.

The certification requires the Superintendent or Executive Director to attest that the PSU has conducted a good-faith review of applicable policies, practices, programs, organizational structures, personnel assignments, instructional materials, and professional development activities and has taken any necessary actions to ensure compliance with Senate Bill 227. Supporting documentation should be maintained locally and made available upon request. Consider working with your legal team for assistance.

Linked is the list of questions included in the reporting form.

• Charter/Other PSU SB 227 Annual Certification Form 2026

All public schools, including charters, must submit the certification form by Tuesday, September 1st. If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact ocs@dpi.nc.gov.

2025-2026 EC Transfer Funding - Charters Only

Section 7.56 of SL 2026-41 directs the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to allocate additional Exceptional Children (EC) funding to eligible charter schools that did not receive an additional prorated allocation for a child with disabilities enrolled during the first 60 days of the 2025-2026 school year.

This survey is only for charter schools that did not complete the survey during the 2025-26 school year. If your school completed the survey during the 2025-26 school year, you are not eligible and should not submit another response.

A direct link to the survey was emailed to each charter school that did not complete the survey last school year. If you received the link, please complete the survey by September 15, 2026. If you did not receive a survey link and believe your school is eligible, please review the eligibility list posted in the What's New section of our webpage.

As a reminder, being eligible to complete the survey simply means your school did not complete it during the 2025-26 school year. Survey eligibility does not indicate eligibility to receive funding. One survey is required per every ten eligible students.

Funding eligibility requirements and the verification process are outlined in the guidance document available on our webpage. Please review that document for additional information.

If you have any questions, please contact cody.edwards@dpi.nc.gov.

Protect Our Students

September Office Hours The Office of Charter Schools at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has two offerings for PD sessions in the month of September, so take advantage of as much learning as you can to start the new year. We look forward to welcoming you to the first of several support sessions planned throughout the year.

September 16th Virtual Office Hour:

September 17th Virtual Office Hour:

Updated School Attendance and Student Accounting (SASA) Manual

This is a MUST HAVE resource for all charter school administrators. 

Current SASA Manual

Register for 2026 NCED Connect Symposium

Registration is now open for the 2026 NCED Connect Symposium, Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro.

Educators, technology leaders, school library media coordinators, student information systems professionals and education partners from across North Carolina will explore digital learning, artificial intelligence, instructional technology, leadership and more. Attendees will discover new ideas, connect with colleagues and expand their professional networks.

Whether the focus is digital learning, AI, instructional technology, school library media, student information systems (NCSIS) for school and central office leadership, Cybersecurity, NCEES, Schoolnet/Instructional Improvement System, or other educational initiatives, there's something at this symposium for everyone in the field for school and district based leadership. It's a great opportunity to connect with educators and leaders from across North Carolina, pick up ideas and strategies to bring back to your schools and districts, and grow professional networks. We will also have our first AI Student Showcase where you can learn straight from students across the state along with implementation from our PSUs.

Learn more and register for the 2026 NCED Connect Symposium here.

Parents’ Bill of Rights Reporting: Parents’ Guide to Student Achievement and Data

Due September 15, 2026

Based on legislation and SBE PRNT-002, it’s time for you to update your Parents’ Guide to Student Achievement and submit data regarding the Parents’ Bill of Rights appeals.  Please complete the reporting form by September 15, 2026; but we hope you will submit by June 30 so you can have it all wrapped up before the next school year.  Please make sure your links are clear and accessible for the PGSA.  Remember that what you submit is what will be exactly shared with the NCGA.    

Linked is the report that SBE submitted last year to the NCGA.

Linked is the list of questions that are in the reporting form, essentially the same as last year.

• LEA PBOR Reporting Form 2026
• Charters/Other PSUs PBOR Reporting Form 2026

If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact Jennifer Lloyd at jennifer.lloyd@dpi.nc.gov.

Charter School TOY/POY

We’re excited to begin preparations for the 2027 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year and the 2027 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year selection processes!

To help ensure a smooth and connected nomination cycle, we ask that each charter school update their district point of contact information for both programs using the Google Form linked below. 

2026 Update - NC TOY/POY Coordinators

As the TOY and/or POY Coordinator for your charter school, you are responsible for following your local selection guidelines. Please note the following eligibility requirements:

Principal of the Year (POY) nominees must:

• Have at least four years of experience as an administrator
• Hold a valid principal's license
• Be a practicing school administrator for the full duration of the recognition year

Teacher of the Year (TOY) nominees must:

• Hold a Standard Professional II (Continuing) License
• Be employed full-time
• Spend at least 70% of their time providing direct instruction to NC public school students
  Note: Teachers with Initial, Residency, International Faculty, Permit to Teach, Emergency, or Limited Licenses are not eligible to advance.

After local selection, I will communicate directly with your school’s Teacher and Principal of the Year to support them and collect their portfolios. Submission deadlines are:

• TOY Portfolios: Due September 16, 2026
• POY Portfolios: Due October 21, 2026

If you have any questions or need support at any point in the process, please feel free to reach out to the program coordinator directly:

Elizabeth Santamour
elizabeth.santamour@dpi.nc.gov

Thank you for your continued partnership in celebrating and elevating excellence in education!

Nominations Open- NCCAT 2027 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Beginning Teacher of the Year

Dear Superintendents and BT Coordinators,

Nominations for the NCCAT 2027 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Beginning Teacher of the Year are now open. Please submit your district or charter school’s nominee to this link by Friday, October 2^nd. Details regarding eligibility and awards can be found at the BTOY webpage- www.nccat.org/btoy. Should you have any questions, please contact emily.langdon@nccat.org

SECTION II: SCHOOL BUSINESS UPDATES

August 27, 2026

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.

Federal Grants Ending on or Before Sept 30, 2026

Immediate Reversion Report - All PSUs

This entry serves as a 45-day notice that there are several federal grants whose period of performance ends September 30, 2026. The list of ending grant year funds was also posted on August 19th to our What's New page.

The funds at risk of being reverted can be identified using the DART 300. PSU Immediate Reversions report or the 4. Funds Available to Request Report in the Cash App, filtered by grant year. The DART 300 report is based on current MFR data. Please review and check expenditures, valid encumbrances, and invalid encumbrances. The report will be updated based on September MFR data during the September zero out and used to calculate allotment reversions.

Be aware that the cash zero-out may impact your remaining balances. Please review your federal allotments in the coming weeks to ensure you have expended the funds before the expiring grants end. This includes ensuring you have recorded all expenditures, and if needed eligible encumbrances, to the appropriate grant year in your system. All encumbrances must be reflected in your September MFR file. Please ensure that your encumbrances are recorded to the proper object codes, otherwise funds will revert. Encumbrances for these grants must be liquidated by December 31st.

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).

21st Century Community Learning Centers - Non-LEAs/ERaCA Users

If you use ERaCA to access funds for the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program, please note that you must expend all expiring funds (grant years 2022-2025) on or before September 30, 2026. ERaCA will be open through October 31, 2026, for you to request reimbursement for these expenditures, but all expenditures must be dated on or before September 30, 2026.

If you have questions regarding these funds, please contact SchoolFinancialReporting@dpi.nc.gov.

Paid Parental Leave Update - All PSUs

On July 6, 2026, Governor Stein signed Senate Bill 1041 into law. The new law (Session Law 2026-40) repeals the existing State Human Resources Act (Chapter 126 of the General Statutes) and replaces it with a new State Human Resources Act (Chapter 126A). The change is effective October 1, 2026. Included in the new State Human Resources Act is G.S. 126A-71, which extends the total amount of parental leave available to State employees and public school employees from the existing 8 weeks for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents to 12 weeks for all parents who experience a qualifying event. The law further directs the State Human Resources Commission to adopt rules to implement parental leave for State employees and directs local boards of education to adopt policies that are substantially similar to those adopted by the Commission.

The State Board of Education has an existing rule governing paid parental leave for public school employees, codified in the North Carolina Administrative Code at 16 NCAC 06C .408. The Department is currently awaiting a notice of proposed rulemaking from the State Human Resources Commission before recommending changes to the State Board rule, but it is unlikely any changes to the rule will become effective before October 1, 2026.

The Department of Public Instruction has taken the position that the State Board rule remains valid notwithstanding the changes to the State Human Resources Act, with the exception of the change to the total amount of parental leave available to eligible employees from 8 (or 4) weeks to 12 weeks. Although not legally binding on public school units in the absence of a formal rule change, the Department is currently planning to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave to eligible Department of Public Instruction employees who become parents on or after October 1, 2026 in accordance with state law. Accordingly, the Department recommends that public school units consider the Department's position when updating local policies and regulations. As always, public school units and their governing bodies should consult with their local attorney before making changes or considering individual employee cases.

Prior Year Refunds Update - All PSUs

The next processing date for prior year refunds will be noon on Monday, August 31st. Any entries not made by that time will not be processed until September. We are working on processing amounts for FY2025-26 refunds due to DPI, but those are not yet posted.

As a reminder, effective in mid-April the process for returning prior year State funds for overspent PRCs, overspent months used, overspent salaries, and penalties has moved to the Cash App. In order to facilitate a clean transition into the new process, they are no longer available on the Refunds and Repayments Droplet form and SBS will no longer accept manual checks for these refund types. PSUs should continue to use the form and manual checks to return TD-19, IDEA Maintenance of Effort, Questioned Costs, Sales Tax funds, and other state refunds. 

LEAs can view their prior year overspent State funds and penalties using the "Prior Year Refund" menu in the Cash App. Please contact CashMgt@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions.

SECTION III: RESOURCES + EVENTS

Attention: NC Remote Charter Academy Operators

NC Association for Public Charter Schools, under NC GROW, is currently conducting research on remote academies within North Carolina's charter school sector, and as we expand this work, we want to make sure we are learning directly from the people doing this work every day, not just reviewing it from the outside.

We would truly appreciate the chance to meet with you to hear about your experience operating a remote academy. Specifically, we would like to understand what has worked well, what challenges you have run into, and what kind of support, if any, would be most beneficial to you and other remote academy operators.

We are scheduling discussion sessions between August 24th and September 3rd. Please use the link to find a time that works for you.

Take Your Co-Teaching Partnership Statewide!

• Collaborate with educators from across North Carolina.
• Strengthen your co-teaching practices using evidence-based strategies.
• Develop classroom-ready resources to share statewide.
• Grow as a teacher leader while making a lasting impact on multilingual learner instruction.
• Receive sponsorship for approved costs related to required in-person meetings.
• Join a statewide community dedicated to improving outcomes for multilingual learners.

26-27 Webinar Series

Updated Computer Science Course Lists for SY26-27

Pursuant to G.S. 115C-12(9d), the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has published updated Computer Science Middle School Elective Offering and High School Graduation Requirement course lists. The updated high school course list adds ten new course options, and the updated middle school course list adds three new middle school elective options along with four additional high school courses that can be taught in middle school. Completion of any course identified on the approved High School Courses Eligible for Middle School list will satisfy both the CS middle school course elective offering and high school graduation requirement.

Pursuant to G.S. 115C-12(9d), Local Implementation Delay Waiver Requests were available only for 2024–2025 and 2025–2026; no waivers are permitted for full implementation beginning in 2026–2027.

Link: NCDPI Computer Science Graduation Requirement

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

-. 

NOTE- To sign up for the Office of Federal Programs listserv, please contact your assigned Consolidated Program Administrator.  Contacts can be found by clicking this link and selecting your region at the bottom of the page.

NCVPS Expands Computer Science Options for Spring 2027

NCVPS is expanding its Computer Science offerings with two new courses for Spring 2027.

These additions give students more opportunities to build knowledge and skills in growing areas of technology while giving schools additional options for meeting North Carolina’s Computer Science graduation requirement.

Current Computer Science Courses

• CP10 – Python Programming I Honors
• 2A02 – AP Computer Science A
• 0A02 – AP Computer Science Principles
• CS31 – SAS Base Programming Honors
• CS10 – Introduction to Computer Science - New course launched Fall 2026 for high school and middle school
• CS30 – Introduction to Data Science - New course launched Fall 2026 for high school and middle school

New for Spring 2027

NCVPS is continuing to grow our Computer Science offerings to support schools and districts across the state.I 

• CA10 – Artificial Intelligence - New course launching Spring 2027 for high school and middle school
• CI30 – Cybersecurity I Honors - New course launching Spring 2027 for high school

View all courses at: ncvps.org/catalogs.

SECTION IV: OCS + CHARTER HAPPENINGS

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

Charter School Job Postings

Job postings will include the posted date and will be removed after two months. Schools may request early removal or extension. Contact Joseph.Letterio@dpi.nc.gov with a posting link.

• American Renaissance School in Statesville have multiple openings including Middle, Elementary and EC teachers, and Elementary School Principal. https://arsnc.org/careers/ (7/28)
• GLOW Academy- EC Teacher, and6th Grade ELA Teacher (6/30)
• Honor Prep - Bilingual[Spanish-English] Classroom Teacher (9/1)
• Pine Springs Preparatory Academy-EC Director (8/11)
• Pocosin Charter School- 2nd Grade, and 5th Grade Teacher (8/25)
• Voyager Academy - 5th Grade ELA Teacher and 5th Grade Math Teacher  (6/30)

Ashley Logue  • 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.