As we move toward the May 8 crossover deadline, the deadline for bills to pass a full vote from one chamber and move to the other, over 130 K12 education bills have been filed this session in the NC General Assembly. As the legislative session continues, we will track bills that align with our Top Education Issues and highlight several policy areas each week.
This week, we’ve been closely watching two bills that would have large impacts on our students, educators, and school communities.
H806 (Public School Operational Relief) removes class size restrictions, currently in place for grades K-3, and reduces the required percentage of certified teachers in public schools from 100% to only 50% of teachers. These proposals, presumably intended to address staffing issues in schools, would negatively impact student learning. Keeping class sizes smaller is critical for student learning. In early grades in particular, research shows that achievement in math and reading is supported by smaller class sizes. High-quality, certified teachers are critical for student success. Recent research in Texas found that students with new, uncertified teachers lost the equivalent of about 4 months of learning in reading and 3 months in math. This bill was referred to the House K-12 Committee.
H636 (Promoting Wholesome Content for Students) has attracted a lot of attention and is moving quickly through the General Assembly. If enacted, among other provisions, this bill would require local school boards to establish 10-member community library advisory committees to investigate challenges– which could be made by any community member– to texts. The Department of Public Instruction would be required to maintain a public, online database of any rejected books submitted by local boards. Critics of the bill maintain that it would target more content than attended and question how content would be assessed as harmful or “pervasively vulgar”– a term without legal definition. This bill passed the House on Wednesday, and will be taken up in the Senate next.
Finally, the Senate’s budget proposal was also released this week. In sharp contrast to Governor Stein’s proposed budget, released in March, the Senate budget includes a much lower average salary increase of 2.3% for educators over the 2025-27 biennium. Non-certified staff would get a 1.25% raise. It maintains funding for private school vouchers at the same level as this year, and does not introduce any additional accountability measures for participating private schools.
The Legislature will be on spring break next week, but we expect a lot of activity to follow shortly thereafter as the budget process continues and the House releases their proposed budget in May. Stay tuned!
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