This week in Washington, D.C., the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies released its Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations bill, which, if passed, would […]
August 29 Policy Updates
The General Assembly has yet to pass a state budget, leaving school districts to navigate funding gaps and uncertainty as the new year begins. Families feel these pressures directly, even […]
Public Dollars, Private Schools: Evaluating Access, Affordability, and Accountability in North Carolina’s Universal Voucher Program
As the education privatization movement has spread across the country, school voucher programs have become more common and more expansive in many states. These programs use taxpayer dollars to provide […]
August 15 Policy Updates
Last week, the State Board of Education approved the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) five-year strategic plan, titled “Achieving Educational Excellence.” Meanwhile, Governor Stein signed the state’s mini-budget into law, […]
August 1 Policy Updates
The NCGA was back in session this week and followed an unusually busy agenda–from overriding eight vetoes to opting North Carolina into a vague and still-unfolding federal education voucher program. […]
July 18 Policy Updates
The NCGA is still on vacation, and we await further action on the budget when they return. It’s been another active week on the federal level, however, with big updates […]
July 4 Policy Updates
The NCGA is on vacation, and state budget talks are still stalled. This week has been busy at the federal level, however, with an updated reconciliation bill passing Congress, and […]
June 20 Policy Updates
Budget talks between North Carolina House and Senate GOP leaders have stalled, but other legislation concerning students in our schools has moved forward. This week, we take a look at […]
June 6 Policy Updates
As we await further news on the North Carolina budget, this week we turn our attention to the details of President Trump’s FY2026 budget request. This proposal would dramatically reduce […]
May 23 Policy Updates
This week, all eyes are on the House as North Carolina representatives present and debate their budget proposal for the 2025-27 biennium. Our analysis takes a deeper dive into all […]
May 16 Policy Updates
The NC legislative session is really heating up this week, and we now have more clarity on which of the over 130 K12 education bills filed this session have retained […]
May 9 Policy Updates
It’s crossover week at the General Assembly, so it’s been busy in Raleigh. We continue to sort through details of which bills have moved prior to the May 8 deadline, […]
May 2 Policy Updates
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 […]
April 25 Policy Updates
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 […]
April 18 Policy Updates
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 […]
April 11 Policy Updates
Now that we have passed the bill filing deadlines for both the House and Senate, over 130 K12 education bills have been filed this session in the NC General Assembly. […]
April 4 Policy Updates
Now that we have passed the Senate bill filing deadline and are quickly approaching the House deadline, over 100 K12 education bills have been filed this session in the NC […]
March 28 Policy Updates
Two policy areas we’re watching closely at the legislature: This week over 70 K12 education bills were filed in the NC General Assembly! This is not unusual since the Senate […]
2025-27 Governor’s Budget Proposal Analysis
The North Carolina budgeting process for the 2025-27 biennium officially kicked off this week with the release of Governor Josh Stein’s proposed budget, which outlines his priorities for education policy […]
SB 227 Eliminating “DEI” in Public Education
It’s been a busy week at the NC General Assembly, with lots of legislation introduced that could have significant impacts on our students, schools, and educators. One bill that’s getting […]
Exploring Weighted Student Funding in North Carolina
In 2023, Senators Lee, Galey, and Barnes sponsored a bill that would convert North Carolina’s funding formula to a weighted student funding (WSF) model. Nationally, 41 states use student-based funding […]
Opportunity Scholarships and the Schools that Receive Them
The NC Senate recently voted to give a total of $632 million for taxpayer-funded private school vouchers to families of all income levels in 2024-25. HB823/SB406 appropriates an additional $248 […]
Rebuilding the Educator Pipeline — Policies and Practices to Make it Happen in NC
Teachers are the most important school-related factor that Impacting students’ academic outcomes. To meet the needs and potential of all students, North Carolina (NC) must be able to recruit and […]
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Trends Across North Carolina and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Research has continuously demonstrated that teachers are the most important school-related factor affecting student learning and achievement. However, in North Carolina and across the nation, districts and schools struggle to […]