As the filing deadline for appropriations bills came to a close at the General Assembly, more than 60 education-related bills have already been filed, offering an early look at competing visions for North Carolina’s public schools. These proposals reflect two realities shaping education policy in the state: growing interest in innovation and transformation, alongside persistent challenges around staffing, funding, and school stability.
Short Session Education Bills
Approximately fourteen bills focused on school funding and finance, addressing topics ranging from funding formulas to tax policy and resource allocation. Bills such as the Kids Over Corporations Act also motivated teachers to march in Raleigh and across the state, calling for a shift in what many advocates view as misguided legislative priorities.
Lawmakers also introduced eleven bills related to teacher compensation, benefits, workforce pipeline development, and professional support, including the bipartisan teacher licensure bill highlighted in last week’s Policy Corner. The Pay Teachers What They’re Worth Act proposes salary increases alongside a paid student teaching grant program designed to strengthen recruitment into the profession.
Another thirteen bills focused on student supports, health, and well-being, including proposals related to mental health services, universal school meals, and afterschool programming. Notably, afterschool legislation was filed in both chambers, signaling potential bicameral interest. Legislators also filed ten bills centered on school safety, student protections, school climate, and issues such as student screen time.
Nine additional bills addressed accountability, governance, and school choice. These included a joint resolution urging Congress to support dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, as well as legislation aimed at increasing accountability and reporting requirements for private schools receiving Opportunity Scholarship funds.
Finally, lawmakers introduced twelve bills related to instructional policy, graduation requirements, and emerging issues such as artificial intelligence. One omnibus proposal stands out as a broad systems redesign bill, combining funding, workforce, accountability, AI integration, and high school redesign initiatives into a single package. The proposal emphasizes competency-based education, personalized learning pathways, work-based learning, AI-enabled instruction, and a reimagining of the traditional high school structure. Also included is increased funding for Advanced Teaching Roles, awarding the program over $54 million in recurring funds.
Education Innovation without Stability
While innovation and systems redesign may help schools adapt to evolving workforce and student needs, meaningful transformation is difficult without first stabilizing the foundation of the education system itself. North Carolina continues to face significant workforce challenges, including teacher shortages, high attrition rates, and declining morale. Teachers have not received a raise since 2023, and the state is projected to fall to 46th in the nation for teacher pay.
Although some proposed legislation attempts to address workforce development and educator support, many proposals stop short of fully addressing the state’s most pressing challenge: competitive teacher compensation. Long-term innovation depends not only on new models and initiatives, but also on sustained investment in highly-qualified educators and school systems responsible for implementing them.
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