Advocacy

Senate Bill 337, NC Public Charter School Board, received a favorable report in the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting today.  To see the bill language click here.

Senate Bill 320, Improve Education for Children Who Are Deaf, received a favorable report in the Senate Education Committee today.  To see the bill language click here.

NCPTA has received several calls from parents who are interested in talking with their legislators about House Bill 944 Opportunity Scholarship Act.  This bill would provide up to $4,200 per year  to go to private school tuition for children currently in public school or starting kindergarten or first grade.  The bill provides that in order for a child to be eligible, the child must reside in a household with income not in excess of 300% of the federal poverty level. The bill has been assigned to the House Education Committee.  For a list of Education Committee members, you can click here.

The House unanimously passed a School Safety bill to help make schools safer in North Carolina.  Rep. Bryan Holloway, a primary sponsor from Stokes County said: “It is my opinion that this is the most comprehensive bill in the United States since the terrible tragedy that occurred in Newtown.”  The final version of House Bill 452 can be found here. The Senate passed a Back to Basics bill that will require the teaching of cursive handwriting and memorization of multiplication tables in schools.  A similar bill has already passed the House.

House Bill 824, Epi Pens in Schools, received a favorable report from the House Education Committee and will now be considered by the full House of Representatives.  The text of the bill can be found here.

House Bill 719, Education Improvement Act of 2013, passed the North Carolina House of Representatives.  The bill text can be found here.  This bill allows for removal of teachers for bad performance, increases the number of professional development credit requirements, and calls for a study on how to reward good teachers with merit pay.  The bill will now be considered by the Senate, which has its own education reform plan.  

House Bill 269, a bill that would grant scholarships up to $6,000 a year to children with disabilities to attend private or home school, received a favorable report in the House Education Committee and will now be heard by the Finance Committee.  To read the text of the bill click here.

House members filed HB 944 Opportunity Scholarship Act on Monday.  This bill would give students who transfer from public to private schools up to $4,200 a year to pay tuition. House Bill 944 would set aside $40 million in the budget year beginning July 1, and $50 million the following year to award the scholarships. The lead sponsor of the bill is Rep. Rob Bryan, R-Mecklenburg.  The bill provides that families at 300 percent of the federal poverty level or below would be eligible. Currently, 300 percent of the federal poverty level is $70,650 for a family of four.  

Representatives McGrady, Fulghum, Harrison, and Glazier this week introduced House Bill 848, the NC Toxic-Free Kids  Act.  This bill protects children from the health impact of toxic chemicals in children’s products by prohibiting the manufacture and sale of children’s products containing certain toxic substances.

Here is a link to today’s News and Observer article on differences between the House and Senate’s education reform bills.  To view the text of SB 361, click here and to view the text of HB 719, click here.