Advocacy

The House of Representatives passed the Arts Education as a Graduation Requirement, HB 127.  The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration.  The bill text can be found here.

PTA members from North Carolina traveled to Washington D.C. in March for the PTA Legislative Conference. NCPTA caught up with a few volunteers along the way while visiting leaders on Capitol Hill, and they agreed to share photos and comments about their experience. “It was a wonderful experience to be with other parents and volunteers advocating for children around the country.” – Donald Dunn, NCPTA President-Elect, Lewisville “The Legislative Conference was a big eye opener for me due to the fact that I was a newbie. I enjoyed meeting new PTA representatives from all over the U.S. and felt very honored to

Here is a link to Governor McCrory’s press release on the new Board members.

The North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously passed the Back to Basics bill, a bill that mandates that public schools teach cursive handwriting and memorization of multiplication tables.  The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The language of House Bill 498, a bill that would mandate insurance coverage for individuals with autism, can be found here.

Representatives Holloway, Glazier, Faircloth, and Lucas have introduced the 2013 School Safety Act.  This bill supports funding for additional mental health counselors and school resource officers, as well as stregthens school improvement teams and school crisis plans  The bill also requires that guidance counselors spend 80% of their time providing direct services to students.  NCPTA Executive Director Debra Horton attended the press conference in support of this important bill.  The text of HB 452 can be viewed here.  

SB 337 would create a North Carolina Charter School Board. To see the language of SB 337, click here

State Superintendent June Atkinson presented to the General Assembly Joint Education Appropriations Committee today.  Click here to see her presentation documents.

House Bill 435 School Performance Grades was introduced today.  This bill provides for the calculation of school performance scores by the State Board of Education. House Bill 428 North Carolina School Bus Safety Act was also introduced.  This bill increases the penalties for passing a stopped school bus.

Below is a list of education-related bills currently under consideration by the North Carolina General Assembly.  If you would like to read the actual bill text, simply click on the link and then on the highlighted name of the bill. HB 18 Youth Skin Cancer Prevention Act: raises minimum age for tanning equipment without a prescription from 14 to 18. HB 51/SB 14 Increase Access to Career Technical Education:  directs the State Board of Education to 1. develop career and college endorsements for high school diplomas; 2. increase access to career and technical education teachers in public schools; and 3. work with