NCGA Week in Review: A Spotlight on Education

August 10, 2018

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The General Assembly returned to Raleigh on Saturday, August 4, 2018 to consider veto overrides of House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 3. The House voted in favor 70-39 to override the bills. Both the House and the Senate adjourned the extra session sine die. Legislators are not expected to re-convene until November 27, 2018.

The North Carolina General Assembly considered several education issues during the 2018 legislative short session. Below is a list of spotlighted bills that became law, as well as a list of bills that were filed in 2018, but did not become law.

Bills that became law in 2018

This section includes a sampling of education-related bills that became law this year, but is not all-inclusive. View all bills that became law during this biennium.

Appointments

HR 1102: Study Best Practice/Advanced Ed Opportunities
House resolution creates a nine-member study committee as title indicates. Requires the committee to study five specified issues and to report to the General Assembly by December 31, 2018, at which time the commission will terminate.

HB 1083: Appointments Bill 2018

  • Robert Barr of Forsyth County is appointed to the Winston-Salem State University Board of Trustees for a term expiring on June 30, 2021, to fill the unexpired term of Kenneth Raymond.
  • Effective July 1, 2018, Joseph Wayne King of Cleveland County is appointed to the Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees for a term expiring on June 30, 2022.

SB 308: Additional Speakers Appointments

  • Haywood Edwin White III of New Hanover County is appointed to the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for a term expiring on June 30, 2019, to fill the unexpired term of Christopher J. Leonard.
  • Heather S. VunCannon of Randolph County is appointed to the Charter School Advisory for a term expiring on June 30, 2019, to fill the unexpired term of Anthony Helton.

Community Colleges

HB 12: Community College Boards of Trustees
An act to modify the appointment method for the board of trustees of Cleveland Community College. Enacted June 20, 2018. Effective June 20, 2018.

SB 420: CC Governance/Amend Medical BD
An act to provide for circumstances in which the state board of community colleges may appoint an interim board of trustees to assume the powers and duties of a board of trustees; to clarify the time for elections of officers for boards of trustees; to require that a board of trustees meet at least six times a year; to authorize the state board of community colleges to require financial audits in certain circumstances; and to amend the membership of the North Carolina medical board. Enacted June 25, 2018. Effective June 25, 2018, except as otherwise provided.

SB 99: Appropriations Act of 2018
An act to modify the current operations Appropriations Act of 2017 and to make other changes in the budget operations of the State. Unless otherwise stated, effective July 1, 2018.

Budget highlights include:

  • Fully funds Community College enrollment growth by providing $2.7 million in FY 2018-19, which includes an adjustment to offset the effect of Hurricane Matthew.
  • Increases funding for continuing education and workforce development leading to industry credentials by $14.7 million ($6.4 million recurring and $8.3 million nonrecurring).
  • Extends the statewide implementation date for the Career and College.
  • Ready Graduate Program by two years to FY 2020-21.
  • Instructs the State Board of Community Colleges to conduct a study of the cost of earning regular budget full-time equivalents (FTE) for community college courses offered in local jails.

K-12

HB 90: Changes to Education and Election Laws
An act to provide additional funds to schools located in counties through which the Atlantic coast pipeline runs; to phase in class size requirements over four years; to create an allotment for program enhancement teachers; to modify transfer requirements for the classroom teacher and program enhancement teachers starting in 2018-2019; to make changes to personal education savings accounts; to appropriate funds for the NC pre-k program in future years; and to implement the North Carolina supreme court’s holding in Cooper vs. Berger by giving the governor increased control over the bipartisan state board of elections and ethics enforcement. Enacted March 16, 2018. Effective March 16, 2018, except as otherwise provided.

HB 92: Cherokee Reg. Plate/Teaching Agreement
An act to authorize the division of motor vehicles to produce an eastern band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized tribe, special registration plate and to provide an exemption from licensure for teaching Cherokee language and culture classes. Enacted June 13, 2018. Effective June 13, 2018.

HB 374: Regulatory Reform Act of 2018
An act to provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of North Carolina. Enacted June 27, 2018. Effective June 27, except as otherwise provided. 

HB 514: Permit Municipal Charter School/ Certain Towns
An act to permit certain towns to operate charter schools. Enacted June 7, 2018. Effective June 7, 2018

HB 670: Protect Educational Property
An act to increase the criminal penalty for communicating a threat of mass violence on educational property or at a place of religious worship, to provide for conditional discharge of persons convicted of those offenses when the offense is committed under the age of twenty, and to require a judge to set conditions of release for those offenses. Enacted June 25, 2018. Effective December 1, 2018.

HB 852: Real Prop. Tech Correc/Solicitation of Copies
Enacted June 25, 2018, Section 3A.1 “Clarify Eligibility for Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund Grants” is effective July 1, 2018.

HB 986: Various Changes To Education Laws
An act to make various changes to education laws. Enacted June 22, 2018. Effective June 22, 2018, except as otherwise provided.

  • Section 1. Cursive writing and multiplication report.
  • Section 2. Enrollment in advanced mathematics courses.
  • Section 3. Educator preparation program report cards.
  • Section 4. State superintendent testing study.
  • Section 5. Department of public instruction developmental health training.
  • Section 6(A). Renewal School System program and suicide risk referral protocol.
  • Section 6(B). submission of the renewal school system plan.

Part V would become effective when it becomes law. Overall bill effective date: Except as otherwise provided, HB 986 would become effective when it becomes law

SB 99: Appropriations Act of 2018
An act to modify the current operations Appropriations Act of 2017 and to make other changes in the budget operations of the State. Unless otherwise stated, effective July 1, 2018.

Budget highlights include:

  • Funds K-12 enrollment growth needs by providing $29.7 million in FY 2018-19 and giving DPI authority to utilize excess funds in other fund codes.
  • Provides $28 million in additional funding for school safety initiatives.
  • Expands the Advanced Placement partnership to provide additional support to schools offering advanced classes.
  • Expands the Sixth and Seventh Grade Career and Technical Education.
  • Grant Program to provide more CTE courses in earlier grades.
  • Doubles the number of LEAs that can participate in the Teacher.
  • Assistant Tuition Reimbursement 

HB 1031: Local Ed. Funding Dispute Process
An act repealing the statutory authority for a local board of education to file a legal action challenging the sufficiency of the funds appropriated by the board of county commissioners, providing a formula for determining the amount of funds to be appropriated in the event a budget dispute cannot be resolved by mediation, and establishing a working group to address fund balances maintained by local boards of education, as recommended by the joint legislative program evaluation oversight committee. Enacted June 25, 2018. Effective June 25, 2018.

SB 125: Various Changes to Education
An act to encourage local boards of education to adopt student attendance recognition programs and to provide that students serving as legislative or governor’s pages shall be eligible for participation in these programs and to expand eligibility of children to obtain certain scholarships under part 2 of article 14 of chapter 143b of the general statutes. Enacted June 22, 2018. Effective June 22, 2018.

UNC Systems

HB 1054: UNC Capital Projects
An act to authorize the acquisition or construction and the financing, without appropriations from the general fund, of certain capital improvements projects of the constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina. Enacted June 22, 2018. Effective June 22, 2018.

SB 99: Appropriations Act of 2018
An act to modify the current operations Appropriations Act of 2017 and to make other changes in the budget operations of the State. Unless otherwise stated, effective July 1, 2018.

Budget highlights include:

  • Provides $11 million additional funds for full implementation of NC Promise.
  • Provides $1.1 million in supplemental funding for three Lab Schools scheduled to open in FY 2018-19 (operated by UNC-W, UNC-G, and ASU).
  • Increases by $3 million the Special Education Scholarship Grant program.
  • Restores $500K funding cut to UNC Law School.
  • Provides $4.8 million in additional funds to the Western School of Medicine –Asheville.

SB 335/ HB 463: Budget Technical Corrections & Study
An act to make technical, clarifying, and other modifications to the current operations Appropriations Act of 2018 and to create the Legislative Commission on the Fair Treatment of College Student Athletes. Effective July 1, 2018.

SB 462: Change Name of UNC General Administration
An act to change the name of the University of North Carolina general administration to the University of North Carolina system office. Enacted June 15, 2018. Effective July 1, 2018 

Bills filed in 2018, but did not pass