Legislators Send Mixed Messages on Student Safety |
Bills moving through the North Carolina General Assembly send mixed messages about student safety. On the one hand, lawmakers seek to establish statewide rules requiring criminal background checks on public school educators/administrators. On the other hand, they passed a bill making it easier to obtain and carry a concealed handgun, a move that is likely to endanger more students across the state. Senate Bill 50 "Freedom to Carry NC" allows people who are 18 or older to purchase and carry a concealed firearm without obtaining a permit or complete a firearms training course. Current law limits concealed handgun carry permits to people 21 or older who have obtained a permit. The permitting process involves passing a criminal background check. Rep. Morey pointed out during debate that while the bill makes it easier to obtain and carry a handgun, it clearly recognizes the increased danger the bill poses for law enforcement and other public officials (e.g., firefighters, probation officers) in its provisions to provide more compensation for those harmed by gun violence (including scholarship funds for their children). Morey’s amendment to reinstate the requirement to obtain a permit failed along party lines. However, in the final vote on Senate Bill 50, two Republicans voted against it and ten Republicans had an excused absence. All Democrats voted against it or had an excused absence. If Governor Stein vetoes the bill, there may not be enough votes in the House to override his veto. This is a bad bill. |
|
|---|
|
|
If this bill passes into law, it will increase the likelihood of 18-year-old students purchasing and carrying handguns with no training on how to properly use or store the weapon. North Carolina currently ranks 16th in the nation in rate of school shootings. This law may push the state even higher in the rankings. House Bill 775 "Criminal History Checks for School Positions" is still making its way through committees. It would establish a state law requiring criminal background checks on charter school board of directors and any person who applies for a North Carolina teaching license. Currently, state law requires all school districts to establish a policy regarding criminal background checks for school personnel. Charter schools within the attendance area of the local district must follow the local district’s policy. However, the law does not address initial members of a charter school’s board of directors or teaching license applicants. Another loophole pointed out by bill sponsors is that some small districts do not have a strong policy on criminal background checks, so staff at the district and at local charter schools may have been hired without one. In contrast, some large districts conduct criminal background checks on a daily basis to ensure that all staff meet the district’s safety policy. Missing from House Bill 775 is any mention of private schools. Current state law requires that only one staff person—the one with the highest decision-making authority—pass a criminal background check. A change to include private schools that accept state funding via tuition vouchers in the criminal background check requirement is a common-sense addition to the bill. The bill passed through the House Education K-12 Committee in a voice vote on Tuesday and now heads to the House Judiciary 2 Committee where it is scheduled for discussion on June 17. Please contact committee members to urge them to add private school staff to the criminal background check requirement. Private school students deserve as much protection as public school students! |
|
|---|
|
|
Have you seen our recent report on charter schools: North Carolina Charter Schools: Undermining Quality Education for All? We take a close look at charter schools in North Carolina, showing how they have failed to meet legislated goals and have evolved to become a separate system of pseudo public education at odds with state constitutional mandates. North Carolina has participated in a three-decade charter school experiment. This report explores the original justifications for charter schools, analyzes the pedagogical and operational differences among charter schools, considers the mechanisms through which charter schools evade accountability measures that apply to public schools, and discusses the mixed student academic outcomes. The report also identifies and analyzes four problematic features of charter schools that should trouble taxpayers, parents, and lawmakers: racial segregation, exclusionary student discipline, the rate of school closures, and the financial mismanagement. These features suggest that, despite the public funding for and growth of charter schools, heightened scrutiny by taxpayers and policymakers is warranted. |
Watch our webinar with Barbara Fedders, Director of Clinical Programs, UNC Law and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board Member as we discuss the impact of charter schools. |
|
|---|
|
|
| Public Schools First NC has released a new report: NC K-12 Private Schools 2024-25: A Review of Curriculum! This conclusion from a study done at the beginning of the school voucher program (North Carolina School Vouchers: The First Three Years) remains true and is the motivation for the current curriculum review: “Because voucher programs, like the one in North Carolina, are supported through tax revenues, the public has a stake in knowing whether the money spent represents a sound investment. In addition, because attendance at a private school meets the state’s compulsory education requirement, the state has a stake in being assured that the education offered meets basic standards." North Carolina’s lawmakers have spent nearly 1.5 billion taxpayer dollars on private school vouchers since the program’s launch in 2014, but they still require no oversight of the curriculum taught by the schools that receive state funds. This lack of academic accountability is in sharp contrast to public schools, which must select curriculum aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, a rigorously developed and reviewed set of content standards created by education experts designed to prepare students for postsecondary college and career options. Our new report focuses on the curriculum taught in North Carolina's K-12 private schools that received school vouchers. It is modeled on research completed by the North Carolina League of Women Voters of the Lower Cape Fear (NC LWV-LCF) in 2017. |
|
|---|
|
|
Legislative and SBE Updates |
|
|---|
|
|
| The NC House reconvenes Monday, June 16 at 1:00. Agendas, streaming information, and updated information are found on the legislative calendar. See our Week in Review for a summary of bills, bills that made crossover, and key education bills to watch. |
|
|---|
|
|
Utah's Vouchers Declared Unconstitutional |
|
|---|
|
|
Don't Cut Education Funding! |
|
|---|
|
|
| The proposed federal budget slashes education funding by 15 percent on top of the $350 million in cuts to student loan programs made by the reconciliation bill, H.R.1 currently being debated in the U.S. Senate. Programs slated for elimination include Full Service Community Schools, English Language Acquisition, and the Teacher Quality Partnership, which addresses the teacher shortage through deep clinical practice. Funding would increase in only one area: charter schools. Please contact your U.S. lawmakers through this convenient NEA email letter link. Urge lawmakers to halt the education funding cuts! |
|
|---|
|
|
Calling Western NC Educators |
|
|---|
|
|
| Call for Participants: Oral History Project for WNC Educators Affected by Hurricane Helene Dr. Amelia Wheeler (Western Carolina University) and Dr. Morgan Tate (University of Georgia) are launching a research project titled Beyond the Storm: A Tribute to Appalachian Teachers and Their Stories. This oral history project seeks to document the experiences of public school educators in Western North Carolina who taught during and after Hurricane Helene. If you are a K–12 public school educator in the Appalachian region and were working in a school impacted by Hurricane Helene, you may be eligible to participate. Participation includes: - A one-hour, audio-recorded interview conducted at a location of your choice in your community
- A $100 gift card as a thank-you
- Optional review of interview excerpts before public sharing or publication
- A $75 contribution offered to your school district to offset substitute costs (if the interview occurs during the school day)
Interviews will take place between May and September 2025. The project aims to honor educators' stories and make visible the critical roles they play during times of crisis. Interested in participating? Want to know more? Please Contact: |
|
|---|
|
|
Words to Remember“Be wary of oversimplified solutions to complex challenges,” Jones advised. “Invest not only in outcomes, but in the conditions that produce them — teacher retention, culturally relevant pedagogy, instructional materials that reflect diverse experiences and perspectives and learning environments that allow our students to feel safe, both physically and emotionally." — Kimberly Jones, NC Teacher of the Year 2023-24 |
|
|---|
|
|
Help us support public schools!Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused solely on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents, teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each child for productive citizenship. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
