The Senate Education/Higher Education Committee approved House Bill 301 (Social Media and AI Safety) and Senate Bill 840 (Teacher Licensure Modifications) on Wednesday.
 
HB 301 would ban anyone under 14 from holding a social media account in North Carolina and require parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. Committee members also adopted an amendment from state Sen. Dana Jones (R-Forsyth) that expanded the scope of the bill to address artificial intelligence in K-12 schools.
 
The approved bill requires age-appropriate AI literacy in state computer science standards with implementation in the 28-29 school year. The bill also mandates AI training for teachers and administrators developed by NC State University’s Friday Institute by 2028 and directs DPI to build a statewide framework for evaluating AI tools used in classrooms.
 
The bill moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee for approval.
 
SB 840 makes several educator licensures changes requested by DPI and the SBE. The bill would eliminate testing requirements for admission to an educator preparation program, permits initially licensed teachers to take licensure exams before or during their third year of licensure, and eliminates the requirements that a teacher licensure applicant with an out-of-state license hold a license from a state with substantially similar requirements.
 
SB 840 also requires the SBE to convert a limited license to a continuing professional license for a teacher who has available growth data under EVAAS and has a positive growth score for two of the three most recent years for which growth scores are available.
 
The bill now moves to Senate Appropriations/Base Budget for consideration.