North Carolina lawmakers returned to Raleigh after a week-long break from voting sessions. As lawmakers continued budget negotiations, various committees met to approve bills impacting education.
 
The Senate Education/Higher Education Committee met on Wednesday to approve S1006 K-12 Innovation and Transformation Act, a 33-page bill covering a wide range of appropriations and education policy.
 
During committee, Sen. Brad Overcash (R-Gaston) amended the bill to require school districts to allow students to participate in off-campus religious instruction during the school day. The amendment revives language in S92 Released Time Education Act filed in Feb. 2025. While S92 would have allowed local school boards to decide whether to offer released-time programs, the new version in S1006 strips that option.
 
Sen. Overcash’s amendment also included language from H981 Local Schools Open Enrollment Study that passed the House chamber in May 2025. H981 required DPI to study the feasibility of open enrollment, which allows students to attend schools outside their residentially assigned zones within their school district. The amendment changed the entity studying the issue from DPI to the NC Collaboratory.
 
The appropriations within S1006 include $43 million in recurring funds ($4 million non-recurring) for Advanced Teaching Roles salary supplements and program expansion; $10 million for school districts to contract with Khan Academy for use of academic support service Khanmingo; $6 million for a Teacher Evaluation Pilot Program; $5.9 million to establish the North Carolina Competency-Based Education Innovation Grant and Network Program.
 
Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover) defended the Khan Academy recurring investment and pointed out that NC lawmakers have been evaluating the program for years in consultation with founder Sal Khan. Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D-Durham) noted that she was “struggling to find the evidence that shows that this is a better investment than, say, $10 million in instructional assistants.”
 
Click here for the legislative staff summary that details all of the S1006 appropriations and policies.
 
Some other notable bills impacting K-12 education passed out of committees this week are as follows:

• H1026 Remote Instruction for Excess Emergencies – Authorizes public school units not operating under a good cause waiver to use an additional 3 remote instruction days or 15 remote instruction hours when the PSU has already used 5 remote instruction days.
   
• H1124 Interstate Compact for School Psychologists - Establishes North Carolina as a member of the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists, which creates a pathway to allow school psychologists to obtain equivalent licenses to practice in participating states.
   
• HJR 1030 US Department of Edu - States that the General Assembly supports efforts to eliminate the United States Department of Education.
   
• H301 Social Media and AI Safety - Requires social media platforms to verify the ages of all users, prohibits children under 14 from creating social media accounts and requires the State Board of Education to adopt standards for AI use and instruction in schools.