The North Carolina Legislative Building was especially busy this week, as lawmakers squeezed two weeks of bill activity into one ahead of their upcoming spring break. Numerous K-12 education bills moved through House and Senate committees, with the May 8^th bill crossover deadline quickly approaching. Any policy bill not affecting state spending that fails to pass through its originating chamber by that date will be considered dead for the session. The House also approved three additional bills, which now head to the Senate for further consideration – increasing their chance of becoming law.

The House K-12 Education Committee met Tuesday afternoon to approve the following:

• H414: 1-to-1 Credit for Career and College Promise – Requires the State Board of Community Colleges and the State Board of Education (SBE) to develop community college courses that would fulfill high school graduation requirements. Deems complete certain high school graduation requirements for students who have completed certain community college courses. Requires the SBE to remove the Math III high school graduation requirement beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
  • The bill was amended to adjust the community college courses that would count as completed high school graduation requirements and made technical and clarifying changes.
  • The bill now heads to the House Higher Education Committee.

 

• H671: Competitive Speech and Debate Grant Pilot – Establishes the Competitive Speech and Debate Team Grant Pilot Program to allow public schools serving grades 9-12 to form a speech and debate team that can participate in speech and debate competitions.
  • The committee changed the bill to delete the section providing for General Assembly appointment of members to the board of directors of the Tarheel Forensic League. It also appropriates $500,000 in non-recurring funds for the 2025-2026, 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 fiscal years.
  • The bill now moves to House Appropriations Committee.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House approved and sent the Senate the following:

• H328: Ban Delta-8 & Delta-9 on School Grounds – Requires governing bodies of PSUs, among others, to adopt a written policy prohibiting the use of hemp-derived consumable products in school buildings, on grounds, and at school-sponsored events. Creates a definition of tobacco products that includes vapor products; therefore, banning vapor products under existing law prohibiting tobacco product use in school buildings, on grounds, and at school-sponsored events.
• H610: Study on Year-Round School – Requires the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to conduct a survey on the feasibility of having year-round schools in each local school administrative unit (LEA).
• H636: Promoting Wholesome Content for Students – The first edition of H636 established criteria and procedures for adding and removing content from school libraries. Additionally, it created a cause of action for parents, guardians, or residents of a county in which a public school unit (PSU) is located against PSUs that violated the listed provision.
  • The House K-12 Education Committee on Tuesday had adjusted the following in the bill:
    • Provides a one-year timeline for removal of library media that no longer meets the criteria.
    • Requires consideration of library media recommended by the community library advisory committee by the governing body of a PSU to be completed within 60 days of the recommendation.
    • Requires the community library advisory committee to evaluate media included at a book fair prior to making the media available to students.
    • Makes other various clarifying, technical, and conforming changes.

The House Health Committee met Tuesday morning and approved the following:

• H4: Sam’s Law – Requires public school units (PSUs) to develop Seizure Action Plans for students with a diagnosed seizure disorder. The bill now moves to House Appropriations Committee.
• H107: Adopt SUDEP Awareness Week – Encourages local boards of education to develop and provide seizure awareness training for all teachers and other school personnel who may be responsible for students with epilepsy or students that are otherwise predisposed to seizures. The bill now moves to House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee.

The House Judiciary 1 Committee met Tuesday afternoon and approved the following:

• H477: Retirement Death Benefits Rewrite.-AB – Recodifies and standardizes the laws related to the Death Benefit Plan within the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and other retirement systems. Amends the eligibility requirements for the survivor's alternative benefit under each retirement system. The bill now moves to House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee.

The House State and Local Government Committee met Tuesday afternoon and approved the following:

• H150: Expedite Surplus Prop./Educational Orgs – Allows educational organizations to obtain surplus and decommissioned federal material and property. The bill now moves to House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee.
• H288: POW/MIA Flag/State Bldgs. & Schools – Requires the official POW/MIA flag be displayed over all State-owned buildings and at all public school buildings whenever the United States flag is displayed if the POW/MIA flag can be attached to an existing flagpole. The bill now moves to House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee.

The House Pensions and Retirement Committee met Wednesday morning and approved the following:

• H106: Revive High-Need Retired Teachers Program – Allows retired teachers to return to work as high-need retired teachers if they retired on or before May 1, 2025. Appropriates $10 million to address increased costs to TSERS. The bill now moves to House Appropriations Committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee met Wednesday morning and approved the following:

• S754: School Calendar Flexibility: A New Alternative – Provides local boards of education with two options in adopting school calendars for their local school administrative units (LEAs). Provides for penalties for lack of compliance with the school calendar law. The two options include:
  • The opening date for students must be no earlier than Monday closest to Aug. 26, and the closing date for students must be no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Local boards of education that qualify for good cause waivers can request an opening date of the Monday closest to Aug. 19.
  • The opening date for students must be no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 19, as long as there are an equal number of days in the spring and fall semester, and the closing date for students is no later than the Friday immediately preceding the last Monday in May.
  • The bill now moves to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee.