While the budget bills stalled, the General Assembly moved quickly to advance several K-12 policy bills through committees, floor votes, and on to the Governor’s desk this week. This flurry of legislative activity marks the final push before lawmakers begin a break tomorrow.

The following is a list of approved bills impacting public schools:

• S77: School Contracted Health Services - Allows parent choice in nursing services for children with disabilities while in school, if certain conditions are met.

• S118: Military and Veteran Support Act – Provides additional time for military families to provide proof of residency for public school enrollment.

• S125: Various Education Changes – Reorganizes Chapter 115D of the General Statutes, community colleges; allows certain nonpublic schools to request residency licenses for teachers; and extends the reversion date for school safety grant funds.

• S227: Eliminating "DEI" in Public Education – Prohibits discriminatory practices and divisive concepts in public school units (PSUs).

• S254: Charter School Changes – Grants the NC Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB) the power to propose, recommend, and approve rules and policies regarding all aspects of charter school operations; and provides that the Executive Director of the Office of Charter Schools reports and serves at the pleasure of the CSRB at a salary established by the CSRB within the funds appropriated for that purpose.
  
  Provides for “nonmaterial revisions” if a charter school relocates within a 10-mile radius of the location in the charter as long as the new location is located within the same local school administrative unit (LSAU) as the location approved in the charter. Also requires a separate school performance grade and review process for the remote academy component of any charter school operating a remote academy.

• S375: Harrison’s Law – Changes the offense of hazing committed by a student would be raised from a Class 2 misdemeanor to a Class A1 misdemeanor; a new offense prohibiting hazing by school personnel would be created and would be punished as a Class I felony; and requires local boards of education to publish total compensation and position information for central office employees on their websites.

• S391: DOT Omnibus – Requires local boards of education to secure a criminal history check for individuals providing transportation services to students; requires local boards to share criminal history checks at the request of another local board if the check was done within the previous three years and the individual consents; and authorizes the use of electronic speed-measuring systems to enforce speed limits in school zones.

• S600: Improve Health and Human Services – Expands the definition of epinephrine auto-injectors to epinephrine delivery systems to include nasal sprays in addition to auto-injectors for the treatment of asthma or anaphylactic reactions; and allows licensed registered nurses with at least two years of experience serving in a hospital or health clinic to serve as a school nurse.

• H171: Equality in State Agencies/Prohibition on DEI – Prohibits a State agency or unit of local government from: (1) using State funds or public money to promote, fund, implement or maintain DEI initiatives or programs and (2) applying for, accepting, or utilizing federal funds, grants, or other assistance that require compliance with DEI policies, initiatives, or mandates.

• H378: Various ED Law/Tax Acct/NIL Changes – Requires community colleges to provide parents with education records of certain minor students and require those students to acknowledge parental access to their records; requires all PSUs to evaluate long-term costs when buying new technology; removes the limitations on the types of career and technical education pathways available for sophomore high school students; allows student athletes to enter contracts with agents for representation related to negotiating contracts for the use of the athlete's name, image, and likeness; and requires local boards of education to publish total compensation and position information for central office employees on their websites.

• H412: Child Care Regulatory Reforms - Clarifies the mandatory licensing standards regarding out-of-school child care provided at operational elementary and middle schools for school-aged children.

• H476 = S363: DST Technical Corrections/Admin. Changes 2025.-AB – Amends the law under which a charter school is given provisional entry into the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) for one year to now allow the provisional entry to be extend by up to two additional years or allows the charter school, after the provisional year, to apply to become a participating employer in the System.

• H477: Death Benefits Rewrite.–AB – Recodifies and standardizes the laws related to the Death Benefit Plan within TSERS. (Signed as S.L. 2025-11)

• H506: 2025 State Investment Modernization Act – Creates the North Carolina Investment Authority (Investment Authority); establishes a Board of Directors of the Investment Authority; and transfers authority to manage investments and carry out statutory duties from the State Treasurer to the Investment Authority.  (Signed as S.L. 2025-6)

• H549: Clarify Powers of the Auditor – Expands and clarifies the powers of the State Auditor.

• H959: Various Education Changes – Requires local boards of education to adopt policies for student internet access to limit access to only age-appropriate material and prohibit and prevent students from accessing social media platforms using internet access provided by the LSAU, except for teacher-led instruction; requires governing bodies of public schools to establish a wireless communication policy that at least prohibits students from using the device during instructional time; and allows certain nonpublic schools to request residency licenses for teachers.
   
• H805: Prevent Sexual Exploitation/Women and Minors – Requires local school boards to adopt policies allowing students to be excused from “specific classroom discussion, activities or assigned readings” by citing a religious objection. If a student is granted an excuse for this purpose, the school is required to provide an alternative activity aligned with the standard course of study.
  
  Allows parents to identify what library books their children will not be allowed to borrow.
  
  Local boards are required to provide ongoing public access through a searchable web-based catalog to the titles of any library books available at each school. Each school is required to display its catalog on the homepage of the website. 
  
  Requires PSU governing bodies to adopt a policy that prohibits students from sharing sleeping quarters with a member of the other biological sex during any activity or event authorized by the school except under certain circumstances.
   
• H928: Allow PTs in School Concussion Protocol – Allows licensed physical therapists to evaluate a student athlete injured in an interscholastic athletic activity for a concussion and give written clearance for participation.
   
• H1012 – Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part II – Provides additional appropriations and extends regulatory flexibility for communities and citizens impacted by Hurricane Helene.