Tensions flared between members of the North Carolina State Board of Education on Thursday over the approval of a new charter school.
Does North Carolina’s governance system for public schools need a radical overhaul? That’s what some state lawmakers are proposing. Before explaining what they have in mind, I ought to remind you how our current system works. Fair warning, though: if you’re prone to severe headaches, you may want to skip the next few paragraphs. North...
A proposed constitutional amendment to make the state superintendent of public instruction the chair of the N.C. State Board of Education will be considered by the N.C. House Thursday June 30, after passing the House Education and House Rules committees on Wednesday. Currently Catherine Truitt, a Republican, is the N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction, elected by voters...
Of the 11 members on the N.C. State Board of Education, four are Republican appointees. With a recent resignation, that number dips to just three. Todd Chasteen resigned from the board on Feb. 1, warning of a trajectory away from education toward political activism, especially on new social studies standards OK’ed by the State Board...
North Carolina’s public schools and universities are asking the General Assembly for millions more to deal with COVID-19 challenges. The House Select Committee on COVID-19 education working group met for the first time in months to hear updates on how the state’s various education systems are handling the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. N.C. public schools and...
Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday, July 1, was vague in explaining why he delayed an announcement about how and when schools will start classes. All 115 N.C. school districts were asked to create three reopening plans, ranging from most to least restrictive. Wednesday was the deadline for Cooper to announce which plan all schools would...
Reforms to the Innovative School District are here to stay after Gov. Roy Cooper allowed Senate Bill 522 to become law without his signature. S.B. 522 made several changes to the Innovative School District, a school turnaround program which gives an outside group authority for five years over low-performing schools to boost their performance. So...
A dispute over a K-3 reading contract is heating up after the company at the center of the controversy, Istation, sent a cease-and-desist letter to three people who have publicly criticized a decision to grant the contract to Istation. “The cease and desist notices provided are a lawful and appropriate starting point to end the...
Out-of-state teachers will have an easier time getting licensed in North Carolina. The State Board of Education voted Thursday, April 4, to allow out-of-state teachers to become licensed in North Carolina if they have already passed a licensing test in their home states. Now, North Carolina only accepts out-of-state teachers who have taken tests identical...
Under a recently introduced bill, teachers would be directly responsible for using $400 to buy school supplies through the N.C. Classroom Supply Program, but not everyone is sold on the proposal. During a news conference Wednesday, April 3, Republican lawmakers and State Superintendent Mark Johnson unveiled Senate Bill 580 to give teachers direct purchasing power...
The State Board of Education in a 7-5 vote agreed Thursday, Nov. 1, to delay for another month a decision on whether to approve the recommendation of Carver Heights Elementary to the Innovative School District. ISD Superintendent Latessa Allen and Deputy State Superintendent of Innovation Eric Hall explained the reasoning for selecting the Wayne County...
