Raleigh, N.C. – Senate Bill 8, a bill transforming charter schools in North Carolina, advanced along a largely party-line vote through a Senate committee, moving it to the Senate floor.
The bill’s original intent was to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the state, now set at 100. It grew to include many more changes to the laws governing charter schools, including the creation of a new commission to oversee the schools. The commission would report to the State Board of Education.
Democrats introduced an amendment that would have required charter schools to provide transportation and participate in the free and reduced lunch program. Many charter schools already do both. Republicans defeated the amendment on the grounds it would be too burdensome to prospective charter schools.