State Education Policy Updates

• California
• Florida
• Illinois
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Virginia

California Education Policy Update

In his January budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for spending $20,855 per pupil for K-12, accounting for all sources, which would be the highest spending ever as Newsom seeks $119 billion for schools. He also wants to strengthen pre-K by boosting the number of state-funded child care slots to 145,000 total, an increase of about 36,000.

In terms of education legislation, SB 871 (Pan) would require COVID-19 vaccines for K-12 students to attend school and would eliminate the personal belief exemption. The bill has stalled as COVID-19 cases continue to fall in California. It has garnered significant opposition from anti-vaccination groups and even privately from some moderate Democrats. Additionally, Sen. Pan’s SB 1479 (21R), which would require schools to develop COVID-19 testing plans, recently advanced from the Senate Health Committee.

As for the mood toward education in the state, confidence in California public schools has declined, according to a UC Berkeley poll co-sponsored by the LA Times. Voters and parents overwhelmingly have concluded that the quality of education worsened during the pandemic, according to their responses of letter-grade ratings of public schools statewide and in their neighborhoods. Moreover, confidence has declined significantly since completion of a similar poll commissioned in 2011 by the University of Southern California/LA Times. Statewide, around 21% of voters give the state’s public schools an A or B, down from 27%, and D or F grades rose from 13% to 28% over the past decade.

The San Francisco Board of Education recall vote encapsulates the aforementioned frustration. In February 2022, three San Francisco Board of Education commissioners were overwhelmingly recalled from office. The specific grievances of the Board of Education race included board members spending an inordinate amount of time on renaming schools while those schools remained closed due to COVID-19 and the elimination of merit-based admissions at the prestigious Lowell High School. The contest reflects broader angst among parents, even reliably Democratic ones, who have become disillusioned with public school management during the pandemic. These education issues will likely come up again during midterm elections.

Florida 2022 Legislative Session Education Policy Highlights

Florida’s 2022 legislature adjourned sine die on March 14, three days after session was scheduled to end. Ultimately, fewer education bills passed this year than in typical years, but there was a spotlight on those that did. The most controversial education bill was HB 1557, officially titled “Parental Rights in Education” but which came to be known in state and national media as “Don’t Say Gay.” Other issues include state assessments, charter schools, instructional materials adoption, financial literacy and more. Read the full highlights of Florida’s 63-day session here.

Policy Highlights:

HB 1557: Parental Rights in Education, by Rep. Joe Harding

Emphasizes parents’ right to make decisions about their children’s education, particularly clarifying when parents must be notified of decisions or actions that take place at school. The bill also prevents instruction on gender identity in grades K-3 and requires that such instruction in more advanced grades be done in a developmentally appropriate way. Read more in this EdWeek article or read the full legislation. Signed by the governor.

SB 1048: Student Assessments, by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr.

Eliminates Florida’s current statewide standardized assessment and requires the use of a comprehensive end-of-year progress monitoring assessment. It includes a transition plan for how new end-of-year progress monitoring student scores will be used for purposes of promotion decisions and school accountability. Signed by the governor.

HB 1467: K-12 Education, by Rep. Sam Garrison

Creates 12-year term limits for school board members and revises the local process for adopting curriculum and instructional materials. The original bill would have eliminated school board salaries (some of the highest in the nation), but that language ultimately was removed. Signed by the governor.

HB 865: Charter Schools, by Rep. Alex Rizo

Creates the Charter School Review Commission within the Florida Department of Education and establishes the Florida Institute for Charter Schools Innovation at Miami Dade College. Additionally, it revises provisions relating to reporting requirements, charter renewal and nonrenewal, use of interlocal agreements, impact fees and charter school facilities. However, neither the commission nor the institute was funded in the 2022-23 state budget. Awaiting signature by the governor.

SB 1054: Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, by Sen. Travis Hutson

Requires that students earn one-half credit in personal financial literacy and money management in order to graduate. This will include instruction on types of bank accounts, credit scores, taxes and debt management. Signed by the governor.

SB 7044: Postsecondary Education, by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr.

Restricts state colleges and universities from being accredited by the same agency for consecutive accreditation cycles and increases transparency requirements relating to instructional materials. It also allows the Florida Board of Governors to adopt a uniform standard for post-tenure reviews to be conducted every five years. Awaiting signature by the governor.

Budget Highlights:

• $1.4 billion for construction and deferred maintenance at Florida colleges and universities.
• $800 million in K-12 teacher salary increases, bringing the average starting salary for a teacher to $47,000.
• $8,142.85 in funding per K-12 student, an increase of $384.55 or 4.96% from 2021-22.
• $53.2 million for school readiness, more than double the current year’s funding.
• $105 million in incentive funding for nursing programs to reduce the state’s nursing shortage.
• $100 million increase for funding to early-learning coalitions.
• $40 million increase for K-12 reading instruction.
• $30 million in incentives for early-learning teachers who receive a reading endorsement or literacy microcredential.
• $29 million in reading scholarships for students in grades 3-5.

Illinois Education Policy Update

Teacher Shortages

Currently, there are over 4,000 unfilled teaching positions in Illinois.

• SB 3465 makes it easier to hire retired teachers without putting their pensions at risk. The bill passed the Senate Feb. 16, 2022, and awaits a House vote.
• SB 3915 waives the application fee for short-term substitute teacher licenses. It passed the Senate Feb. 16 and now awaits a House vote.
• SB 3988 lowers the age requirement, from 19 to 18 years old, for teaching assistants in pre-K through eighth-grade classrooms. The bill passed the Senate Feb. 16 and awaits a House vote.

Teacher Health

• SB 3914 allows teachers to use sick days for mental health reasons. The measure passed the Senate Feb. 25 and awaits a House vote.
• HB 1167 allows fully vaccinated teachers to take paid sick leave if they test positive for COVID-19 or need to quarantine because of close contact with someone who has the virus. The bill passed the House March 1 and the Senate on March 31. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature.

Higher Ed

• SB 3032 prevents Illinois colleges and universities from withholding student transcripts for debts owed to the school. This does not include student loans owed to outside providers. The bill passed the House March 29 and awaits Senate concurrence.

North Carolina 2021-2023 State Budget Signed Into Law, Education Funding Prioritized

After months of negotiations, and for the first time since 2019, North Carolina lawmakers passed a budget that the governor signed into law during the legislative long session. SB 105: 2021 Appropriations Act spends $25.9 billion in FY 2021-22 and $27 billion in FY 2022-23.

The bill allocates a portion of the state’s $3.6 billion of federal COVID-19 relief funds for education purposes, including an additional $400 for per-pupil spending for every public school unit, including charter schools. Federal funds also are allocated to classroom and after-school programs that address learning loss and behavioral health.

Additionally, a major accomplishment that helped the budget gain bipartisan support was the increase in funding for teacher and school personnel salaries. The spending measure increases teacher pay by an average of 6.7% over the biennium and provides teachers up to $2,800 in one-time bonuses. It also increases the minimum wage for noncertified school and community college personnel to at least $15/hour. There are also significant school choice provisions that expand access to nonpublic schools, including $30 million in new funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program, an increase in the income eligibility amount to qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, and an increase in funding for a grant program for students with disabilities.

Some of the funds provided in the budget for education purposes include:

• $3 million in each year of the biennium for the Child Care Grant Program, which assists community college students with childcare expenses.
• $2 million in the first year of the biennium for marketing and outreach for Career and Technical Education and Work-Based Learning Programs to help expand efforts to raise awareness about career and technical education programs and high-quality work-based learning experiences offered in high-demand fields and careers.
• A 7.5% increase, or $17.2 million, in funding to expand the North Carolina Need-Based Scholarship Program for Public Colleges and Universities.
• An expanded definition of school construction projects eligible for N.C. Education Lottery funding, to include renovation and improvement of classroom facilities.
• A $3,500 salary supplement to school psychologists, speech pathologists and audiologists, and a $1,000 salary supplement for school counselors.
• A bonus of up to $1,000 to match local funds to recruit teachers and instructional support personnel to local education agencies receiving funding from the small-county or low-wealth allotment.
• Funds to establish a Charter School Transportation Grant Program in which charter schools with at least 50% of their students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch can apply for reimbursement of their transportation costs.
• $47.5 million in FY 2021-22 and $49.4 million in FY 2022-23 for classroom materials and instructional supplies.
• $375.3 million in the first year of the biennium and $153.3 million in the second year of the biennium for the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund.
• $97 million in the first year of the biennium for Project Kitty Hawk, establishing a public-private partnership for digital learning courses with the goal of generating postsecondary learning and career advancement opportunities in response to the pandemic.
• $66 million in FY 2021-22 and $82.5 million in FY 2022-23 for the NC Promise Tuition Plan, which sets tuition at $500 per semester for North Carolina residents and $2,500 per semester for nonresidents at Elizabeth City State University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Western Carolina University and Fayetteville State University.
• $7.8 million in FY 2021-22 and $9.3 million in FY 2022-23 for the North Carolina Principal Fellow Program to increase the number of school administrator candidates supported by the program.
• $74.8 million in FY 2021-22 and $133.8 million in FY 2022-23 for the Opportunity Scholarship Program.
• $2.4 million to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to create an eSports facility on campus.
• $215 million in total authorized funds for the construction of a new East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine.
• $63 million in total funds authorized for the Fayetteville State University College of Education.

Excellent Public Schools Act

SB 387: Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021 moved through the legislature in the spring of the 2021 legislative long session, and Gov. Roy Cooper signed it into law April 9, 2021. The legislation makes changes to the North Carolina Read to Achieve program established in 2013.

SB 387 alters North Carolina education policy by providing a more refined approach to reading instruction through the Science of Reading. Pre-K and K-5 educators are required to complete Science of Reading training, which was funded through federal COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars.

The legislation also adds an early literacy program at the Department of Public Instruction, intended to build early literacy skills by utilizing the Science of Reading. Assessments are required of each child at the end of Pre-K, which would then be made available to the student’s kindergarten teacher. Educator Preparation Programs seeking approval or renewal on or after July 1, 2022, are required to include coursework grounded in the Science of Reading.

House Select Committee on an Education System for North Carolina’s Future

Over the last few years, North Carolina lawmakers have evaluated and adopted reforms to the state’s public education system. Bolstered by the pandemic, many key indicators of school success, including retention rates and math and reading scores on end-of-grade tests, have declined.

To come up with new solutions to the declining academic performance metrics in students throughout the state, House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) established this select committee to begin meeting in January 2022. Speaker Moore appointed Representative John Torbett (R-Gaston) as the committee’s senior chair.

The committee is charged with taking up to two years to examine ways to reinvent the state’s K-12 public schools to better meet the needs of North Carolina’s 1.5 million school-aged children. Specifically, the committee will focus on:

• Requirements of the standard course of study.
• Outcomes of the standard course of study, including appropriate metrics.
• Opportunities for students to demonstrate competency at their own pace.
• Funding and outcomes of current programs, including partnerships with nonprofits, that support the standards and outcomes of a sound basic education.
• Any other issue deemed relevant by the chair to the charge of the committee.

So far, the committee’s topics of discussion have included items both big and small, from reforming standardized testing and combating school violence, to changing the composition of the State Board of Education and forging partnerships with community college vocational programs. Committee members have heard from a wide array of speakers, including Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R), State Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis, and Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt (R).

Not only is the committee meeting at the legislative building in Raleigh, but members are also traveling across the state to hold various listening sessions, where they hear from local teachers, local agency leaders and local school board members, as well as public comment from parents and other members of the community.

South Carolina Education Policy Update

• The South Carolina Senate passed a bill that would allow lower-income students to pay for private school tuition or attend a public school outside their district through a state-funded scholarship.
• The full Senate Education Committee pushed forward a bill that would allow open enrollment in the state’s public schools.
• The full Senate Education Committee pushed forward the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” a bill that would ban transgender women and girls from competing in female sports at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels. The South Carolina House also has its own version of this bill.
• The South Carolina House Education and Public Works Committee introduced a Comprehensive Transparency “Critical Race Theory” bill.

Texas Education Policy Update

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to create a task force to explore teacher shortages and examine potential flexibilities around certification, placement and hiring.
• In Texas, schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled and the daily attendance on campus. On March 29, 2022, Abbott and the Texas Education Agency announced that public school districts may not lose funding because of low attendance rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced his list of interim charges, which include a slew of items regarding education issues.
• Abbott and the Texas Education Agency announced a funding adjustment for Texas public schools to sustain in-person instruction.
• The Texas State Board of Education will hold its semiannual meeting April 5-8.
• The Texas Commission on Virtual Education met March 30 and is scheduled to meet again April 27. Archived video and agendas are available online.
• The Texas Association of School Administrators Summer Conference will be held June 21-23 in Round Rock, Texas.
• The Texas American Federation of Teachers responded to Phelan’s House Public Education Committee interim charges.
• Abbott sent a letter directing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath to create a task force to help school districts address ongoing staffing shortages across the state. Teacher Vacancy Task Force Overview can be found here.
• Abbott has appointed Scott Muri, Ed.D. to the State Board for Educator Certification. The board develops certification and continuing education requirements and standards of conduct for public school teachers.

Virginia Education Policy Update

Lab Schools

HB 346 (Davis) and SB 598 (Pillion): A conference committee will work out particulars concerning “lab schools” during Virginia’s current special session. Lab schools are defined as public schools established by contract between the governing board of a college partnership laboratory school and the Board of Education. Gov. Glenn Youngkin is a major advocate for lab schools, and he remains confident that there will be a bipartisan consensus as discussion of the topic continues.

Teacher Pipeline and Training

• HB 319 (Coyner) and SB 616 (Lucas) establish the definition of evidence-based literacy instruction and science-based reading instruction. The Virginia Literacy Act will provide a foundation for literacy instruction that is rooted in science-based reading research, as well as guidance and support. There was wide bipartisan support in both chambers and the bills are now before the governor.

Student Affairs and Campus Safety

HB 525 (Murphy) and HB439 (Boysko), commonly known as “Adam’s Law”, have had bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Adam’s Law seeks to mandate that student organizations at Virginia universities go through hazing prevention training. Despite agreement on the concept of the bills, both chambers have been unable to agree on legal penalties for hazing. The pair of bills will be heard during Virginia’s current special session.

Workforce Development

• SB 667 (Hashmi) directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to partner with the Virginia Office of Education Economics to collect and utilize data on gaps that are most significant in hindering the commonwealth from achieving the intended goals of its funds under the Innovative Internship Program.

The purpose of the program is to expand paid and credit-bearing student internships and other work-based learning opportunities in collaboration with Virginia employers. The program comprises institutional grants and a statewide initiative to facilitate the readiness of students, employers and institutions of higher education to participate in internship and other work-based learning opportunities