New from EdNC
Districts and states are ‘on their own’ ahead of federal funding cliff
As school districts nationwide face a federal funding cliff, government researchers from independent think tanks around the country met in Worcester, Massachusetts to discuss how municipalities and states are preparing.…
Superintendent Catherine Truitt testifies at U.S. House Hearing
Editor’s Note: This is a press release from N.C. Department of Public Instruction. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt testified today on North Carolina’s approach to COVID-19 pandemic recovery at a hearing convened by the U.S.…
Ashe County is asking legislators for $5.5 million to build a child care model that works for rural communities
Ashe County leaders have a plan to expand child care access in their community and beyond.
Perspective | Storytelling builds a broader community, shares promising practices
The following is part of my monthly column, One Day and One Goal: Expanding opportunity in N.C. I invite you to follow along as I share stories from classrooms and explore critical issues facing education in our state. Go…
Perspective | Minimum wage, Equal Pay Days, and early childhood value
Families rely on our early education system in order to keep working, and our state’s economy does, too. But we don’t pay these teachers in accordance with their incredible value to society.
The Editor’s Notes
Here is the annual report on homeschools for 2022-23. There were 94,154 homeschools statewide — down from 112,614 in 2020-21 at the height of the pandemic and just less than the 2019-20 number of 94,863. Here you can see the numbers over time. Here you can see the number of homeschools that have opened by year. Please, please note the number of students in these reports is based on an algorithm.
Speaker Moore and President Pro Tem Phil Berger met this week to discuss the budget. The NC Tribune is reporting that “Regarding the budget, Berger said the main sticking points remained tax policy and the use of reserves. Progress has been made, but not necessarily enough to move on and begin working through other items on the checklist.”
DHHS issued a press release saying their department is moving forward with Medicaid expansion and announcing the anticipated start date of Oct. 1, 2023. “To launch expansion on Oct. 1, NCDHHS will still require action by the NC General Assembly — either through “de-coupling” expansion from the budget or through an enacted budget — by Sept. 1,” said the release.
The N.C. State Board of Education meets next week. Here is the agenda for Wednesday, and here is the agenda for Thursday.
Need to know
Perspective | Proposed expansion of ‘opportunity scholarships’ undermines public education in North Carolina
Note the list of more than 85 leaders who signed on to this perspective urging the legislature to reject the expansion.... Read the rest
