The legislature is preparing to return for the short session immediately after the primary on May 18th. Without question, the education world has recently been bombarded with loads of recommendations from various committees and commissions. PENC has been staying on top of these so that we can represent the interests of educators across the state. The Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) is working on teacher licensure is one that has garnered a lot of reaction from teachers across North Carolina. Their recommendations are very broad, and I predict it is unlikely to be considered by legislators during the short session. The commission is set to release their final recommendations this summer, and hopefully the legislature will have already completed their work by that time, which means they will be out of town. PENC does have a very important meeting concerning the PEPSC recommendations in May, and we will be discussing this subject and reaching out to the membership for your opinions over the next few months.
Last week, a second group called the Hunt-Lee Commission released sixteen recommendations that they felt would help public schools. The commission is made up of a bi-partisan group of state leaders and has enjoyed the verbal support of many leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly. I do think it will be difficult for the General Assembly to implement all sixteen recommendations during the short session, but we will keep an eye on these proposals. The recommendation is lengthy, and we will be discussing these over the coming months as well. Click here to read the entire report.
I will be reporting back before the short session officially begins, and we will be revisiting the commissions and other important education issues. As always, PENC will be advocating during the short session for more compensation and other items to benefit our educators in North Carolina, while keeping a watchful eye on these important proposals.
Bryan Holloway, PENC Lobbyist
