A Look Into The Upcoming Short Session
As we await the return of the North Carolina General Assembly for the 2024 short session which begins April 24th, we wish to update you on some ongoing education items and also a look into the upcoming session.
As we look ahead to the 2024 short session, we continue to support and prioritize across-the-board salary increases, especially when state employees received 7 per cent across-the-board from the 2023 long session budget. We are advocating for more equitable raises in the future that reward, and do not punish our veteran teachers.
Click here to see the 2023 finalized salary schedules
State Board of Education
We are seeing the State Board support and expand the Advanced Teaching roles pilot program to more counties. There have been some modifications to the language regarding teacher licensure, the processes, and certifying agencies are being expanded. We will continue to watch those items to see if they conflict with PENC goals.
Opportunity Scholarship Program
The Opportunity Scholarship program did receive more funding during the 2023 long session, which PENC did not support. We continue to push for accountability with both the money being spent and testing measures to ensure fairness when assessing private school student outcomes. We will be carefully watching as this program continues to evolve.
Lastly, we will be meeting with lawmakers as the session approaches and will be sharing the finalized PENC legislative agenda in those meetings. We are hopeful that we will see some positive movement as we head into an active election year.
PENC Advocacy Team:
Tammy Beach
Bryan Holloway
Robert Mitchell