CMAE Bulletin: Latest Updates from the NCGA Concerning Education

Hello CMAE,

Please find below the bills I filed as first primary sponsor related to CMS's and CMAE’s legislative priorities:

S189, School Calendar Flexibility/Mecklenburg County
S236, Require Consent/Early Voting/Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
S242, Save Spring Break Act
S287, Delay CMS Board Elections/Census Delay
I have also requested a bill draft to reduce the funds going to private school vouchers, but it has not been filed yet. I will be sure to keep you updated on that bill.

Additional bills that have been filed by other members of the delegation related to your legislative priorities, listed below. Please note that the House deadline to file bills has not yet passed, so more bills will be filed in the coming weeks.

HB5, $15/hour wage
HB79, to address digital divide
HB147, restoration of state health benefits
S154, fund social workers & psychologists
S218, restore educator longevity pay
S274, restore master's pay

COVID-19 Economic Relief Updates

Last week, the North Carolina Senate passed S172/H196, 2021 COVID-19 Response & Relief which provides $1.7 billion in relief for the state from federal relief funds. The bill includes many good things and passed unanimously. However, it was rushed through and Democrats were not consulted on any specifics. Therefore, it left out some important things and creates some problems. I raised my concerns on the Senate floor -- these are the topics I spoke about:

• The Senate version removed the extension of the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse claims. Civil courts were essentially out of reach for a year due to the pandemic. The extension that the House included would have simply added the year that was lost, so those victims can get their justice. We should have kept that extension in the bill.

• Within the DHHS Child Care Block Grant funds, the House made a change to the bill to allow hazard pay bonuses for childcare workers, but the Senate majority removed it . Why are we so hard on childcare workers, some of the worst paid essential workers in the State? Their average wage is $12/hour statewide (much less in many counties), even though many have degrees in early education. Working parents rely on having safe childcare. We have the funds to pay these workers better and we should. More information on my remarks regarding childcare workers can be found here.

• The bill provides no hazard bonus pay for K-12 Educators who are literally putting their health at risk in order to return to in-person instruction, as required by their LEAs. More information on my remarks regarding teacher pay can be found here.

• The bill strays from the focus of a COVID relief bill to increase enrollment at the State’s two D-Grade virtual charter schools, without any indication that they are improving. At a time when NCGA leadership has had harsh words for virtual learning options, why are we expanding enrollment in failing virtual charter schools?

• Changes to the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program will slow down the program, make it less efficient, result in more frustration for renters and landlords, and will cause some counties to have insufficient funds to meet the need, while others have too much which will revert back to the US Treasury. DPS is currently providing rental assistance with these funds. We should not change the whole system in the middle of the pandemic. This is the NCGA trying to wrestle control of a program because of politics and I’m concerned for all the folks who need help, not political fights over control.

• This bill ignores the fact that NC remains among the worst states for unemployment benefits. I hear frequently from constituents who are struggling and cannot find a job. Jobs are coming back, but we’re not where we were before the pandemic hit. We should use some the funds at our disposal, which is the taxpayers’ money that we are empowered to appropriate, to help people who are struggling without their income.

• I hope that in the future, leadership will not exclude our Democratic caucus from the drafting process on bills of this importance. My colleagues and I would have liked the opportunity to raise these concerns when there was time and opportunity to address them.

(Note that when speaking into a microphone on the Senate floor, members remove masks so everyone can hear.)

A Call to Return to Safe, In-Person Learning

Over the past few months, I have heard from constituents about their frustrations with remote learning and the desire to return to in-person instruction. I've also heard from constituents who prefer remote-only and/or a slower change while covid cases remain above 5% in Mecklenburg County.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a tug of war in Raleigh about who should decide when and how schools reopen. Republicans offered Senate Bill 37, but that was unsuccessful because it didn't follow CDC and DHHS safety guidelines and did not include a safety switch to reverse course if outbreaks happen. Senate Democrats held firm in rejecting S37 and laid out in a letter to the NC State Board of Education what we wanted to see in a school reopening plan.

In the end, we were able to reach a compromise, SB220, which passed unanimously through the House and Senate this week. It keeps the full-remote option for families who want that and requires all districts to offer in-person classes to those who want that option, following all safety guidelines. It has a safety provision in case we experience unexpected spikes. SB220 was a rare example of bipartisan compromise and ultimately puts NC in a good position to move forward safely.

More Information about SB220 Here

Meeting with

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators

One of the main responsibilities of representing Mecklenburg County in the NCGA is seeking policy changes that improve public education by giving CMS calendar flexibility, budget flexibility, school safety legislation, sufficient funding and more. Last weekend, the delegation had a check-in with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators to discuss their priorities and our work. Thank you to the 30+ local educators, county commissioners, and school board members who joined us.

We also announced a new initiative I'm launching: a pool of local educators who are willing to advise us on policy. If you are a CMS educator and are willing to share your opinions with us, please join the Education Advisors by sending your name and school to me at Natasha.Marcus@ncleg.gov.

Thank you for your cooperation in pursuing these priorities to improve public education and our state generally.