Senators react after the first meeting April 15, 2021, of an oversight group looking into the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s operations. Learn more here: “Legislative hearing into HS sports begins: How did we get here?”
Epidemiologists and infectious disease experts have consistently maintained that the risk of spread of the COVID-19 virus among young children is low. But that hasn’t stopped policymakers like N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper from — for most of the past year — keeping in-person instruction closed for all K-12 students. Many families have suffered as a result. Rachel and Troy Ackerman of...
Dr. Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, analyzes news that Judge David Lee will not order N.C. lawmakers to spend more money on education. Lee oversees the long-running Leandro school funding lawsuit.
A bill to expand the Opportunity Scholarship Program passed the N.C. House, 69-49, on Tuesday, April 13, following a floor debate that focused on accountability. Created in 2013, Opportunity Scholarships are designed to help families who would otherwise struggle to afford private-school tuition but who want to leave their locally zoned public school. House Bill...
Carteret County resident Christine Hanks never cared much for politics. She had never contacted a school board member, her legislator, or the governor on any issue. But that changed in March 2020, when Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order shuttering public schools across the state due to the rising COVID-19 pandemic. A two-week break from in-person...
Public school teachers in North Carolina receive an average annual salary of $53,392 for the current school year, according to the latest figures from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. That puts the state second best in the Southeast — behind Georgia — in average teacher pay. Teacher salaries swiftly increased between 2014 and 2019...
Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday, April 9, signed two bills into law designed to help students who lost more than a year of in-person learning because of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. House Bill 82, Summer Learning Choice for NC Families, establishes learning recovery and enrichment programs districts to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on...
Dr. Bob Luebke, senior fellow at the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, shares his concerns about Gov. Roy Cooper’s 2021-23 education budget. Learn more here: “Cooper’s education budget: Following the money tells you a lot.”
A new poll sponsored by a school-choice advocacy organization shows support for educational choice nationwide has increased to a new level of 71% of registered voters. The poll — conducted by Real Clear Opinion Research on behalf of the American Federation for Children — also found better than two-thirds support for parents to use a...
Dr. Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, discusses the N.C. political left’s use of the Leandro school funding lawsuit. Learn more here: “The Leandro long game: How the left has weaponized a 27-year-old court case.”
Two bills sitting on Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk are designed to remediate learning losses for K-12 students left behind by classroom closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first — House Bill 82, Summer Learning Choice for N.C. Families — would require all public school districts to offer a minimum of six weeks of in-person...
