The North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) began its substantive work for the 2023 legislative session on Wednesday and legislators wasted no time filing bills to be considered. Many of the recently proposed bills are new attempts at previously introduced legislation, like a bill introduced both this year and last year by Rep. High Blackwell (R-Burke) proposing a state constitutional amendment to make the State Superintendent of Public Instruction the Chair of the State Board of Education. Some education advocates may recall the previous version of the bill quickly gained approval in the House K-12 Education and House Rules Committees in the final days of the 2022 session, although it was never approved by the full House chamber or considered by the Senate.
Other previously filed legislation that lawmakers would like to reconsider include a medical marijuana legalization bill introduced by Senate Rules Chairman Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), as well as a bill to legalize sports gambling in the state. In addition to reviving prior legislation, lawmakers also introduced new legislation proposing items such as increased student engagement in the STEM Grant Program, governance changes to the Schools for the Deaf and Blind, and abortion protections (filed mostly by Democrats).
As the 2023 legislative session continues, the NCASA Advocacy Team will share a weekly list of relevant K-12 education-related legislation that was filed or received action in the past week. To view this week’s legislative tracking list, click HERE.
