March 15, 2025

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Guns in Church and Schools

In another busy week at the NCGA, [7]Senate Bill 280 “Private School
Security Act” was introduced to make it easier for individuals to carry
firearms at private schools and places of religious worship (e.g., church,
chapel, meetinghouse, synagogue, temple, longhouse, mosque) that are used
for educational purposes.

The bill allows certain “employees and volunteers at private schools” to
carry a handgun or stun gun on educational property, including churches
used for educational purposes, when authorized by the school director or
school board of trustees. The bill requires the individual to have a
concealed handgun permit and have completed at least eight hours of
“courses on, or relating to, gun safety and the appropriate use of
firearms” in addition to those required to get a concealed handgun permit.

This bill does not apply to public schools where there are stricter
guidelines establishing which individuals may carry a handgun or stun gun
on the property or at extracurricular events. For example, only school
safety resource officers providing security at a school or event and who
have been assigned by local law enforcement may carry firearms.

In contrast to SB 280, which relaxes gun regulations, [8]House Bill 366
“Reenact & Expand Pistol Purchase Permit” reinstates regulations on
purchasing a pistol ([9]repealed in 2024) and adds a new requirement for
purchasing a long gun (e.g., shotgun, rifle). HB 366 requires people
seeking to purchase a pistol or long gun to first obtain a permit to
purchase from a sheriff (which requires a background check) or have a valid
concealed handgun permit.

Hurricane Relief Stalled

This week the House took up the version of [10]House Bill 47 “Disaster
Recovery Act of 2025 - Part 1” passed by the Senate last week. During its
time in the Senate, a few changes were made that the House found
unacceptable. The House voted against the bill.

The Senate version appropriates nearly $35 million more than the
[11]version passed by the House. Total appropriations in the Senate version
are $534,991,704. It adds $4.5 million for a school extension learning
recovery program for public schools to provide supplemental instruction for
students in “grades four through eight to address learning losses and
negative impact students have experienced due to unusual and extraordinary
conditions related to Hurricane Helene in the 2024-25 school year.”

On Tuesday, the NCGA appointed a [12]conference committee made up of
members of both chambers to negotiate a compromise bill. The committee's
goal is to get the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 - Part 1 back on track and
support out to all of the affected areas. Even though some severely
affected areas are represented by Democratic members, all appointees to the
conference committee are Republican members, including some representing
districts far from affected areas (e.g., Brunswick, New Hanover).

Taxpayer-Funded Private School Vouchers Grow

On March 6, the NCGA Fiscal Research Division (FRD) provided an update on
state funding provided through the [13]North Carolina State Education
Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), which manages both higher education
financial aid and the K-12 private school voucher program.

The 2024-25 school year is the first time families of all income levels
were eligible to apply for vouchers. Also for the first time, all private
school students, even those who had never attended public school, could
apply. As expected, applications rose substantially. The number of students
receiving vouchers jumped from 32,549 in 2023-24 to 79,775 in 2024-25.

However, more than 42% of the new voucher recipients fell into the two
highest income tiers where their incomes are too high to have qualified for
vouchers in previous years. Statewide, more than 14 percent (11,445) are in
the highest income tier with annual incomes of more than $260,000/year.

One of the [14]committee handouts broke down the tiers by county, revealing
that in several counties, more than half of the voucher recipients are in
the highest two income tiers. In Chatham County, 72% are in the two highest
income tiers!

In Wake County, only 15% of the voucher recipients are in the lowest-income
tier (annual income up to $57,720 for a family of four) and 27% are in the
highest income tier ($259,750 or more for a family of four). These patterns
raise serious questions about appropriate use of taxpayer dollars,
especially given the lack of accountability for the funds that are spent in
private schools. (Read more in our [15]March 1 newsletter.)

As part of its [16]presentation, the FRD also shared the 2025-26 budget
appropriation for the state voucher program: $731 million to cover
Opportunity Scholarship vouchers and Personal Education Student Account
ESA+ vouchers for students with disabilities.

At a time when public schools remain severely underfunded and disaster
relief is stalled, the NCGA should look to shift the excessive private
school funding to programs that will help more students and communities!

Contact [17]your legislators to share your thoughts!

Legislative and SBE Updates

The legislative session continues on Monday with the House convening at
1:00 ([18]livestream) and the Senate convening at 3:00 ([19]audio)

Read our [20]Week in Review for a summary of legislative actions and the
status of bills.

Notable bills with action include:

[21]SB 227 "Eliminating "DEI" in Public Education passed through the Senate
and will now be taken up by the House. It would prohibit “instruction to
students on divisive concepts” and lists 12 “divisive concepts.” It also
requires schools to certify annually in writing to DPI that they comply
with the bill.

[22]HB 353 "“Fair Minimum Wage Act” introduced on March 11 would increase
the state’s minimum wage to $10.00/hour (from its current $7.25) starting
in January 2026 and would increase it $2.00/year each year until 2030. In
following years, minimum wage increases would be indexed to the Consumer
Price Index as calculated by the Commissioner of Labor.

National News

The massive layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education this week made
national news and renewed outcries from people from all walks of life and
political leanings who care about public education—the foundation of our
democracy.

Public Schools First NC published a call to action to help you urge your
lawmakers to preserve the vital functionality of the U.S.D.E.

[23]Read it here and contact your lawmakers!

Are Schools Succeeding?

Are Schools Succeeding? Trump Education Department Cuts Could Make it Hard
to Know

New York Times, March 12

Deep cuts to staff and funding in the Department of Education will deal a
major blow to the public’s understanding of how American students are
performing and what schools can do to improve.

On Tuesday evening, at least 100 federal workers who focus on education
research, student testing and basic data collection were laid off from the
Department of Education, part of a [24]bloodletting of 1,300 staffers.
Outside of government, at least 700 people in the field of social science
research were laid off or furloughed over the past week, largely as a
result of federal cuts to education research.

The layoffs came just weeks after the latest federal test scores showed
American children’s reading and math skills at [25]record lows. Trump
administration officials have pointed to those low scores as evidence that
the Department of Education had failed.

But now the extent of those cuts raise questions about how the federal
tests, which provide the data on how students are doing, will continue.

Other basic information about schools, along with research about what works
to improve them, seems most likely to be degraded or to disappear entirely.
Many of those who were laid off worked on projects evaluating math and
reading instruction, disability supports and other subjects critical to
student learning. [26]READ MORE

Women's History Month

This week we highlight North Carolina lawmaker and legend, [27]Eva Clayton.
In 1992, Clayton became the first Black female ever elected from North
Carolina to the U.S. House of Representatives and was the first Black
representative since 1901!

Clayton was born in Georgia in 1934, but grew up in North Carolina. She
received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Johnson C. Smith Univ. in
Charlotte and a master’s degree in biology from North Carolina Central
University in Durham. She initially planned to become a doctor, but later
decided to pursue law and attended law school at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. The demands of raising four kids while attending
law school derailed her law career, but she became a community leader who
first ran for office in 1968. While her challenge to incumbent Rep.
Fountain for his U.S. House of Representatives, District 2 seat was
unsuccessful, she stayed active in politics.

Elected to the Warren County Board of Commissioners in 1982, she served on
the Board for the next ten years until being elected as North Carolina’s
District 1 House of Representatives member in 1992. In her first year in
Congress, Clayton was elected leader of her freshman class.

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade until
retiring in 2003, Clayton served on the House Agriculture Committee, House
Budget and Small Business Committees. She was a relentless champion of
rural and agricultural interests during her time in office and even today
continues to advocate for improving global agriculture, food security,
poverty reduction, rural development, and public education.

In 2022, Governor Roy Cooper awarded Clayton the 2022 North Carolina Award,
the highest civilian honor given by the state.

In Case You Missed It

[28]Vouchers: Racist legacy, help the wealthy, hurt rural counties

[29]Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools considering bonuses of up to $15,000 for
some teachers

[30]As NC's teacher pipeline dwindles, education colleges are getting
creative

[31]Parents of Students with Disabilities: Don't Gut Federal Funding

[32]D.C. Families, Facing Lost Jobs and a Gutted City Budget, Beseech
Republican Lawmakers

Ed. Leadership Forum with Elena Ashburn

March 27, 7:00 p.m. Join NC PTA and Public Schools First NC for the second
installment of our series of interviews with new public education leaders.

Dr. Elena Ashburn is the new Senior Education Policy Advisor to Governor
Josh Stein. Prior to joining Governor Stein’s staff, Ashburn served as
Central Area Superintendent in the Wake County Public School System,
supporting 17,000 students in 23 schools. Ashburn has served as a middle
and high school principal and began her career in education teaching
English at Southern Durham High in the Durham Public School System. In
2021, Ashburn was named the North Carolina Wells Fargo Principal of the
Year. The same year, the UNC School of Education awarded Ashburn the UNC
Distinguished Alumna Award for her work in education. Q & A with the
audience if time allows.

[33]REGISTER HERE

Mark Your Calendar!

Multiple Dates, 7:00-8:30 pm: Resilience and ACES. Learn about Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACES) and resilience. Join us for this
award-winning, 60-minute film, Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The
Science of Hope. This documentary examines how abuse, neglect, and other
adverse childhood experiences affect children’s development & health
outcomes in adulthood. This powerful movie is a conversation starter and a
perspective changer.

[34]REGISTER HERE

All screenings are on Thursday and include time for discussion. Invite a
friend and contact us about setting up a private screening for your school
staff, PTA, civic group, church, or synagogue.
* March 26
* April 24

Words to Remember

"In public schools, students have numerous constitutional rights, including
equal protection, due process, free speech, and both free exercise of
religion and freedom from religion. None of these constitutional
protections apply in private schools."

— The School Voucher Illusion p. 81

Help us support public schools!

Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
focused solely

on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents,
teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina
to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each
child for productive citizenship.

[35]DONATE HERE

[36]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]

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