November 8, 2025

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Challenges Increase for NC’s Rural Schools

The National Rural Education Association just published an excellent new report, Why Rural Matters 2025, documenting the needs of rural schools and students throughout America. They ranked the states on conditions of rural education from 1 (state most in need of attention/improvement in rural conditions, policies, and resources to 50 (lowest priority or least in need of attention or direction change). NC’s priority ranking was 13; only 12 other states had a higher priority ranking.

The report documents the many challenges facing our rural schools, especially the low instructional expenditures per pupil, the lack of access to support for well-being (e.g., school psychologists and counselors), inadequate pre-k programs, the lack of health insurance and primary care clinicians, and the persistent impacts of poverty and childhood hunger. Now, our state, and especially our rural communities, face deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Rural schools in NC are crucial to their community’s stability and economic health. Seventy-eight of NC’s 100 counties are classified as rural with more than 1 in 3 NC students attending a school in a rural district. Only Texas has more rural students.

Why Rural Matters 2025 makes it clear that NC rural counties are facing multiple crises in terms of educational loss, economic outcomes, unemployment, and mental health. Seventeen percent of rural NC students live in homes with household incomes below the poverty line. Nearly 14% of our rural high school students did not graduate high school compared with the national average of 89.4% rural graduation rate. (See Why Rural Matters 2025 State-by-State Results for more details.)

NC legislators must help bridge the resource gap for rural schools. Because rural counties often have a lower tax base, their schools are at a disadvantage in terms of funding, which leads to resource disparities compared to wealthier districts.

To make the struggles of rural schools worse, they are operating on last year’s funding levels because state legislators have not yet passed a state budget. Federal budget cuts are causing even more problems as some rural districts rely heavily on federal dollars to make up for shortfalls in state and local funding.

Rural schools in NC serve as a critical economic engine for their communities. The success of rural schools is directly tied to the survival of many rural communities. NC legislators must make rural education a top priority. We must continue to advocate and push for legislation that helps rural schools and gives them the resources necessary to enrich their communities and provide students with the opportunity to succeed.

Editorial Comment: Accurate and longitudinal data is vital to responsible policy-making in all levels of government. Read this disturbing note from the report authors: “The Why Rural Matters 2025 report uses data that were downloaded mere weeks before the National Center for Education Statistics dismissed nearly all its staff. The future is also uncertain given that, at the time of this writing, the Institute of Education Sciences has been directed to stop reporting and housing new data in its data repositories.”

 

Impact of Medicaid & SNAP Cuts On Rural NC

The NC Rural Center published a report in September 2025 on the impacts of Medicaid and SNAP federal cuts passed by Congress on July 4, 2025 (H.R.1). This bill includes massive cuts to two safety net programs that NC residents count on, especially in rural areas. These cuts are putting thousands of North Carolinians at risk of losing medical and SNAP benefits. The report documents how rural residents are enrolled in these programs at higher rates and how the cuts will impact rural NC. 

Medicaid Expansion. NC expanded Medicaid December 1, 2023. As of July 2025, 672,000 people were enrolled. Expansion enrollment varies by county with the highest rate of expansion enrollment found in Robeson County (22.7 %). Counties with the highest rates of enrollment are facing the greatest impact if the expansion ends.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has estimated as many as 255,000 North Carolinians are at risk of losing coverage with the impact being the greatest in rural counties. 

New Recipient Reporting Requirements. Another huge impact on current Medicaid recipients are the new requirements for online reporting predicted to be more challenging for rural residents to complete. NCDHHS is working on how this requirement will work, but at minimum, expansion recipients will be required to reapply for coverage at least every six months (currently once a year) and prove 80 hours of community engagement (work, work programs, community service, etc.) per month to keep their coverage. The new online reporting requirements require reliable access to the internet. Rural communities in NC lag both in technology and internet connection. “In North Carolina, rural households are more likely to have a smartphone as the only computer technology in the household, no computer technology at all, and no internet subscription” (NC Rural Center).

Breaking NEWS: U.S. District Judge John McConnell on Thursday afternoon (11/6) ordered the administration to deliver full SNAP payments to states by Friday. The Trump administration appealed this decision and late last night they agreed to fund SNAP for November while the appeal is heard by the courts. The threats to cut SNAP have not been abandoned but this is a welcome delay.

Snap Cuts. The Trump administration ordered that SNAP spending be reduced effective November 1st, leaving states to pick up the costs if they want to keep this critical program for low-income residents. SNAP will also have new community engagement requirements and bring the same challenges faced by Medicaid. For example, currently adults 18-54 without children must show 20 hours of community engagement each week to receive benefits. Under the new requirements, the age group is expanded (ages 18-64) and parents who do not have a child under age 14, veterans, unhoused people, and former foster care youth are no longer exempted from the requirement. NC child advocates worry that to pay for the current program, the NCGA will cut benefits. SNAP has higher enrollments in rural areas and varies across the state (NC Rural Center).

As of April 2025, there were 1,419,742 SNAP recipients enrolled in NC. SNAP cuts will impact rural people for the same reasons that they will reduce the number of people who are currently getting Medicaid—less access to technology/internet and the burden of applying and reporting.

Veterns Day

Veterans Day is on November 11 because it marks the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, a day known as Armistice Day. The fighting stopped at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The name was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all American veterans, not just those from World War I.

Legislative and SBE Updates

The NCGA convenes Monday, 11/17/2025 at 10 a.m. See full calendar.

On Friday, November 7, the Child Fatality Task Force, Unintentional Death Prevention Committee will meet virtually. Streaming information will be available on the committee website.

NCDPI had their monthly meeting this week and shared results from AP testing last year. More NC students are taking and passing AP exams than ever before.

In Case You Missed It

National News

The federal government is still shut down, making this the longest shutdown in U.S. History. The fate of health care and food and nutrition benefits like SNAP are unsettled. Many federal workers are going without paychecks with no relief in sight.

Students make appeals to Congress to protect K-12 funding. The student leaders representing 21 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico are from the National Student Council.

The federal shutdown is harming several key programs such as Head Start that provides early education, health and food support for low-income families. As of 11/5/2025, Head Start programs in 18 states and Puerto Rico had to close their doors. Nearly 10,000 children and families have been left without access to care.

Education Dept. scraps the 43-year-old Blue Ribbon program that honors school for excellence or narrowing gaps in student performance.

Inaugural Year for NC Blue Ribbon Schools

Four NC public schools have been chosen as statewide Blue Ribbon Schools award winners:

  • Apex Friendship Middle School (Wake Co. Public Schools)
  • Henderson County Early College (Henderson Co. Public Schools)
  • Mills Park Middle School (Wake Co. Public Schools)
  • Pinehurst Elementary School (Moore Co. Public Schools)

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program was started in 1982 to recognize public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students showed exemplary achievement or where significant improvements were being made in students' academic achievement.

The national program was cut in 2025. North Carolina has continued the program at a statewide level to "recognize and highlight schools that are excelling in academic success."

Did You Know?

Medicaid and SNAP programs now require recipients to report online their community engagement (work, work programs, etc.). The lack of reliable, high-speed internet presents a huge challenge for people in rural communities who may have no access (or unreliable access) to the internet. Even if they are achieving the monthly requirements, they may lose SNAP benefits due to the online reporting requirement (Note that SNAP already has work/community engagement requirements). According to the FCC, 15% of residences in rural communities lack access to high-speed broadband.

Did You Miss Our Webinar?

Our recent webinar with Diane Ravitch is available on our YouTube channel.

Dr. Diane Ravitch discussed her new book, An Education: How I Changed My Mind About Schools and Almost Everything Else. She described what motivate her to write the book and how she evolved from being a conservative leader in the school choice movement to a fierce defender and proponent of public schools.

If you donate $50 to Public Schools First NC (it's tax-deductible) and select Ravitch's book, we will send you a copy! Donate 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.

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.

  • January 22, 2026
  • February 26, 2026
  • March 26, 2026

Request A Speaker!

Need a speaker for your next event or group meeting? PSFNC welcomes the opportunity to speak to your group or organization on public education-related topics.

We offer our programs virtually to improve accessibility and attendance and therefore extend your reach. Our services are free of charge but may require travel-related expenses if the program is in-person.

Email us at [email protected] for more information.

Words to Remember

“Rural schools educate nearly one in five students in the United States…our findings show both extraordinary strengths and persistent inequities that demand immediate policy attention.” 

- Jerry Johnson, EdD, co-author of Why Rural Matters 2025.

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.

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]