August 17th, 2023 Legislative Update

The legislature returned last week to resume work on the state budget. It has been announced that this will be completed sometime after September 11th. We continue to meet with them to push our priorities, and will report back once the document becomes official.

As a reminder, there were significant differences in pay for educators in the House and Senate budgets. These differences can be viewed in the reports given in April and May by PENC. We have met with both House and Senate members to advocate for the highest pay, and have encouraged them to go even further than what has been proposed. Inflation is hurting families across the state, and educators are certainly not immune to this situation.

In addition, the House has fully restored Teaching Fellows and Master’s Pay in their version of the budget, while the Senate has not.

Therefore, both items are in conflict, and we are encouraging them to support all measures that support public education. Also, after reviewing other bills that do not pertain to public education, we have found that up to eight weeks of paid leave will be granted after childbirth. This will apply to all state employees and public school employees. This is a big win for educators who are starting or growing their families.

Finally, as a reminder, sessions in North Carolina operate on a biennium basis. Legislators will resume work next year on bills and conference reports. Furthermore, they will make adjustments to the budget, which is planned to be passed in September. Stay tuned to hear more on how the budget ends up for North Carolina. We will complete a session summary that includes all education bills passed, including veto overrides, once legislators complete their work for the year.

PENC Advocacy Team:

Tammy Beach

Bryan Holloway

Robert Mitchell