House panel to consider constitutional amendment changing State Board of Education
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina House committee is scheduled to consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would change how members of the State Board of Education are selected and make the superintendent of public instruction the board’s chair.
House Bill 144, titled “Elect SBE/Superintendent as SBE Chair,” is on the House Education-K-12 Committee calendar for 2 p.m. Tuesday. The bill was re-referred to that committee May 14 after being withdrawn from the House Rules Committee.
The proposal would ask voters to amend the North Carolina Constitution. Under the bill, the State Board of Education would include the superintendent of public instruction and a number of elected members equal to North Carolina’s membership in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bill would make the superintendent of public instruction the chair and chief administrative officer of the State Board of Education.
Current constitutional language provides for a State Board of Education consisting of the lieutenant governor, state treasurer and 11 members appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly in joint session. Those appointed members include one from each of eight educational districts and three at-large members.
Under the proposed amendment, elected board members would serve staggered four-year terms and would be elected from districts established by the General Assembly. Vacancies for elected members would be filled for the remainder of the term as provided by law.
If approved by lawmakers, the amendment would be placed on the November 2026 statewide general election ballot. If voters approved it, the constitutional change would take effect Jan. 1, 2028, and would apply to terms beginning Jan. 1, 2029.
The bill is sponsored by Reps. Hugh Blackwell, John Torbett, Neal Jackson and Mark Brody as primary sponsors. It has several additional sponsors.
The proposal would reshape education governance in North Carolina by moving most State Board of Education seats from gubernatorial appointment to district elections. It also would elevate the elected superintendent from secretary and chief administrative officer of the board to chair.
The change would likely draw attention because state education governance has been a recurring point of conflict between governors, lawmakers, the State Board of Education and the superintendent’s office.
The committee calendar does not indicate whether a vote is expected Tuesday.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
