Senate panel weighs education and workforce package
RALEIGH — A North Carolina Senate committee is taking up a three-bill education package that would affect K-12 school funding studies, student records, community college workforce training, digital credentials and math instruction.
The Senate Education/Higher Education Committee was scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, in Room 544 of the Legislative Office Building. The agenda listed Senate Bill 990, the Students First Act; Senate Bill 991, the Community College Workforce Readiness Act; and Senate Bill 1044, the Foundational Mathematics Act.
All three bills were referred to the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee, with instructions that they move next to Senate Appropriations/Base Budget if they receive a favorable report. Senate Bill 990 and Senate Bill 991 were re-referred May 7, while Senate Bill 1044 was re-referred May 5.
The proposals are sponsored by Republican senators and contain appropriations language. Taken together, the bills show a broad Senate focus on education policy during the short session, ranging from student privacy and funding formulas to workforce credentials and early math intervention.
Senate Bill 990, the Students First Act, would make personally identifiable student disciplinary records at public higher education institutions confidential and not subject to disclosure as public records. The bill defines public institutions of higher education to include the UNC System Office, UNC constituent institutions, the Community Colleges System Office and community colleges.
The bill also would direct the Office of Learning Research at the North Carolina Collaboratory to establish a work group to study a possible transition to a weighted student funding model for K-12 public education. The work group would be required to report by July 15, 2027, on a three-year strategy for moving from the current allotment-based funding model to a weighted student funding formula. The bill would appropriate $300,000 in nonrecurring funds for the 2026-27 fiscal year for that work.
A third section of Senate Bill 990 would create a Student-Based Educational Wallet Pilot Program for the 2027-28 fiscal year. The pilot would be administered by the State Education Assistance Authority in coordination with one selected public school unit and one high school in that unit. Participating students could receive up to $395 for qualifying educational expenses tied to approved programs, courses or experiences outside the traditional classroom, including career and technical education, internships, arts, STEM competitions, leadership programs and certain physical education activities.
Under the bill, the participating public school unit would determine whether an eligible activity qualifies for academic credit, and students could demonstrate proficiency through portfolios, performance assessments and competency-based evaluations. The bill would appropriate $445,000 in nonrecurring funds for the pilot, with the money remaining available through the 2027-28 fiscal year.
Senate Bill 991, the Community College Workforce Readiness Act, would expand a community college training program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from up to 15 colleges to up to 25. The program is intended to support micro-credentials, employability skills, on-the-job training and apprenticeships with business and industry.
The bill would appropriate $3.85 million in recurring funds beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year for the IDD workforce training expansion. Of that amount, $640,000 would be used to create two positions focused on work-based learning opportunities and engagement with business and industry partners statewide, while $810,000 could be used for marketing evaluation, online resources, professional development and infrastructure support.
The same bill would require ApprenticeshipNC to report by March 15, 2027, on a plan for expedited pathways for apprenticeship candidates to enter the teaching profession. The plan would be developed with the UNC Board of Governors, State Board of Community Colleges, Department of Public Instruction and Teach NC, and would examine options for high school students to earn college credits toward a teaching license while participating in paid or other classroom-based experiential learning.
Senate Bill 991 also would appropriate $4.9 million in nonrecurring funds to expand access to digital credentials across all North Carolina community colleges. The bill directs the Community Colleges System Office to select a single credential management system vendor and pay deployment and infrastructure costs. The proposed system would include digital credential verification, a mobile digital wallet controlled by individuals, workforce matching with artificial intelligence-driven analysis and blockchain-based trust mechanisms that the bill says would not store personally identifiable information or credential data on-chain.
Senate Bill 1044, the Foundational Mathematics Act, would set a state goal for every student to have math skills at or above grade level by the end of each grade and continue progressing toward skills needed for secondary education and career success. The bill would require public school units to provide high-quality math instruction for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The proposal would require students in kindergarten through eighth grade to be assessed at least three times per school year using formative and diagnostic math assessments made available by the State Board of Education. The first assessment would have to be administered within 30 days of the start of the school year, and results would have to be provided to teachers and parents no later than 15 calendar days after the assessment.
Students identified as not grade-level proficient in math would receive intervention and remediation services documented in a Mathematics Success Plan. The plan would identify specific skill gaps, goals, benchmarks, progress monitoring and additional interventions.
The bill would apply math instruction and screening requirements not only to local school administrative units but also to charter schools, regional schools, schools for the deaf and blind, and UNC laboratory schools. The Department of Public Instruction would be required to select a math screening assessment vendor by Jan. 15, 2028, with assessments available for public school units beginning in the 2028-29 school year.
Senate Bill 1044 would appropriate $21 million in recurring funds beginning with the 2026-27 fiscal year to the Department of Public Instruction to implement the math instruction provisions, though that appropriation would expire June 30, 2031.
The bill also would direct the Office of Learning Research, in consultation with DPI and other stakeholders, to evaluate vendors of K-8 math instructional materials. The office would have to provide a list of approved vendors to DPI by April 30, 2027, and DPI would distribute the list to public school units by June 1, 2027. The bill would appropriate $2.5 million in nonrecurring funds to the UNC Board of Governors for the Collaboratory to support instructional materials review and related long-term analysis.
The three bills arrive as lawmakers continue short-session work on budget and policy priorities. Because each measure contains appropriations language, the bills would still need to clear the budget-writing process even if they advance from the education committee.
For school districts, colleges and families, the proposals could carry practical effects beyond the committee room. Senate Bill 990 raises questions about student privacy, public records and future school funding models. Senate Bill 991 would put more money into community college workforce programs, digital credentials and teacher apprenticeship planning. Senate Bill 1044 would create a statewide math intervention framework that could affect classroom time, testing, vendors, teacher training and local implementation costs.
The bills had not become law as of the committee notice. They would need approval from both chambers and the governor before taking effect.
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.
