North Carolina
As lawmakers work to wrap up legislative business for the year, a major milestone was reached with the passage of a new state budget. Here’s what parents and school board members should know.
Lawmakers Pass a Budget
Lawmakers on Thursday approved a $34.4 billion spending plan, sending the budget to Gov. Stein’s desk and marking the end of a year-long stalemate.
The general fund appropriates over $12.5 billion to the Department of Public Instruction, including $598 million for increased teacher compensation.
The new salary schedule provides a roughly 8% average raise for teachers, with starting pay increasing to $48,000 per year before local supplements. This budget bridges the gap from last year by offering additional one-time bonuses for teachers based on their experience.
Republican leaders are framing the budget as a disciplined plan, according to the Carolina Journal, one that pairs broad pay raises for state employees and continued income-tax cuts with new investments in Hurricane Helene recovery, Medicaid oversight, education, and public safety.
This budget aims to address affordability concerns while “keeping North Carolina on a strong fiscal footing,” the outlet reports.
K-12 DEI Ban Becomes Law
On June 24, 2026, the North Carolina House overrode the Governor’s veto of S227 (Eliminating “DEI” in Public Education), making the measure law (SL 2026-20). This law prohibits public school units from engaging in or advocating for discriminatory practices, compelling students or school staff to affirm or profess belief in divisive concepts, and providing instruction to students on divisive concepts, among other actions. Please refer to the full law for the entire list of prohibited actions and corresponding definitions.
H87 (Educational Choice for Children Act) Passed as Law
On June 3, 2026, the North Carolina Senate overrode the Governor’s veto of H87 (Educational Choice for Children Act), making the measure law (SL 2026-6). This law elects the State Board of Education to participate in the Federal Tax Credit established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for contributions of students to scholarship-granting organizations. Click here to read the full law.
Social Media & AI Safety Act Continues to Move Forward
HB301, a bill to provide social media protections for children and require new instruction standards for AI use, passed the House and advanced to the Senate on June 23. The Senate failed to concur in subcommittee, prompting both chambers to appoint Conference Committees.
Key aspects of the bill include:
- Defining addictive social media platform
- Requiring social media platforms to prohibit children under 14 years of age from holding an account. This includes terminating current accounts and deleting all personal data associated with it
- Requiring children aged 14-15 to receive a parent’s permission to hold an account on an addictive social media platform
- Requiring the State Board of Education to adopt age-appropriate standards for instruction on AI
- Requiring the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 15, 2028 on the following:
- Adoption and implementation of revised standards
- Alignment of courses with new standards on updated approved courses list
- Any difficulties with implementation of the new standards
- Requiring DPI to adopt a model AI policy to serve as a guidance to public school units with minimum standards provided by December 30, 2026.
- Requiring local boards of education to adopt AI policies after review of DPI’s model policy by June 30, 2027. Find our summary on this topic here.
- Providing an AI tool evaluation framework and educator training on the use of AI
South Carolina
South Carolina entered the new fiscal year (beginning July 1) without a state budget, with lawmakers yet to resolve differing priorities over property tax relief and earmarks. That means new spending—including increased state funding for school districts—is on hold until the bill is finalized. South Carolina will operate at FY25-26 funding levels in the interim.
Lawmakers are set to return July 14 to continue budget discussions. Here’s what to know in the meantime.
Increases to education funding
The two chambers agree on raising starting teacher pay from $48,500 to $50,500, a move that also increases every cell in the teacher salary schedule by $2,000. State employee raises will be retroactive to July 1, so long as they are not vetoed by the governor (a highly unlikely outcome).
Both versions also propose just over $23 million for the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund, a flexible school-choice program established last year.
However, the House and Senate differ over one-time school bus funding. The former proposes $28 million for the purchase and lease of school buses, while the latter is seeking $14 million. Both agree to $2 million in recurring funding.
Significant resources will also be dedicated to improving school infrastructure. In its most recent budget request, the Department of Education sought $120 million for an Education Infrastructure Bank as a sustainable source of funding for school construction, renovation, and modernization.
The House plan allocates $75 million for this effort, while the Senate seeks a lesser, though still substantial, $50 million. The department’s request specifics such funds cannot be used for routine maintenance, sports facilities, and a few other exclusions.
Prohibited curriculum, cellphone ban, and more
The state budget is also commonly used to set policy, including that relating to our schools. CALN readers will know that South Carolina’s cellphone ban and the prohibition on CRT-related concepts exist as budget provisos, which must be renewed every year to retain the force of law.
Those two policies remain in effect per a continuing resolution, as do other provisos from previous years. CALN will provide a more comprehensive update on new and changed policies board members should know once a final budget is adopted.