The past year was a busy one, involving lots of time at the state legislature for Coalition lobbyists! In addition to advocacy at the General Assembly, the Coalition represented charter interests with leaders of the State Board of Education (SBE), the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), and more.
Legislative successes in 2021
Accomplishments this past year included:
- Ensuring the state budget included ADM hold harmless provisions for charter schools
- Securing equity for charters in COVID relief funding
- Obtaining authorization for charters for 2021-22 planned virtual instruction
- Resolving LEA late payment issues for charter schools and working with the NC School Boards Association and DPI to standardize payment processes
- Protecting charter autonomy with summer learning/remediation
- Keeping stricter requirements for charters out of legislation restructuring high school athletics
- Requiring NC Pre-K operators to inform parents about public charter schools in the county
- Obtaining additional funds for charters accepting students after the second 2020-21 ADM count deadline
- Celebrating the 25th anniversary of North Carolina’s charter law with a press conference attended by state leaders and lawmakers
What else? The Coalition pushed for timely teacher vaccinations and worked to ensure the Office of Charter Schools could continue validating alternative teacher evaluation tools. In addition, the Coalition urged SBE to hold charter schools harmless for renewals in 2021. Then, there were emails, emails, emails–seeking clarification, information, and above all, ensuring that charters’ best interests were maintained.
New members in 2021
The Coalition welcomed multiple new schools as members in 2021, including:
- Community School of Davidson
- Alpha Academy
- Community Charter School
- Francine Delany New School
- Union Day School
- Raleigh Oak Charter
- Phoenix Academy
- Revolution Academy
- North Carolina Cyber Academy
School members, we are delighted to have you on board!
Looking ahead to 2022
What’s ahead in 2022? We’re sure it will be busy. The Coalition Board will meet early in 2022 to outline legislative priorities for the 2022 Short Session. We will keep you updated!
