Category

Legislation

Jul 29
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Coalition Advocacy: Behind the Scenes on the Budget

By Legislation, News

What does it take to get charter-friendly provisions across the finish line and into state law? As our lobbyists can attest, securing a major legislative victory—as the Coalition did recently with measures in the new state budget—requires smart and sustained advocacy across multiple fronts.

Among other things, the $34.4 billion state budget appropriates millions in recovered funding for EC (Exceptional Children) at North Carolina charter schools. It also gives the state’s charter schools more time to submit their financial audits, ensuring timeline parity with district schools.

Both legislative wins are the direct result of Coalition advocacy at the General Assembly.

Here’s a recap from our Government Relations Team of their “behind the scenes” efforts on those two key measures: 

  • Coalition Counsel Matthew Tilley prepared budget provision language to recover the EC funding owed to public charter schools, and to amend audit deadlines for public charter schools to extend them to December 31, to match the deadlines that traditional public schools have.
  • We took these proposed provisions (along with a few others that we will try again to get next year) to House and Senate Education Budget Chairs and Leadership Staff.
  • The Budget Chairs sent the provisions to Legislative Bill Drafting to write them so that they could be added to appropriations legislation that was being prepared for legislative consideration in the 2026 Session.
  • DPI and others objected to our provisions, so we responded to questions and requests for more information.
  • Over the course of the 2026 Session, from April till the end of June, we kept in close contact with the Budget Chairs, with Senior Appropriations Chairs, and with House and Senate Leadership and Leadership Staff – mainly the Offices of the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore – to ensure that our top priorities, the EC funding and audit deadline revisions, got into the final appropriations package, S 257, 2026 Appropriations Act.

We’re very appreciative of the Coalition’s hardworking and effective lobbying team. In addition, we’re grateful to the lawmakers and legislative staff noted above, who helped ensure these provisions became law.

More details on our top budget priorities are below.

EC funding

The budget requires DPI to allocate $4.1 million to charter schools “that did not receive an additional pro rata allocation for each child attending the charter school who was a child with disabilities that enrolled in the school during the first 60 days of the 2025-2026 school year.”

DPI must develop a process “to determine the amount owed to each charter school” by October 1, 2026. In addition, the budget requires the State Board of Education to “adjust the amount of funding for children with disabilities each charter school receives during the fiscal year based on the headcount of children with disabilities required by 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3).”

The intent of this provision is to prevent the Exceptional Children funding issue from recurring.

Financial audit deadlines for charter schools

In addition, the budget extends audit deadlines for charter schools and authorizes the Charter Schools Review Board to extend the due date for any audit.

Charter schools now have “a minimum of six months from the end date of the fiscal year to submit any required financial audits for that fiscal year, unless required earlier as part of a charter renewal application.”

 View the Coalition’s 2026 Legislative and Policy Agenda.

 Legislative language in quotes is taken directly from the 2026 Appropriations Act.

Shutterstock photo above.

 

Jul 16
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NC charter impacts from the new state budget

By Legislation, News

Earlier this month, lawmakers passed, and Governor Stein signed, a $34.4 billion state budget (“2026 Appropriations Act”). Roughly $19 billion in the budget will go to education, according to WBTV. Of those educational dollars, $12.5 billion funds K-12 education.

Public school teachers will receive an average 8% pay raise, while principals and other school employees will get a 3% raise.

In a statement, Governor Stein said the budget “delivers the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years and overall teacher pay raise in fifteen years.”

Charter impacts

The new budget reflects a number of Coalition priorities that will benefit charter schools specifically. For instance, the budget rectifies funding gaps for charter schools around students with disabilities. This year, some charter schools did not receive an additional “pro rata allocation” for their students with disabilities, and the new budget allocates $4.1 million for that purpose. Additional budget language should prevent this funding issue from recurring.

The budget also broadens charter school eligibility for various grant programs; pegs remote charter academy funding to the statewide average per pupil allocation (for academies operating statewide); and extends the deadline for charter school audit submissions.

Read more budget coverage

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jun 03
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Meet the Coalition’s Government Relations Team

By Legislation, News

We often encourage school leaders to connect with their lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly, and rightly so! Building relationships with legislators is critically important in helping them understand the good work that charter schools do.

But it’s also essential for charter leaders to know which lobbyists are advocating specifically for charter school interests at the General Assembly. With the short session now well underway, we’re sharing an introduction to the Coalition’s expert Government Relations Team.

As part of this introduction, we also asked each of our lobbyists to answer this question: “What spurs your advocacy on behalf of the Coalition and North Carolina’s charter school movement?”

Harry Kaplan, McGuireWoods Consulting

Harry Kaplan has served as a lobbyist at the North Carolina General Assembly for over 35 years. He is a senior advisor with McGuireWoods Consulting’s state government relations group and a partner with McGuireWoods LLP. Harry’s extensive work in the state government relations realm has routinely positioned him at the forefront of public policy developments impacting K-12 education and health care.

Harry first launched his government relations and legal career in 1988, and he has consistently maintained a reputation as one of the most influential lobbyists in Raleigh. In 2017, Harry was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest honor bestowed by the North Carolina Governor on individuals with a record of service to the state. He was also named to the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Before joining McGuireWoods, Harry ran his own legal and lobbying practice for over a decade.

Harry Kaplan: “School choice is a personal cause for me. My kids would have benefited from attending a public charter school, but we couldn’t get past the lotteries. Demand greatly exceeded supply. My kids, and many others, didn’t have a choice because North Carolina had an arbitrary cap of 100 charter schools statewide. After talking with many parents facing the same situation, I decided to advocate for removing the cap. Lobbying for parental choice in education became a top priority for me. It has been that way ever since.”

Amanda Falkenbury, McGuireWoods Consulting

A vice president on McGuireWoods Consulting’s North Carolina government relations team, Amanda Falkenbury has more than a decade of experience in lobbying and public affairs. She represents clients in the state legislature and the executive branch.

Amanda’s client roster spans industries ranging from K-12 education to real property, manufacturing, and more. She focuses on developing and executing government relations strategies that are carefully tailored to meet each client’s needs.

Amanda Falkenbury: “I’m proud to have spent more than a decade advocating for school choice because no child should be stuck in a school that’s not working for them. I grew up in an area with very few options, and while I was fortunate to have been assigned to some of the best schools in the state, I realize that my story could have been very different. Without public charter schools, many families would have no other option. I’m grateful to play a small part in the Coalition’s work to protect and expand the options available to those families.”

Dylan Reel, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton

Dylan Reel assists clients with lobbying and advocacy before the General Assembly and state agencies, focusing on education, health care, financial services, and more. He has quickly earned recognition for efficacy and influence: In 2023, he was the youngest ranked “Top Lobbyist” in North Carolina by North State Journal. Dylan was also recognized by North State Journal as a “Top 25 Lobbyist” in 2024.

Prior to joining Kilpatrick, Dylan served as the vice president of government affairs for a national public affairs firm, representing clients at the state legislature and executive branch. Dylan also worked as general counsel to the Rules Chairman Destin Hall and the Redistricting Chairman in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In addition, Dylan worked as a research assistant and legislative staff assistant to the Rules Chairman David Lewis.

Dylan Reel: “Growing up in a rural, poor portion of Southern Illinois, I was the negative recipient of what happens when zip codes are outcome determinative for students. Left without any alternatives, my academics suffered. Thus, school choice became one of the main drivers for why I chose a career in politics. Over time, I have been lucky to have been mentored by the original North Carolina school choice lobbyist, Harry Kaplan. After years with working with Harry, and now Amanda and Story as well, my passion for school choice only continues to grow, especially with having three daughters who will begin their education journey soon!”

This spring, Harry, Amanda, and Dylan were named to NC Tribune and Business North Carolina’s inaugural list of the state’s “leading lobbyists.”

Story Oliver, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton

Story Oliver represents various clients as a dedicated policy analyst and lobbyist working within the Coalition’s Government Relations Team. With a deep understanding of public policy and legislation, Story plays a key role in maintaining client relationships and navigating policy issues. With experience in government relations and public relations, her knowledge is instrumental in advocating for key initiatives and ensuring alignment with governmental priorities.

During her time as a UNC-Chapel Hill student, Story worked as a public relations intern, public relations apprentice, and account coordinator at one of the nation’s largest independently held public relations, advertising, and digital media agencies. She also previously worked at a bipartisan lobbying firm in Raleigh, seeking government solutions for clients and gathering research to support lobbying and marketing efforts.

Story Oliver: “It is an honor to represent the NC Coalition for Charter Schools and to advocate for charter schools in North Carolina. Through conversations with Coalition members and hearing their personal stories, I have heard the significant impact charter schools have on their students’ lives every day. This continues to inspire me to advocate for the school choice movement to ensure students and their families can participate in opportunities that shape their futures.”

Biographical information for our lobbyists has been adapted from their pages on McGuireWoods and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton websites. Headshots courtesy of McGuireWoods and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.

Jan 07
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Clarifying charter flexibility with teacher evaluation, including beginning teachers

By Legislation, News

Charter leaders, we want to ensure you understand your flexibility in choosing teacher evaluation tools. This flexibility, outlined in state law, extends to your school’s evaluation of beginning as well as veteran teachers. Practically, that means charter schools are not required to use NCEES (NC Educator Effectiveness System) for teacher evaluation. In fact, charters may use any evaluation, provided it is similar to district and state evaluation standards.

The Coalition worked to codify this charter flexibility in state law. We achieved it through enactment in 2025 of Senate Bill 254/Session Law 2025-80.

A General Assembly summary of various provisions in the law notes that SB 254:

Allows charter schools to develop and use any evaluation for conducting the evaluation of teachers, if the evaluation instrument includes standards and criteria similar to those used in the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process or such other evaluation standard and process required to be used by LEAs.

Coalition Executive Director Dave Machado has confirmed this flexibility with Department of Public Instruction (DPI) leadership. Charlene Pittman is the co-director of educator performance at DPI. In communication with the Coalition, she referenced GS 115C-218.90(a), which now includes this amended language, mirroring the legislature’s summary above:

(7) A charter school may develop and use any evaluation for conducting evaluations of teachers provided that it includes standards and criteria similar to those used in the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process, or such other evaluation standard and process required to be used by local school administrative units.

We’re so pleased this important flexibility is enshrined in state law. As you likely know, the Coalition exists to protect and promote public charter schools. So, guarding against regulatory creep and protecting charter autonomy is a core part of our work!

Learn more about the Coalition here.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Aug 28
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Senate Leader Berger announces interim committee assignments at NC General Assembly

By Legislation, News

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) last week announced interim committee appointments for the 2025-26 legislative session.

In his announcement, Senator Berger said:

As we prepare for next year’s legislative session, these committees will get to work examining the most pressing issues facing our state. I look forward to seeing what proposals the committees pursue and working with the members to usher their priorities over the finish line.

Here are the lawmakers assigned to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, according to Senator Berger’s announcement:

Brad Overcash (co-chair), Kevin Corbin (vice chair), Lisa S. Barnes, Danny Earl Britt, Jr., Michael Garrett, Dana Jones, Michael V. Lee, Tom McInnis, Benton G. Sawrey, Gladys A. Robinson, Joyce Waddell

Meanwhile, the Coalition team is already looking ahead to the next legislative session. Last week our full team assembled in Raleigh to discuss recent legislative gains as well as our upcoming legislative agenda.

Read the Coalition’s 2025 legislative agenda from this year. See a Coalition blog post about the accomplishment of key legislative priorities through Senate Bill 254/Session Law 2025-80.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jul 29
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State lawmakers override Governor’s veto of S254 – Charter School Changes

By Legislation, News

North Carolina lawmakers today voted to override Governor Stein’s veto of Senate Bill 254 – Charter School Changes. This is a major legislative victory for the state’s charter schools.

S254 includes most of the Coalition’s legislative priorities for this long session. Provisions in the bill will significantly benefit the state’s charter sector. So, we wish to thank all of the state lawmakers in both chambers who supported this important legislation.

The Coalition’s Government Relations Team worked very hard to get this legislation passed, and we are so pleased it is now session law. Thank you to the charter leaders who contacted legislators to express your support. Your advocacy matters!

The vote was 30-19 in the Senate and 74-46 in the House. Learn more here.

Following the vote to override, Coalition Executive Director Dave Machado released this statement today:

“On behalf of more than 150,000 students who rely on a public charter school for their education, thank you to the 74 members of the House of Representatives and 30 members of the Senate who voted to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of Senate Bill 254.

“Public charter schools succeed because of their flexibility and autonomy. Senate Bill 254 protects that flexibility and autonomy by empowering a body of charter school experts, insulated from political maneuverings, at the front line of regulation and oversight.”

Coalition Counsel Matthew Tilley has compiled bullet points summarizing major provisions of this legislation. Senate Bill 254:

  • Confirms that the State Board of Education (SBE) cannot adopt any rules or policies related to charter schools unless they are first approved by the Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB).
  • Requires that hearings on appeals from Department of Public Instruction (DPI) decisions to revoke, rescind, or require repayment of federal grants be heard by the CSRB.
  • Requires that the executive director of the Office of Charter Schools (OCS) be selected by, and report to, the CSRB.
  • Grants the CSRB authority to hire its own legal counsel.
  • Appropriates money to pay for CSRB’s legal counsel for the 2025-27 biennium.
  • Prohibits SBE from withholding funds to a charter school unless (1) it is due to a reduction in ADM or (2) the CSRB (rather than the Superintendent) notifies SBE that the school is in violation of its charter, is mismanaging its finances, or has violated the terms of a State or federal grant.
  • Grants charter schools freedom to relocate within 10 miles without a charter amendment, so long as they remain within the same district (LEA).
  • Clarifies that charters have authority to use their own teacher evaluation tools.
  • Requires that low-performing or continually low-performing charter schools report and present improvement plans to the CSRB, rather than SBE.
  • Requires DPI to provide first-year schools access to a financial data reporting platform (LINQ) at no cost.
  • Provides that a charter school operating a remote academy with 250 or more students can apply for a separate charter for the remote academy, and authorizes the CSRB to grant the request for a separate charter on an expedited basis.

Read the text of S254 – Charter School Changes. 

Learn more about specific S254 provisions in this Coalition blog post.

Bill provisions take effect beginning with this current 2025-2026 school year.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jul 03
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Governor Stein vetoes S 254 – Charter School Changes

By Legislation, News

Governor Stein yesterday vetoed Senate Bill 254 – Charter School Changes. As you may know, this legislation includes important provisions–for which the Coalition has advocated–that clarify and strengthen the role of the Charter Schools Review Board. S 254 also includes provisions around charter school flexibility and autonomy. Read more in this Coalition blog post about provisions in S 254.

Following the veto, the Coalition released this statement from Dave Machado, our executive director:

“More than 150,000 North Carolina families now rely on public charter schools to educate their children.

“The success of public charter schools hinges on their flexibility and autonomy. The legislature rightly placed at the front line of charter school regulation and oversight a body of public charter school experts insulated from political maneuverings that have hamstrung the charter sector in other states.

“The Constitution clearly authorizes the legislature to do this. The operative words are literally, ‘subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly.’

“On behalf of the 150,000 families who rely on charter schools, we hope the legislature successfully overrides Gov. Stein’s veto.”

See Dave Machado’s statement here.

Here is what Senate Leader Phil Berger wrote about the veto on X:

“Educational freedom was a hard-won fight in NC. Like @realDonaldTrump, I will never stop fighting for universal school choice.

“Governor Stein’s egregious veto of a bill supporting school choice and charter schools will be overridden in the Senate. Unfortunately, Sam Page opposes the historic school choice reforms we’ve implemented.

“He’d side with Gov. Stein and education bureaucrats on school choice. I side with President Trump and North Carolina families.”

This is what Governor Stein said in his veto of S 254:

“Senate Bill 254 is an unconstitutional infringement on the authority of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Additionally, it weakens accountability of charter schools when every North Carolina student deserves excellent public schools, whether traditional or charter.”

View the press release from Governor Stein’s office here.   

Read more from WFAE, CBS 17 News, Yahoo! News, Carolina Journal and WRAL.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jun 26
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NC House and Senate pass S 254 – Charter School Changes

By Legislation, News

Yesterday, in a significant legislative victory for the state’s charter schools, House and Senate lawmakers voted to pass Senate Bill 254 – Charter School Changes. The Coalition has been pushing intensively in recent months to get these provisions passed. Our Government Relations Team has been working, through various means (including the House and Senate versions of the budget), to secure legislative provisions clarifying and strengthening the role of the Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB) and safeguarding charter autonomy and flexibility.

As you may know, these provisions constitute some of the Coalition’s top legislative priorities for the session, so we are very pleased they have passed in both chambers of the legislature.

The Senate approved S 254 by a vote of 26-20 in the early afternoon yesterday. The House passed the bill by a vote of 73-36 shortly after 6 p.m.

  • See how Senate members voted here.
  • Find out how House members voted here.

In the Senate, the bill passed along party lines, with Republicans but no Democrats voting in favor. However, in the House, eight Democrats (Reps. Butler, Dew, Hawkins, Jeffers, G. Pierce, Roberson, Charles Smith, and Willingham) joined with Republicans in supporting the bill. We’re very appreciative of lawmakers’ support, also including the House conferees (Reps. Strickland, Blackwell, and Pare) as well as Senate conferees (Senators Lee, Overcash, and Daniel).

S 254 has been sent to Governor Stein, who has 10 days to sign or veto the bill or allow it to become law without his signature.

We share key provisions of S 254 below.

S 254 provides that the Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB):

  • Must first approve any rule or policy adopted by the State Board of Education regarding charter schools.
  • Conducts hearings around the review of financial assistance (“pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1231b-2, including making findings and recommendations regarding those hearings”).
  • Oversees the executive director of the Office of Charter Schools at N.C. DPI and sets the salary for this position.
  • May employ legal counsel without needing to obtain permission or approval.
  • Approves the written terms of charters.
  • Requires charter schools that are low-performing or continually low-performing to provide school improvement plans. However, the requirements of S. 115C-105.27setting parameters around school improvement plans “shall not” apply to charter schools.
  • Serves as the entity, rather than the State Superintendent, to notify the State Board of Education that a charter school “has failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management or has violated a State or federal requirement for receipt of funds.”
  • Creates a standardized enrollment verification and transfer request document for charter schools to use to request their per pupil share of the local current expense fund from districts.
  • Sets a standardized procedure, in consultation with charter schools and school districts, for the transfer of local funds. The procedure shall require, “to the extent practicable,” that transfers are made electronically.

The bill also includes the following beneficial provisions:

  • Ensures that charter schools do not need to secure CSRB approval to relocate within 10 miles of the location specified in their charter, as long as the new location is within the same school district.
  • Makes clear that charter schools shall not be required to report class rank on a student’s high school transcript.
  • Allows flexibility with teacher evaluation tools, as long as those tools use similar standards and criteria as “those used in the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process” or used by school districts.
  • Ensures that DPI must fund a charter school’s financial platform for its first year of operation.
  • Allows charter schools with remote academies of 250 or more students to request a separate charter from the CSRB through an expedited process that may not include a planning year.
  • Ensures that remote academies operated by a charter school receive separate school performance grades.

Above photo: Shutterstock.

Sep 12
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Lawmakers pass enrollment growth funding for charter schools

By Legislation, News

North Carolina lawmakers this week approved a mini-budget bill with much-needed funds for growing public schools, including charters. The measure, House Bill 10, includes $95 million in recurring funding for K-12 enrollment growth, among other things. The Senate passed the bill on Monday, and the House approved it yesterday.

Why is this funding necessary? This year, the state moved to a new funding model (“funding in arrears”) which pays schools based on last year’s enrollment. Enrollment growth is to be covered by a contingency reserve.

EdNC explains:

In 2023, lawmakers also enacted a new funding in arrears model for K-12 public schools. This means funding is now based on the previous year’s enrollment, rather than projections. Lawmakers and officials from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have said this model gives more budget certainty to schools.

However, the new enrollment growth account balance only has $2.5 million it it, [House Speaker Tim] Moore said in a press release this week, “less than 5% of expected funding necessary to meet the needs of K-12 enrollment growth for this year.”

“Therefore, the mini budget allocates $95 million to meet this critical need for our growing public schools,” Moore said.

Like most bills, House Bill 10 includes a variety of provisions. In addition to funding public K-12 enrollment growth, the bill also provides additional funds for community colleges and the Opportunity Scholarship Program, and includes other components.

Now, the governor can sign or veto it–or allow the bill to become law in 10 days by not taking any action. The Coalition has urged the governor to allow the bill to become law.

In a press release distributed Tuesday before the House vote, Lindalyn Kakadelis, the Coalition’s executive director, said:

Thank you to state lawmakers for coming together to propose enrollment growth funding at traditional and charter schools. Our member schools have reached out to us with great anxiety in recent weeks, because without this funding they may soon face a liquidity crisis. We respectfully urge lawmakers and the governor to ensure this funding is enacted into law.

Read more about the measure in the Charlotte Observer and EdNC.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jul 31
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U.S. House Appropriators propose $20M funding boost for charter program

By Legislation, News

The federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) could see a funding increase this year. Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee approved a $20 million funding increase for the program. This is the “largest proposed budget increase for charter schools in several years,” according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. CSP is currently funded at $440 million and represents a fraction–just 1%–of federal spending on K-12 education, notes the Alliance. Yet the program provides important funding to start and expand public charter schools nationwide.

In a statement about the proposed funding increase, Eric Paisner, interim CEO at the Alliance, said:

We thank the House Appropriations Committee for recognizing the incredible value of public charter schools by proposing a total of $20 million in increased funding for the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP). Yesterday, the full House Appropriations Committee proposed a $10 million increase to the CSP appropriation. This follows an earlier proposed increase of $10 million by the Labor-HHS subcommittee last month, creating the largest proposed budget increase for charter schools in several years. This crucial funding source is the lifeline for creating high-quality, in-demand public charter schools across the nation.

Families across the country want more public education options, and CSP funding is essential to meet this growing demand. Over the past five years, charter schools have been the only public schools to experience enrollment growth, demonstrating their unique appeal and success …

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