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.
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