1.0Carolina del Norte para la educación en el hogarhttps://nche.com/es_prSpencer Masonhttps://nche.com/es_pr/author/spencer-mason/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="CHix101CEZ"><a href="https://nche.com/es_pr/legislative-update/">Actualización Legislativa</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://nche.com/es_pr/legislative-update/embed/#?secret=CHix101CEZ" width="600" height="338" title="«Actualización legislativa» — Ciudadanos de Carolina del Norte a favor de la educación en el hogar" data-secret="CHix101CEZ" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://nche.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>https://nche.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NC-Senate-Chamber-04-05-2023.jpg1080567[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″] There are six bills in the state legislature that will affect the North Carolina homeschool community if passed. NC Bill that Would Exempt Homeschool Co-ops from the Child Care LawHouse Bill 600, Regulatory Reform Act of 2023, was passed by the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate at 5:00 pm on Monday, June 26. Among the many regulation reforms in this bill is a reform regarding homeschool co-ops.This afternoon, 06/28/2013, the Senate passed this bill with several amendments added on the floor and was sent back to the House. The House didn’t concur, so a conference committee was assigned to work out the differences between the House passed version and Senate passed version. So far, there has been no action. Here is a link to the conferees. Currently, homeschool co-ops are limited to two days a week and four hours a day if any of the students under 13 years old are dropped off. If the co-op wants to meet more than four hours a day and/or more that two days a week when there are drop off students, they are required to have a NC child care license. If they aren’t meeting in a home they are also required to have a certified child care administrator. This bill will exempt homeschool co-ops from the NC child care regulations. The co-op exemption starts on page 31. North Carolinians for Home Education favors this bill, and we ask that you contact the senators on this committee to vote to affirm. HB 600 was ratified by the NC General Assembly on September 22, 2023 and sent to Governor Cooper. The governor has ten days to sign or to veto the ratified bill. If he does neither, it will become law after ten days. Senate Bill 411, Bill to allow homeschool students to take PSAT/APThis bill was initiated by NCHE. Senate Bill 411 will allow homeschool students to sit for PSAT and AP exams in public high schools. Homeschools will pay for the exams and homeschool teachers may be required to help if adding homeschool students reduces the proctor to student ratio below the minimum required. Click here to learn more and follow the progress of this bill, https://nche.com/ap-and-psat-exams-for-homeschool-students/. House Bill 800, Public School Part-Time EnrollmentThis bill will allow non-public school students, both homeschool and private school students, to take classes in public schools in local school administrative units and charter schools. There are more than 30 school districts that are promoting dual enrollment in homeschools and public schools. However, there has been disagreement among different state agencies as to if this is legal. If passed, this bill would clarify that it is clearly legal for a student to be enrolled in both public school and homeschool classes. As it’s presently worded, there is no limit on the number of classes a homeschool students may take in public schools, so students could take a full load in public schools and receive no instruction in homeschools. Also, this bill would apply to K-12 students. This bill is in the Committee on Education – K-12, Education – K-12 House Standing Committee – North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov). NCHE is opposed to this bill as it is currently worded. If dual enrollment was limited to middle and high school students and public school classes were limited to two core academic classes and one additional class or extra-curricular activity, such as art, band or a sport, NCHE would support the bill. House Bill 800 died in committee. House Bill, 420 Expand & Consolidate K-12 ScholarshipsCurrently, the Education Student Accounts (ESA+) Program is available to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Private schools and homeschools can apply for this program. It is designed to cover expenses such as speech therapy, tutoring services, and educational technology. Families with students in this program can order curriculum, education therapy, education technology, supplies and tuition from a state approved service provider or from an online marketplace managed by North Carolina. House Bill 420 will expand ESA+ to non-public students (including homeschool students) that don’t have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) issued by the local school district. The way this program is structured gives a lot of control to the state on how the families spend the money. This bill is in the Committee on Appropriations, Appropriations House Standing Committee – North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov). While NCHE favors the continued support and increased funding of homeschool and private school students with disabilities, we are not in favor of making state funding available to homeschool students who don’t have disabilities. House Bill 420 died in committee. However, the language in the bill may be added to the 2023 Appropriation Act. Senate Bill 665, Add Homeschools to Opportunity ScholarshipSince 2014, the Opportunity Scholarship program has provided private school vouchers to children of low-income households. The average voucher value is about $2,800. This bill would add homeschool students to the mix. It would award a voucher in an amount up to $1,000 for homeschool students in the next school year. The amount of the voucher would increase each successive year until the 2026-27 school year when the maximum voucher amount would equal 45% of the average state per pupil allocation for public schools. Senate Bill 645 is the same as Senate Bill 665. This bill is in the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate, Rules and Operations of the Senate Senate Standing Committee – North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov). This bill has no regulation to report how this money is spent. It is a reasonable expectation that there should be an accounting of how taxpayer funds are spent, and good governance dictates that the state will eventually implement more oversight regulations. The sponsors of these bills (420, 665, & 645) are well meaning and want to help homeschool families. However, NCHE opposes these bills, as we do with almost all bills that […]