Henderson County (May 26, 2021) - RALEIGH A bill that would open disciplinary records of government employees is crawling through the Senate, and employee unions and Democrats are determined to kill it.
The House has approved a bill requiring school districts with more than 400 students to post educational materials used by teachers “prominently” on school websites. The Senate is expected to hear House Bill 755 next week.
The House approved the so-called Academic Transparency bill late Wednesday on a 66-50 vote with Republicans voting in favor of it and 50 Democrats voting against it. One Republican, Matthew Winslow, who represents Franklin and Nash counties, voted against the bill.
The bill requires teachers to post textbooks and other reading materials as well as videos, digital materials and other applications used in classrooms on school websites. It also requires them to post lesson plans from the previous year.
The N.C. Senate has passed its own version of a school-choice expansion bill that would open the state’s three choice programs to even more low- and middle-income households and families of students with special needs.
Senate Bill 671 passed largely along party lines in a 29-20 vote on Tuesday, May 4. Sen. Kirk deViere from Cumberland County was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the bill. Cumberland County has the largest number of students on Opportunity Scholarships in the state, followed by Mecklenburg and Wake counties.
“School choice shouldn’t be a privilege reserved only for the wealthy,” said Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, one of the bill’s primary sponsors. “All children, regardless of their financial circumstances, deserve the opportunity to attend the school that’s best for them. The same activists who supported school closures and claim to care about ‘equity’ turn their backs on families searching for the school setting where their child would thrive.