Youth Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Preparedness K-12 Training.

HB 968 requires all North Carolina public K-12 schools to provide emergency preparedness education, beginning in grade 3 for elementary students and continuing through high school. It mandates state-developed standards for each grade level: elementary students learn about disaster types and school response plans, middle school students research past disasters and mass casualty events, and high school students are introduced to FEMA’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) materials. Local school boards must integrate this instruction into existing courses without adding new funding requirements. The law applies to all public schools statewide and takes effect for the 2025-2026 school year.