HB 1066, the Child Care Stabilization and Affordability Act, aims to address North Carolina's child care shortages by redirecting funds from the Opportunity Scholarship Program to support child care services. The bill reduces scholarship funding for private school vouchers, with the savings used to expand child care subsidies, stabilize existing programs, and improve early childhood educator pay and benefits. It also streamlines administrative rules for child care providers and clarifies regulations for religious programs. These changes directly affect families seeking child care subsidies, private school scholarship recipients, and child care providers across the state.
This bill expands access to North Carolina's Innovations waiver for families with children who have significant medical needs by adding 6,635 new slots and funding them with $240 million starting in 2026. It also modifies the Opportunity Scholarship Program to prioritize students from lower-income households by capping eligibility at 200% of the federal free lunch income threshold and adjusting grant amounts based on family income levels. To support these changes, the legislation reduces the overall scholarship fund by $240 million while simultaneously directing substantial recurring funding to the program's reserve for the next 15 years.
This bill, titled the Workforce Act of 2026, provides funding and policy changes to expand workforce development programs in North Carolina. It allocates $3.1 million to the Community Colleges System Office to support the ApprenticeshipNC program, which helps connect employers with learners through work-based training. The legislation also directs the Department of Commerce to maintain a list of industry-valued credentials and collect data on wages and job outcomes to better align education with labor market needs. Additionally, it increases financial aid for short-term workforce development grants to help students pursue credentials that are not eligible for federal funding.
HB 957 creates a study committee to examine infrastructure challenges at North Carolina's HBCUs and MSIs, including building conditions, environmental risks, and maintenance needs. It establishes a $5 million Completion Assistance Program to provide up to $1,000 annually per student at six UNC HBCUs (Elizabeth City State, NC A&T, UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, and Winston-Salem State) for tuition/fee balances, targeting students with Pell Grants who need financial aid to graduate on time. The bill also allocates specific infrastructure funds, including $5.1 million for Winston-Salem State's Hauser Hall renovations and $8 million for emergency steam repairs. These provisions directly affect students and campus facilities at the six designated institutions through financial aid and physical infrastructure support.
SB 297 establishes a Nursing Fellows Program at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) to provide forgivable loans to nursing students. The program offers up to $5,000 per semester (or $2,500 per summer) for tuition, books, and fees toward a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN) degree, contingent on recipients committing to work as nurses or nursing instructors in North Carolina. Eligibility requires WSSU nursing degree completion within 10 years, North Carolina RN licensure, and a demonstrated commitment to serve in-state, with loan forgiveness tied to employment in qualifying nursing roles after graduation.
HB 319 appropriates $500,000 from the state General Fund to Hispanic Grassroots, a nonprofit organization serving North Carolina's Hispanic community. The funds will support its existing education outreach programs, including scholarship assistance for private school choices, small business development, healthcare education, and civics classes to help residents navigate government services. This one-time grant, effective July 1, 2025, directly benefits Hispanic Grassroots' current services for Hispanic residents across the state. The bill does not create new programs but provides targeted funding for established community initiatives.
HB 566 establishes a competitive grant program to support North Carolina's Principal Fellows Program, directly affecting school leader preparation programs and future principals. It provides forgivable scholarship loans to participants in these programs (repaid only if they don’t work in North Carolina schools) and grants to eligible entities to develop innovative principal training methods. The bill sets specific grant terms, including 2-6 year durations for loan programs and 1-year terms for innovation grants, with funding capped at $250,000 per recipient annually. Recipients must report on key metrics like program completers’ placement rates in high-need schools and their performance evaluations. The program also allocates funds for administrative costs and program monitoring, requiring public sharing of non-identifiable materials to promote best practices.
HB 373 allows University of North Carolina (UNC) institutions to offer tuition discounts to two specific groups: military students receiving federal or North Carolina National Guard tuition assistance, and students enrolled in employer-sponsored financial support programs approved by UNC. The discount covers the difference between the military/employer funding and full tuition, without creating new free tuition programs. UNC must report annually to the legislature on the number of students receiving these discounts and their financial impact on institutions. The policy takes effect for the 2025-2026 academic year.
HB 239 modifies North Carolina's funding formula for children with disabilities in public schools. It changes how funds are allocated to local school districts by capping per-child funding at 13% of a district's total enrollment plus students using state scholarship programs. The bill requires the State Education Assistance Authority to provide annual scholarship data by March 15 to help calculate district funding. It also appropriates $25 million in recurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to support this revised funding structure, effective July 1, 2025.
SB 439 imposes a moratorium on new Opportunity Scholarships starting in the 2025-2026 school year, requiring new applicants to have received a scholarship in the prior year. It reduces funding for the program by $83.46 million annually (recurring) and $28.46 million (nonrecurring) for 2025-2026, while redirecting $113.46 million (recurring) and $28.46 million (nonrecurring) to public schools for the same year. The bill phases out the scholarship program entirely by 2037-2038 as current recipients become ineligible, and limits future scholarship funding increases to match public school funding growth. This directly affects new private school scholarship applicants and redirects funds from the Opportunity Scholarship program to North Carolina public schools.
