In June of 2023, Land of Sky P20 Council released our inaugural policy agenda as part of our advocacy toolkit for 2022-2023. This initial list of policy priorities represents the first opportunity for collective advocacy specific to the collaborative’s four strategic goals for addressing the chronic funding barriers that impede growth in all aspects of the education-to-workforce pipeline in our four-county region.
Policy Priorities for the Land of Sky (LOS) P20 Council
Early Childhood Education
- Expand access to NC Pre-K to all four-year-olds through support for families and children.
- Ensure essential infrastructure is in place to accommodate expansion of NC Pre-K to all four-year-olds.
K-12 Education
- Develop the pipeline of highly qualified and well-prepared teachers, school leaders, and support staff by developing a funding plan to ensure competitive salaries and benefits.
- Ensure essential infrastructure is in place to support students, families, and school staff.
- Provide school districts with greater policy and legal flexibility to facilitate greater alignment to local and regional needs.
Postsecondary Education
- Renew, sustain, and expand financial support for students at community colleges pursuing a two-year degree or an industry credential.
- Develop a pipeline of highly qualified and well-prepared North Carolina Community College System and UNC System leaders, faculty, and staff by developing a funding plan to ensure competitive salaries and benefits.
- Ensure adequate funding formula to support short-term and long-term high-cost programs leading to in-demand employment with living wages and benefits.
Credentials & Workforce
- Expand and strengthen coordination between K-12 and higher education to promote postsecondary pathways leading to recognized credentials leading to high-demand jobs with sustainable salaries and benefits.
- Expand and strengthen coordination between higher education and industry/employers to promote short-term and non-degree workforce training and pathways that lead to credentials aligned with in-demand, living-wage jobs.
Strategies To Accomplish Priorities Requiring Legislative Action
Early Childhood Education
Fully fund essential infrastructure to expand NC Pre-K to accommodate the expansion of NC Pre-K to all eligible four-year-olds.
- Increase the reimbursement rate to provide full funding for all NC Pre-K providers, to account for rising costs, and to incentivize four- and five-start centers that do not currently participate in NC Pre-K to do so and meet its higher-quality standards.
- Increase the administrative rate for NC Pre-K Contract Administrators to 8%.
- Increase licensed NC Pre-K teacher wages and benefits to achieve parity with K12 public school educators.
- Develop alternative credential requirements for teachers.
- Provide start-up funding for new centers.
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Provide funding to expand eligibility for child care subsidies (child care vouchers).
- Modify eligibility requirements to include parents that are actively looking for employment so that they can apply for positions, attend interviews, etc.
Fund expansion of NC Pre-K to ensure access to all eligible four-year-olds through support for families and children.
- Expand funding for NC Pre-K program to ensure all enrollees have access to full-day and full-year programs to meet family and community needs and to prevent summer learning loss.
K-12 Education
Develop the pipeline of highly qualified and well-prepared teachers, school leaders, and support staff by developing a funding plan to ensure competitive salaries and benefits.
- Provide competitive salaries, benefits, and housing assistance programs to teachers, school leaders, and support staff.
- Support teacher pipeline and induction programs with full funding including the NC Teaching Fellows program and other Grow-Your-Own initiatives.
- Sustain educators throughout their careers by fully restoring master’s degree pay levels, expanding the Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) program, and providing robust professional development to support high growth in every student.
Ensure essential infrastructure is in place to support students, families, and school staff.
- Fund the expansion of accessible, affordable, high-speed broadband throughout North Carolina.
- Increase state funding for Specialized Instructional Support Personnel, or SISP (e.g., school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists), to meet nationally recommended ratios, while allowing districts the flexibility to allocate the funds according to their own individualized needs for the various SISP positions.
- Increase funding for special education to include all aspects of special education—including TA’s, highly qualified special education teachers, and special education in Early Childhood—and increase the cap.
- Prioritize an investment in the science of reading in the early grades (PreK-3), including by fully funding Teaching Assistants for K-3 classrooms.
Provide school districts with greater policy and legal flexibility to facilitate greater alignment to local and regional needs.
- Revise legislation to allow schools to align their schedules with their local community college to enable students to participate fully in the Career and College Promise program and take tuition-free college courses while in high school.
- Develop a statewide database of approved/vetted private and non-profit vendors who provide curriculum support, supportive services, and more that will aid teachers, counselors, and students in their academic and social-emotional well-being.
- Allow flexibility in school districts’ budget allocations so they may choose to contract with any of the approved/vetted private or non-profit vendors from the statewide database to provide curriculum support, supportive services, and other supplemental services.
Postsecondary Education
Renew, sustain, and expand financial support for students at community colleges pursuing a two-year degree or an industry credential.
- Develop and fund a state-wide NC Promise program that guarantees tuition-free community college.
- Fully fund the RAISE scholarship program, which would provide financial support to students that pursue an industry credential that is not eligible for federal Pell Grant support.
Develop a pipeline of highly qualified and well-prepared North Carolina Community College System and UNC System leaders, faculty, and staff by developing a funding plan to ensure competitive salaries and benefits.
- Authorize a third party audit of North Carolina higher education salaries and benefits with recommendations to bring NC higher education pay and benefits at or above the national average.
- Develop a budget plan to implement recommendations by 2025.
Ensure adequate funding formula to support short-term and long-term high-cost programs leading to in-demand employment with living wages and benefits.
- Conduct a review of the average cost of higher education programs at both community colleges and universities and develop and implement a funding formula based on the true cost of providing high cost programming to meet the needs of NC.
- Reassess the increasing costs of providing support services for students (mental health, substance abuse, etc.) and adjust the funding formula to provide greater support for services in support of our students.
Credentials & Workforce
Expand and strengthen coordination between K-12 and higher education to promote postsecondary pathways leading to recognized credentials leading to high-demand jobs with sustainable salaries and benefits.
- Review all CCP operating requirements to make access to the high-school-to-community-college pipeline more accessible to all students in grades 9-12.
- Develop a web page identifying available pathways across NC.
- Hire a marketing firm to develop and roll out a CCP marketing campaign.
- Create a statewide data system for comprehensive credential measurements to ensure data pertaining to certifications, diplomas, and degrees is current and accessible for measuring progress to enable proactive decision-making at the state and local levels.
Expand and strengthen coordination between higher education and industry/employers to promote short-term and non-degree workforce training and pathways that lead to credentials aligned with in-demand, living-wage jobs.
- Develop statewide advisory boards in each of the career fields for input to the State of NC and colleges regarding needed skills, certifications, licenses, and training/education required to build a strong NC workforce.
- Fund Curriculum Improvement Projects (CIPs) to use business /industry input to review and refine curricula at the NCCCS and UNC.
- Hire a marketing firm to develop and roll out a marketing campaign on the importance of higher education credentials for obtaining in-demand, living-wage jobs. This should include a website listing credentials and where they may be obtained.
- Create a statewide data system for comprehensive credential measurements to ensure data pertaining to certifications, diplomas and degrees is current and accessible for measuring progress to enable proactive decision-making at the state and local levels.
