The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina appropriates $3.9 million to establish emergency internet service plans for public schools
Last action · April 14, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Julia Greenfield and 23 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina directs the Department of Public Instruction to create an emergency internet service plan and fund for public schools during states of emergency, backed by a $3,927,380 nonrecurring for the 2025-2026 school year starting July 1, 2025.
gain access to temporary emergency internet connectivity without needing to provide initiation funds, supported by state-maintained equipment and contracts.
- The Department of Public Instruction is the state agency charged with implementing state public school laws and administrating education funds in North Carolina. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
public school units
Public school units gain access to temporary emergency internet service and necessary equipment during states of emergency without being required to provide initiation funds.
Department of Public Instruction
The department is tasked with developing and maintaining the EISP, controlling the emergency fund, and reporting annually to the legislative oversight committee.
Key Facts
- The Department of Public Instruction must develop and maintain an Emergency Internet Service Plan (EISP) for public school units during a state of emergency.
- The EISP must be developed in consultation with the Department of Information Technology, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management.
- Public school units are not required to provide funds to initiate service under the EISP.
- An Emergency Internet Service Fund is established under the control and direction of the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a nonreverting fund.
Show all 7 facts
- The Superintendent of Public Instruction must report annually no later than February 15 to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on EISP changes, services provided, and fund balances.
- The act appropriates $3,927,380 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 school year to be allocated to the Emergency Internet Service Fund.
- The act becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will public schools have to pay to use emergency internet service under this plan?
How is the Emergency Internet Service Fund financed?
Who oversees the Emergency Internet Service Fund?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 14, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 14, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 9, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 19 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Formalization of Emergency Digital Infrastructure
The legislation mandates cross-agency coordination between education, information technology, transportation, and emergency management to handle school internet outages during states of emergency.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools