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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina bill raises teacher pay, funds school meals, and phases out Opportunity Scholarships
Last action · April 8, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: von Haefen and 44 others
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 807 raises public school teacher and instructional support salaries for the 2025-2026 , appropriates funds for special education and universal free school breakfast and lunch, and establishes a device refresh program while phasing out the Opportunity Scholarship program.
Public school educators receive salary schedule increases and specific monthly supplements, local school administrative units receive funding for disabled students and electronic device replacements, and participating public school units provide two free meals per day to students starting July 1, 2025.
- The Opportunity Scholarship program in North Carolina provides state-funded scholarships to eligible students to attend nonpublic private schools. context
- North Carolina public schools operate under local school administrative units overseen by the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction. 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 teachers and instructional support personnel
Licensed teachers and instructional support personnel receive a new monthly salary schedule and specific degree or certification supplements for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Children with disabilities
Local school administrative units receive increased recurring and nonrecurring state appropriations to fund services for children with disabilities based on reported service costs.
Public school students
Students receive two free meals per day (breakfast and lunch) and benefit from a one-to-one electronic device refresh program for instruction.
Opportunity Scholarship applicants
Key Facts
- Appropriates $406,300,000 in recurring funds to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to implement teacher salary increases based on years of experience.
- Establishes a 2025-2026 teacher monthly salary schedule ranging from $4,450 for zero years of experience to $5,795 for 25 or more years of experience.
- Provides specific monthly salary supplements for teachers with NBPTS certification, master's degrees, six-year degrees, doctoral degrees, certified school nurses, and licensed school counselors.
- Appropriates $89,400,000 in recurring funds and $109,200,000 in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to implement weighted funding for children with disabilities.
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- Requires school food authorities at public school units to offer students two meals per day (breakfast and lunch) at no cost to the student, effective July 1, 2025.
- Appropriates $144,000,000 in recurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide student nutrition services at no cost.
- Requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules for a one-to-one electronic device refresh and replacement program for students and teachers.
- Appropriates $152,620,000 in recurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to establish the one-to-one device refresh program.
- Prohibits the State Education Assistance Authority from awarding scholarship grants to new persons who did not receive scholarship grant funds in the prior school year, beginning with the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
- Reduces recurring and nonrecurring appropriations for the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve and intends to eliminate the scholarship program beginning in the 2036-2037 fiscal year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do beginning teachers make under the new 2025-2026 schedule?
Are all public school students eligible for free breakfast and lunch under this bill?
What happens to the Opportunity Scholarship program under this legislation?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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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 8, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 8, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 7, 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 40 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition from Private School Vouchers to Public School Support
The bill simultaneously increases recurring investments in public school teacher salaries, classroom devices, and free meals while systematically reducing and phasing out funding for the Opportunity Scholarship voucher program over a multi-year timeline.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance90How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz75Current news / social attention level
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