NHCS Legislative Priorities

Needs and Priorities

• Intensive Student Needs - School Social Work Report - Details of the activities and statistics for school social workers from August 2024 to January 2025. Key highlights include:

  • Total Initial Referrals: 3,054 cases
  • Top Referral Reasons:
    • Attendance issues (2,475 cases),
    • behavioral/social-emotional skills (1,233 cases), and
    • academic performance (874 cases).
  • Homelessness & Crisis Support: 734 cases related to homelessness, 517 crisis interventions.
  • Parent & School Interactions: 703 home visits, 814 parent conferences, 4,491 staff consultations.
  • Community Referrals: 402 mental health agency referrals, 1,033 community/faith partner referrals, and 530 food assistance referrals.
  • Student Populations Served: 1,070 Exceptional Children (EC), 188 foster care students, and 1,440 McKinney-Vento (homeless) students.

• State Funding Allotment Formulas

  • Expand Instructional Support Services
    • State funding formulas do not provide sufficient positions for media specialists, guidance counselors, social workers, and mental health therapists.
    • Local investment ensures every school has these essential supports, improving student well-being.
  • Guarantee Access to a Well-Rounded Curriculum
    • State funding for enhancement teachers (Art, Music, PE) is based on school size, leaving small schools underserved.
    • Local investment ensures all elementary schools have dedicated enhancement teachers.
  • Ensure Adequate School Leadership Support
    • State funding formulas do not fully cover assistant principal positions, especially in smaller schools.
    • Local funding is essential to providing sufficient leadership across elementary, middle, and high schools.

• NHCS AIG Percentages (Academically & Intellectually Gifted Students)
  • 21.3% of 3rd-12th graders identified as AIG in NHCS.
  • State funding only supports 4% of students, creating a funding gap.
  • K-2 AIG Services: Provided to 100% of students (additional 5,300 students).
  • 3,789 AIG students reported in the Fall of 2024

• Exceptional Children (EC) Services
  • Increase State and Federal Funding for EC Services – Current allotments do not cover the costs of intensive support, staffing, and specialized equipment.
  • Sustain Intensive Staffing Levels – 108 maximum service classrooms require sustained funding for teachers, paraeducators, and specialized staff.
  • Cover High-Cost Individualized Services – Funding must support essential services such as
    • The state’s 13% funding cap leaves many students with disabilities underfunded.
    • Federal IDEA funding covers only 13-18% of the required per-pupil expenditure, far below the original 40% target.
    • Nursing Support – $900,500 for 15 students requiring 1:1 nurses.
    • Educational Interpreters – $245,000 for 5 students.
    • Out-of-District Placements – Up to $300,000 for 3-4 students.
  • Ensure Compliance with IDEA and NC Policies – Local funding is critical to meeting class size and caseload requirements for students with disabilities.
  • North Carolina must increase recurring funding for EC services to ensure compliance, maintain critical staffing, and provide necessary support for students with disabilities.

• Child Nutrition
  • Increase Recurring State Funding – Address rising costs of food, supplies, equipment, and wages to sustain child nutrition programs.
  • Fully Fund Universal Free Meals – Provide state funding to close the gap between federal reimbursement and actual meal costs, ensuring all students receive free meals.
  • Protect and Expand CEP – Oppose federal reductions to the CEP multiplier and advocate for an increase to support more schools.
  • Establish Permanent State Grants – Ensure state meal program funding is recurring to provide stability for families and schools.
  • Invest in School Meal Infrastructure – Allocate funding for kitchen equipment and facility upgrades to maintain safe and efficient meal service.
  • North Carolina must commit to recurring funding and policy protections to ensure all students have access to healthy, no-cost meals.

 

NHCS Programs/Initiatives

• Participants: 1,696 fourth-grade students across 26 schools, with 71 receiving NCEC tutoring at Forest Hills and Rachel Freeman Elementary.
• Tutoring Implementation:
  • 13 tutors delivered 1,381 sessions (691 hours).
  • Initially, low tutoring frequency improved in the spring session, with 52 of 69 students receiving high-dosage tutoring (3x per week, 30 minutes per session).
• Findings:
  • Students who received tutoring performed similarly to those in the comparison group.
  • No statistically significant differences in math score improvements between tutored and non-tutored students.
  • Tutoring did not significantly reduce the performance gap between Tier I and Tier II students.
• Conclusion: The program provided structured support, but did not yield significantly higher growth compared to other interventions.

• Forest Hills: 3 tutors working with 70 students (K-5).
• Freeman: 3 tutors working with 50 students (2nd-5th).
• Total Sessions: 1,311 (30 minutes each).
• Student-Tutor Ratio: 1:3.
• Research Study: Conducted by the Friday Institute, using AimsWeb as the assessment measure.