Insider Digest: New UNC Board of Governors appointments, and mandatory grape juice?
Welcome to the weekly edition of Insider Digest, featuring samples from NC Insider, The News & Observer’s state government news service.
Here you’ll find abbreviated versions of a few of our subscriber-only items from the week before — highlights of what Insider readers get every day.
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This week, the legislature has few scheduled votes, but could take up several education bills (see more below) and proposed legalization of online sports betting.
Here are some of the past week’s highlights:
1. Board of Governor appointments
By Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, 3/15/23
The state Senate Wednesday appointed six members to the UNC Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s university system.
Four elected officials are current members while two others would be new additions: former state Sen. Harry Brown, an Onslow County Republican, and Haywood “Woody” White III, a lawyer.
All elected members are men and all but one, former state Sen. Joel Ford, are white.
Sen. Gladys Robinson, D-Guilford, a former UNC BOG member, said the board needed to better represent state residents by electing more women and minorities. She also said Democrats in the legislature are not given a say in nominating candidates.
2. Career development plans for middle schoolers
By T. Keung Hui, 3/15/23
The N.C. Senate Education committee backed a bill Wednesday that would require middle school students to create career development plans.
Under Senate Bill 193, students would need to develop a career plan to be promoted from the 7th grade. They would need to update it to be promoted from the 10th grade. The plan would identify what students are interested in and what training they’d need to pursue that career.
“These plans would allow for every student to engage, explore, and experience potential pathways before graduation so they are prepared for success in the workforce,” State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, who requested the bill, said in a statement Wednesday.
3. Mandating grape juice for students
By T. Keung Hui, 3/15/23
Legislation that would require North Carolina K-12 public schools and community schools to serve 100% muscadine grape juice passed the House Wednesday with overwhelming support.
Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, the bill’s primary sponsor, had previously brought several boxes of muscadine grape juice to the House committee meetings for legislators to sample.
“We’ll instruct the sergeant-at-arms to commandeer those boxes immediately, ma’am,” Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, the Education committee co-chair, joked Tuesday.
House Bill 67, the “Encourage Healthy NC Food in Schools” Act, would require public schools and community colleges to make muscadine grape juice available to students in vending machines. It next heads to the Senate for consideration.
4. Authority on athletic eligibility
By T. Keung Hui, 3/14/23
State lawmakers have dropped an effort to make the state superintendent of public instruction the final arbiter of athletic eligibility decisions made by the N.C. High School Athletic Association.
The Senate had approved an amendment last week to Senate Bill 52 to add the superintendent to the appeals process after an Onslow County high school student was not allowed to play soccer this spring. But the language was dropped Tuesday by the House K-12 Education Committee after the NCHSAA reversed its eligibility decision.
The NCHSAA had ruled that the student couldn’t play this spring even though she had a 4.4 grade point average. The association didn’t fully count the three Advanced Placement courses she had taken last fall.
5. What’s next for the state Senate?
By Dawn Vaughan, 3/16/23
Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, told reporters after Thursday’s Senate session that the coming week would be quiet in his chamber.
There will be no votes at Monday’s 4 p.m. Senate session. Berger said that on Tuesday, the Senate is likely to vote on bills that passed the Rules Committee Thursday morning.
Those bills are Senate Bill 100: Authorize Haw River State Trail, Senate Bill 187: Teacher Licensure/Retired Educator Program, Senate Bill 195: UNC Omnibus, Senate Bill 269: Exempt Certain DOD Child Care Ctrs/Lic. Reqs, Senate Bill 291: QRIS/Star Rating System Reform and House Bill 11: Schools for the Deaf and Blind.
Berger said some senators are waiting on bills to be processed by legislative bill drafting, so the Senate will probably not have votes on Wednesday or Thursday.
