WUNC

NC teacher pay among lowest in the nation, one ENC school district suspends classes on day of rally

Annette Weston, WUNC

Pitt County School District officials announced that May 1st will transition from a regular school day to an optional teacher workday due to a massive wave of staff absences. While the district did not explicitly name a cause for the shortage, the move aligns with the statewide "Kids Over Corporations March."

State Senate votes to ban cell phones in public schools

WUNC

The bill would also require schools to teach about social media literacy, including the negative impacts on mental health.

Before the repeal, Arizona was one of <a href="https://www.glsen.org/learn/policy/issues/nopromohomo">at least seven states</a> with curriculum laws around LGBTQ issues.

Bill containing controversial LGBTQ policies headed to governor's desk

WUNC

The bill would allow lawsuits against medical providers over gender transitions, and change the definition of biological sex in state law to exclude gender identity. That bill could affect transgender people seeking to change their birth certificate.

The state Senate is voting today on whether to ban inshore shrimp trawling.

NC Senate to vote on proposed ban on inshore shrimp trawling

WUNC

Senator Bill Rabon of Brunswick County is one of the Republicans who supports the change. Commercial shrimpers oppose the ban.

Left: The electric chair in the death chamber at Virginia State Penitentiary in 1991. Right: The computer that controlled the electric chair. The prison was closed and demolished in the early '90s.

Bill would would reintroduce the electric chair and firing squads as part of the death penalty

WUNC

North Carolina hasn't had any executions since 2006 due to legal challenges, and lethal injection is the only legal method here.

The bill would let officers issue a $100 fine if they see a driver holding a pet or distracted by children.

Proposal could lead to fine for drivers seen holding pet or distracted by children

WUNC

The bill would let officers issue a 100-dollar fine if they see a driver holding a pet or distracted by children. It was met with bipartisan support Wednesday in the House Transportation Committee.

A gender-neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at a restaurant in Durham, N.C. Many North Carolina businesses put gender-neutral signs on toilets after the "bathroom bill" was passed.

WUNC

The 2016 bill banned transgender people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity. It was repealed after major companies and events boycotted North Carolina.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein delivers the State of the State address at the Legislative Building, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Raleigh N.C.

In first State of the State, Stein mentions Helene recovery funding, salary increases for teachers, and tax cuts for families

WUNC, Annette Weston

He appealed for passage of the recovery bill. Stein said, “We need that money now. Heck, we needed it yesterday.”

The pandemic shuttered day-care centers, after-school programs and camps this year, creating problems for some parents who put aside wages, pre-tax, to pay for those expenses.

Task force assembled to address "child care crisis" in North Carolina

WUNC

Governor Josh Stein said the number one problem in early childhood education is that there simply aren't enough providers to serve all the families seeking care.

New legislation in the state Senate would give disabled veterans a break on property taxes

WUNC

Disabled veterans are currently exempt from paying taxes on a small portion of their property value. A bill called the "Heroes Homestead Act" would raise that amount to about $76,000.