State and Legislative Updates from SEF’s Government Affairs Team

The weeks of  5/25 – 6/5

Greetings all,

Across the South, state budget decisions are placing increasing pressure on public education systems, with ripple effects landing in classrooms and communities. From ongoing legislative gridlock in Virginia to troubling property tax proposals in Florida that threaten local school revenue, several state policymakers have been grappling with competing fiscal priorities that risk undermining investments in public education. For example:

  • In Louisiana, an executive order would shift $168 million away from K–12 public schools to preserve educator pay.
  • Missouri’s K-12 funding formula is projected to fall roughly $190 million short.
  • In North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein is urging lawmakers to finalize a long-delayed state budget to help secure funding for public services.
  • Even in Texas, where lawmakers approved additional education funding last session, district leaders report that rising costs and ongoing fiscal pressures continue to strain school budgets.

These regional challenges mirror a broader national trend. A recent analysis from Chalkbeat found that more than half of the country’s largest school districts are either already making cuts, planning reductions, or facing budget deficits as they prepare for the upcoming school year. As always, we hope you find the resources below helpful and meaningful to your work.

ICYMI

  • North Carolina lawmakers voted to conform state law to the federal tax-credit program enacted through budget reconciliation last year, offering dollar-for-dollar tax credits to individuals who donate to scholarship-granting organizations.

The Latest from SEF

  • SEF’s President and CEO Authored Opinion Piece in The74 – SEF’s President and CEO, Raymond Pierce, wrote an opinion piece on the recent North Carolina State Supreme Court decision regarding the Leandro case, describing how the court’s decision effectively leaves children without relief when being denied their state constitutional right to a sound, basic education. Read the full article here.

State Updates

Alabama

  • Alabama FAFSA data show thousands of seniors using waivers – While nearly half of Alabama’s public high school seniors have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, more than 15,000 Alabama public high school seniors have parent or district waivers from the state’s FAFSA graduation requirement, according to new data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. (Alabama Daily News) Read More

Arkansas

  • State submits new education plan aimed at reducing federal oversight – The state Department of Education has submitted a sweeping new proposal to the U.S. Department of Education that state leaders say could dramatically change how public schools handle funding, testing and accountability. (Kark.com) Read More

Florida

  • Projected revenue loss for school districts and counties under governor’s property tax reform proposal – Ahead of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ special session on property taxes, the Senate announced and filed SJR 2-F (2026), reflective of the governor’s proposal, to create a $250,000 homestead exemption for primary residences and a pathway to full elimination of homestead property taxes. The resolution’s $250,000 homestead exemption alone would cost school districts an average of $5 billion annually  (Florida Policy Institute) Read More
  • State budget deal would cut extra funding to top public universities – Florida lawmakers forged a budget agreement that would slash tens of millions of dollars from the state’s top universities. (Higher Ed Dive) Read More
  • Billionaires in South Florida want more private schools, so they’re building their own – There’s a growing group of ultra-wealthy founders who, in recent years, have taken on a new role in South Florida: private school creators. (NBC6 South Florida) Read More
  • Budget on the table, but House and Senate can’t agree on solution to school voucher struggles – Two major proposals — separating school choice vouchers from the formula funding public schools plus more thorough accounting standards — have consequently been left undone. The proposed education budget increases the state’s portion of per-student funding by about $87 and local government’s contribution by $63 per student, making a total increase of $150 — up to $9,337 compared to the current fiscal year’s $9,187, a 1.64% increase. (Florida Phoenix) Read More

Georgia

  • A new entity looks to enter the ‘mysterious industry’ of accreditation. What’s at stake? – The U.S. Department of Education wants to increase competition in the realm of college and university accreditation. In the case of Florida and Georgia, the accreditation giant is the metro Atlanta-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges. (Georgia Public Broadcasting) Read More

Louisiana

  • Gov. Jeff Landry asks lawmakers to pull $168M from school districts for teacher pay – Gov. Landry issued an executive order asking state lawmakers to pull $168 million from K-12 public schools so the state can avoid cutting teacher and support staff pay in the coming school year. (Louisiana Illuminator) Read More
  • Legislative session ends without teacher pay raise funding plan – The state legislative session ended without a plan to fund teacher pay raises, leaving a $198 million gap that must be filled to avoid pay cuts for educators. (WAFB 9 News) Read More
  • Changes in store for state colleges under new state laws – Public universities in the state are walking away from the 2026 legislative session with more authority to increase tuition and fees. (Louisiana Illuminator) Read More
  • House speaker zeroes in on higher ed spending, tax credits – Tax credits could become the legislature’s next big tax topic, and university spending in Louisiana will soon be scrutinized in meaningful ways by lawmakers, the House Speaker said in a recent interview. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report) Read More

Mississippi

  • New law creates grant program that covers some college costs – Mississippi residents who want to earn an associate degree or professional credential at one of the state’s community colleges could get some financial help through a new program. (Mississippi Today) Read More

Missouri

  • School leaders warn of budget strain – The state’s K-12 funding formula is coming up about $190 million short this year, and school districts are already feeling the strain. (Missourinet) Read More
  • School funding overhaul runs into a property assessment problem – Problems with how Missouri counties assess real estate are complicating an effort to update the formula that determines state aid for public schools. (Missouri Independent) Read More
  • State lawmakers consider school consolidation – State lawmakers are considering consolidation within K-12 schools. Lawmakers on the House Select Committee on Consolidation met with the Mississippi Department of Education. (WJTV News) Read More

North Carolina

  • State lawmakers enact education tax-break bill, adopting federal school voucher policy by overriding Stein veto – State lawmakers voted to conform state law to a new federal law passed under Republican President Donald Trump, giving tax breaks to people who donate to educational scholarship programs. (WRAL News) Read More
  • Gov. Josh Stein urges lawmakers to finalize state budget as deadline nears – Governor Stein is urging the legislature to finalize a state budget. This comes as the state remains without a budget and the time to adopt one nears. (ABC 13 News) Read More
  • Opinion: In school funding ruling, the state’s highest court walks away from its duty to kids – Last month, the state Supreme Court ended a three-decade-old framework requiring equitable educational opportunities across school districts, weakening judicial enforcement of the state’s constitutional duty to provide every child a sound, basic education. (The74) Read More
  • State Senate revives open-enrollment study – A wide-ranging K-12 education bill making its way through the state Senate would now commission a study on open enrollment, a policy that lets students attend public schools outside their assigned attendance zones. The move comes a year after a similar state House measure died in the Senate. (The Carolina Journal) Read More

Oklahoma

  • Higher education leaders continue to explore potential of expedited college degrees – Higher education officials continue to explore whether the degree programs statewide should be restructured to shorten the time it takes college students to obtain a bachelor’s degree. (Oklahoma Voice) Read More
  • State Regents approve new funding formula, add $15.7M in higher education support – The State Regents for Higher Education have approved a new performance-based funding formula that will change how state dollars are distributed to colleges and universities across Oklahoma. (Fox 23 News) Read More

Texas

  • Despite state funding boost, school districts still struggle – Texas lawmakers increased public school funding last session through House Bill 2, but many districts say financial pressures continue to mount. At a recent legislative hearing, school leaders described ongoing struggles with staffing, special education costs and budget shortfalls. (Texas Standard) Read More
  • Texas state takeover of local school districts expands, raising concerns – No state has taken over as many local public school districts as Texas. Just since 2020, the Texas Education Agency has installed its own hand-picked leaders in eight districts. (ProPublica) Read More
  • $8 billion given to Texas public schools: Lawmakers revisit the funds – Last year, the state legislature granted over $8 billion in funding to Texas public schools. The House Committee on Public Education met to review the implementation of House Bill 2 and discuss its impacts on teacher recruitment, retention, and Special Education programs. (Nexstar) Read More
  • Teacher collaboration and student outcomes in Texas – Recent evidence from Texas’ Model Professional Learning Community at Work® programs – in which educators work collaboratively to achieve better results for their students – suggests that sustained teacher collaboration may be one important part of that effort. (Education Commission of the States) Read More

Virginia

  • State budget impasse threatens school funding, poses potential staffing challenges – Virginia’s education leaders say they are optimistic about the proposed K-12 funding in the state budget, but their outlook is tempered by uncertainty as state leaders and the governor have yet to reach an agreement on a new two-year spending plan. (Virginia Mercury) Read More
  • Why college students’ mental health challenges are rising again and the solutions that could change everything – New surveys and research suggest that student and young-adult mental health challenges are once again trending in the wrong direction, and in many cases, becoming more severe and complex. (State Council of Higher Education For Virginia) Read More
  • Gov. Spanberger signs bipartisan legislation aimed at lowering childcare costs for parents – Gov. Spanberger’s Office announced she had signed a package of bipartisan legislation focused on lowering childcare costs for parents, strengthening early childhood education and empowering small businesses to better recruit and retain talented employees. (10News) Read More
  • State colleges and universities brace for major accreditation overhaul – Virginia’s colleges and universities may soon face heightened competition and political scrutiny as the U.S. Department of Education advanced draft rules last week that could change how institutions are accredited under stronger federal oversight and stricter accountability measures. (Virginia Mercury) Read More
  • Opinion: Federal school voucher program harms Virginia’s most vulnerable families – During his last week in office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin gave wealthy taxpayers and private school families a big gift by making Virginia the first state to opt into President Trump’s federal school voucher program. That means tax dollars that would ordinarily go to the state can now be diverted into subsidizing private education, worsening an existing issue. (Dogwood) Read More

West Virginia

  • Coalition asks state leaders to immediately pause school closures as lawmakers mull funding fix – A coalition of families, educators and community members has called for an immediate pause on school closures, so lawmakers have time to address the state’s antiquated school funding formula. (West Virginia Watch) Read More
  • Opinion: As tax dollars go to trampoline park, lawmakers should jump at chance to rein in Hope Scholarship – A controversy unfolded on Facebook when a trampoline park posted that it was now an “official Hope Scholarship provider.” Parents across the political spectrum expressed outrage at taxpayer dollars budgeted for education going to a trampoline park while they see so many needs in their schools and communities go unaddressed. (West Virginia Watch) Read More

National/Federal Updates

K-12 Education News and Resources

  • A snapshot of private school trends in 4 charts – Private schools, like public schools, are facing enrollment and financial pressures as the nation’s birthrate falls and as public and private school voucher options expand. (K-12 Dive) Read More 
  • Most teachers receive no formal guidance on AI use – Although prior research finds that six in 10 teachers use AI for their work, including three in 10 who use it at least weekly, just 18% of teachers report receiving any type of formal guidance from school administrators on how AI tools should be used. (Gallup) Read More
  • School budgets are under pressure nationwide. Here’s what’s driving the cuts – As many school boards debate their budgets for the upcoming school year, a Chalkbeat analysis found a common thread: More than half of the country’s 50 largest school districts are poised to or already have made cuts, or are facing a reported deficit. (Chalkbeat) Read More
  • Trump’s Education Department is backing away from addressing civil rights for Black students – Under the Trump administration, efforts to address deep-rooted inequities for students of color are being cast as discriminatory against white students. (Associated Press) Read More
  • Before Brown v. Board, there was Alice Piper – Thirty years before Brown transformed public education in the United States, a 15-year-old student named Alice Piper stood at the center of a landmark legal victory that challenged school segregation. (NeaToday) Read More
  • The state of civil rights for students and schools – This resource provides a list of protections for each State and the District of Columbia, and explains the avenues available to students and families. This tool will continue to be updated as we learn of additional protections and resources in specific states. (National Center for Youth Law) Read More
  • Federal Communications Commission calls for broad review of E-Rate program – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission this week called for a “top-to-bottom” reassessment of E-rate, the federally mandated program that helps schools and libraries pay for broadband Internet access. (Government Technology) Read More 
  • These states lead the nation in racial equality in education, study finds – A recent study found that school districts serving fewer Black and Hispanic students receive about $900 to $1,000 more per student on average, despite decades of funding reforms. Researchers say these funding gaps can affect educational outcomes and future economic opportunities. (Fox 10 News) Read More 

Higher Education News and Resources

      • Why advocates want a $200 increase to the pell grant – Higher ed groups say the grant has lost purchasing power amid inflation. But getting any increase through Congress will be a hard sell as lawmakers grapple with the program’s $17 million shortfall. (Inside Higher Ed) Read More
      • Nonwhite students now represent the largest share of U.S. college enrollment – Nonwhite students now make up the largest share of American universities’ enrollment — though the diversity on campuses varies widely by institution, according to The Chronicle’s updated database with the latest enrollment figures (from the fall of 2024). (The Chronicle of Higher Education) Read More
      • The strengthening institutions program grows at MSIs’ expense – The Trump administration gutted minority-serving institution grants again, dropping the windfall on a capacity-building program for underresourced institutions. MSIs may be able to get some of that funding, advocates say, but it’s still a blow. (Inside Higher Ed) Read More
      • Congressional committee examines higher education’s role in teaching students to use AI – The chair of the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee spoke of the potential benefits of using AI in education, but said academic institutions should ensure students learn the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly AI-driven workforce, without sacrificing other learning. (KSL.com) Read More
      • Federal student loan repayment rates at HBCUs and other institutions: Explaining the differences – This paper examines why 3-year federal student loan repayment rates differ between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other not-for-profit, 4-year institutions, and how institutional characteristics—such as resource levels, student composition, and intercollegiate athletics—contribute to this gap. (Sage Journals)

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and if we can assist with any government affairs or advocacy issues moving forward.

Sincerely,

Fred Jones, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy,

fjones@southerneducation.org

Darian Burns, Legislative and Public Policy Analyst,

dburns@southerneducation.org

Allison Boyle, Research and Policy Specialist,

aboyle@southerneducation.org