Part I.
Sets a monthly teacher salary schedule for "A" teachers for 2025-26 for licensed public school personnel classified as teachers, based on years of experience, ranging from $4,450 for teachers with 0 years of experience to $5,795 for 25 or more years of experience. Provides for a 12% salary supplement for licensed teachers who have National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification; a 10% salary supplement for licensed teachers classified as "M" teachers; a $126 salary supplement for licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the six-year degree level, in addition to the "M" teachers salary supplement; a $253 salary supplement for licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the doctoral degree level, in addition to the "M" teachers salary supplement; a 10% salary supplement for certified school nurses; and a $100 salary supplement for school counselors licensed as counselors at the master’s degree level or higher.
Requires that the first step of the salary schedule for school psychologists, school speech pathologists licensed at the master's degree level or higher, and school audiologists licensed at the master's degree level or higher must be equivalent to the sixth step of the "A" salary schedule. Provides for a 10% and $500 salary supplement. Deems these employees eligible to receive salary supplements equivalent to those of teachers for academic preparation at the six-year degree level or the doctoral degree level. Requires that the twenty-sixth step of the salary schedule for school psychologists, school speech pathologists licensed at the master's degree level or higher, and school audiologists licensed at the master's degree level or higher must be 7.5% higher than the salary received by these same employees on the twenty-fifth step of the salary schedule. Provides that in lieu of the amounts of annual longevity payments to teachers paid on the teacher salary schedule, beginning with the 2014-15 fiscal year, the amounts of those longevity payments are included in the monthly amounts under the teacher salary schedule. 
Details teacher compensation for the 2025-26 school year based on either (1) the applicable salary schedule; (2) the sum of the salary the teacher received in 2013-14, longevity pay for the 2013-14 school year, and annual bonus provided in SL 2014-100; or (3) the sum of the salary and annual bonus the teacher received in the 2014-15 school year, with the compensation amount determined to be equal to the greater of those amounts. Provides that "teacher" includes instructional support personnel. Appropriates $406.3 million in recurring funds for 2025-26 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to increase salaries for teachers and support personnel.
Part II.
Amends GS 115C-111.05 by requiring the State Board of Education (State Board), to the extent funds are available for this purpose, to allocate funds for children with disabilities to each local school administrative unit on the basis of reported cost of the services provided instead of on a per child basis. Appropriates $89.4 million in recurring funds for 2025-26 and $109.2 million in nonrecurring funds for 2025-26 from the General Fund to DPI to implement the plan for weighted funding for children with disabilities on the basis of the reported cost of services provided developed by DPI pursuant to Section 7.7 of SL 2023-134, to be distributed as described.
Part III.
Amends GS 115C-263 to require public school units to have a school food authority to provide school nutrition services in the schools under their jurisdiction by offering students two meals per day, breakfast and lunch (was, local boards of education must provide to the extent practicable school nutrition services in the schools under their jurisdiction). Requires the State Board of Education, to the extent funds are available for this purpose, to allocate funds to school food authorities at public school units to provide students with free healthy nutrition services. Requires, in issuing the allocation, that the amount be determined based on an evaluation of the authority’s nutrition services (sets out minimum requirements for the method and criteria used for the evaluation), that funds be distributed on a fair and equitable basis, and the allocation be issued at the beginning of the fiscal year, with the Board allowed to reserve for future allocation an amount not to exceed 10%. Specifies that funds allocated under this statute supplement and do not supplant funds from other sources for the same purpose.
Amends GS 115C-218.75 by requiring charter schools, GS 115C-238.72 by requiring regional schools, GS 115C-150.14 by requiring schools for students with visual and hearing impairments, and GS 116-239.8 requiring laboratory schools to provide school nutrition services according to GS 115C-263 and GS 115C-264 (setting out requirements for school nutrition programs, including that they participate in the National School Lunch Program). Makes conforming changes.
Amends GS 115C-264 requiring local boards of education operating school nutrition programs to also participate, if eligible, in the Community Eligibility Provision Program.
Appropriates $144 million in recurring funds for 2025-26 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction to provide nutrition services to students in public school units at no cost to the students. Allows the use of funds appropriated to State Aid for Public Schools for this purpose if this funding is insufficient for 2025-26.
Effective July 1, 2025, and applies beginning with the 2025-26 school year.
Part IV.
Enacts GS 115C-102.10 requiring the State Board to adopt by rule standards for a one-to-one electronic device refresh and replacement program to provide schools funds to update or replace electronic devices used directly by students and teachers for instruction. Requires the standards to cover three areas at a minimum, including instructions on how to dispose of devices no longer in use. Requires local school administrative units to administer the programs in accordance with standards set by the State Board. Appropriates $152,620,000 from the General Fund to DPI in recurring funds for 2025-26 for DPI to establish the one-to-one device refresh program.
Part V.
Prevents the State Education Assistance Authority (Authority) from awarding any Opportunity Scholarship grants to new persons who did not receive those grants in the prior school year, starting with the 2025-26 school year. Specifies the General Assembly’s intent to eliminate the program beginning in the 2036-37 school year or once all recipients become ineligible for receipt of the scholarship grants.
Expands the qualifications required for a student to meet the definition of eligible student in GS 115C-562.1 so that the student must have received a scholarship grant for the school year prior to the school year for which the student is applying and also resides in a household with an income level between the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program and not in excess of 200% of that amount. Removes priority award order and makes conforming changes to GS 115C-562.2 (scholarship grants) to account for new definition of eligible student.  
Starting with the 2027-28 year, modifies the funds appropriated for the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve (Reserve) in GS 115C-562.8 so that they are reduced from a high of $800 million for the 2031-32 school year to $111,589,117 for that year. Continues the reduction for subsequent years until the 2036-37 year when the opportunity scholarship is sunset. Makes conforming and technical changes.
Reduces funds appropriated for Opportunity Scholarship grants as follows: (1) of the recurring funds appropriated to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina for the opportunity scholarship program pursuant to SL 2021-180, by the sum of $30 million for 2025-26; (2) of the funds appropriated to the Reserve for 2024-25 and allocated from the Reserve for the award of scholarship grants in 2025-26, by the sum of $277,165,459 for 2025-26; and (3) of the funds appropriated to the Reserve as follows: $369,867,906 in recurring funds for 2025-26 and $82,848,257 in recurring funds for 2026-27.
Applies beginning with the 2025-26 school year.
Effective July 1, 2025, except as otherwise provided.

Statutes affected:
Filed: 115C-111.05, 115C-263, 115C-264, 115C-150.14, 115C-218.75, 115C-238.72, 116-239.8, 115C-562.1, 115C-562.2, 115C-562.8
Edition 1: 115C-111.05, 115C-263, 115C-264, 115C-150.14, 115C-218.75, 115C-238.72, 116-239.8, 115C-562.1, 115C-562.2, 115C-562.8