NC legislators aim to speed up Wake schools effort to find new early college partner
Families at Wake County’s leadership academies could get a new four-year college partner to replace St. Augustine’s University.
Legislation filed in the state House on Wednesday would require the State Board of Education to approve a new early college partner for the two leadership academies, as well as to continue to provide state funding for the program.
The legislation says the new partnership could go into effect as soon as the 2024-25 school year. For that to happen, the Wake County school system would need to quickly meets certain conditions, including reaching an agreement in time with a new college or university to submit an application.
However, the school district says that it still plans to send the leadership academy students to Wake Technical Community College for the 2024-25 school year even if the bill becomes law.
House Bill 900 has bipartisan support. The four Wake County lawmakers who sponsored the bill are Republican Erin Paré and Democrats Maria Cervania, Sarah Crawford and Ya Liu.
“I am pleased to have worked in cooperation the with Wake County Public School System and the NC Department of Public Instruction to finalize a draft bill that will enable the expedited substitution of a new higher institution partner for the Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy and the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy,” Paré said in a legislative update on Tuesday before the start of the legislative short session.
Promise of free college credit
The Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy and Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy opened in Raleigh in 2012, serving middle school and high school students. The academies are also early colleges, meaning students take tuition-free college courses with a partner institution of higher learning.
Wake has received state funding to partner with St. Aug’s in Raleigh under North Carolina’s Cooperative Innovative High Schools program.
The Wake school board voted in March to end its partnership with St. Aug’s at the end of this school year because of the university’s financial and accreditation struggles.
After the vote, Wake told families its plan was to have students take college courses next school year at Wake Tech while the district sought a new early college partner beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
Parents raised concerns such as whether students can take the same classes at Wake Tech that they had planned on at St. Aug’s. Parents also questioned whether the Wake Tech credits will be transferable to schools outside the UNC System or outside of the state.
Parents and students had lobbied the district, the state board and state lawmakers to expedite the process for a new early college partner to be in place for the 2024-25 school year.
Students will still attend Wake Tech this fall
There isn’t enough time to change higher ed partners for this fall, according to Lisa Luten, a school district spokesperson.
Luten said Thursday that the leadership academy students will still go to Wake Tech for the upcoming school year. She said the district has not yet found a partner to replace St. Aug’s.
But Luten said passage of the legislation will accelerate Wake’s efforts to get a new higher ed partner in place for the 2025-26 school year. She said it will let the leadership academies to remain in the state’s Cooperative Innovative High Schools program without having to begin the process as a new applicant.
This story was originally published April 24, 2024 at 10:14 AM.
