A new Department of Public Instruction (DPI) says that 100% of traditional public school districts currently have a 1-to-1 digital device-to-student ratio, though many districts are struggling to replace old or damaged devices due to a lack of funding.

Dr. Ashley McBride, a digital learning initiative consultant at DPI, the Statewide Trends in Student Digital Learning Access report at the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday.

The compiles data on students’ access to digital devices in and out of school, as well as their out-of-school internet access, from 115 school districts and 239 charter, lab, and regional schools. Among those 239 nontraditional schools, 84% had a 1-to-1 digital device-to-student ratio.

The report says that in total, these public school units had 1,190,045 digital devices available for students in 2024-25. Chrome devices make up 90.3% of this fleet; 8.7% were Windows devices, and Apple devices made up 1%.

Students can take less than half of these devices home, as 56% of them must stay on school campuses.

“Together, these findings demonstrate that North Carolina continues to rely heavily on school-issued, portable devices to support both in-school instruction and extended learning opportunities beyond the school day,” the report says.

The also included findings from a survey on out-of-school devices with responses from families representing 55,082 students.

In this sample, 42% of families said their student uses a school-provided device at home, while a third said their student uses a device owned by the family. Around one in five families reported that their student has access to both family-owned and school-provided devices at home. However, 4% of families reported their student does not have access to a digital device at home.

Families who did not have devices at home said they were too expensive, they chose not to purchase one, or the devices they owned were broken, damaged, or outdated, according to the report.

A survey with 36,365 respondent families found that 93% had consistent and adequate internet access for their students at home. Families with limited or no access to the internet at home said that was due to high costs or the internet connection not being dependable.

Still, those families described several alternatives they use to ensure their students can access the internet, including using the internet at public libraries, hot spots, other people’s homes, school parking lots, among other options.

“My rural county, still one third of it, does not have internet capability. And after Helene, many parts of our community do not have Wi-Fi coverage, nor do they have cell coverage. That’s typical in the western part of the state,” said Board member John Blackburn, who represents the state’s Northwest region. “I just want to remind everybody that there are still points of darkness in the state of North Carolina.”

Beckie Spears, , said that her rural elementary school had one Chromebook cart per grade level prior to 2020. Now, there’s one in every classroom, she said, but the devices are aging and the district doesn’t “have any ways to replace them.”

“T��� reality is we have stretched every resource as far as we can, and in Tier 1 counties and Tier 2 counties where local funds are not accessible, this is a real and urgent problem that needs attention from our legislators,” Spears said.

The report says that these findings highlight the importance of school-provided digital devices for students. But since pandemic-era funding from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) and the Emergency Connectivity Funds (ECF) has ended, many schools are struggling to sustain student device programs.

McBride’s presentation said 88 out of the state’s traditional school districts — nearly 77% — as well as 97 charter, lab, and regional schools, don’t have dedicated funds to refresh students’ school-provided digital devices.

“Large portions of the current device fleet have aged beyond expected lifespans, resulting in higher failure rates, declining performance, and reduced reliability for both classroom and at home use,” the report says.

The report says some schools have limited or stopped take-home access for their device fleets because they don’t have inventory to replace them.

According to McBride, prior to ESSER funding, only 16 school districts had a 1-to-1 digital device-to-student ratio.

DPI recommends that the state allocate recurring funding to support student device programs to reduce reliance on short-term federal funding, according to the report. This legislative session, for a 1-to-1 device refresh over a four-year period.

The report also recommends providing statewide guidance on devices’ life cycle management, including cost considerations and multiyear budgeting strategies. The department also recommends using data systems to track devices’ age, availability, and take-home capacity, and “exploring how to improve parental participation in reporting on home connectivity and device access.”

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LOUISVILLE — A constitutional amendment to allow the Kentucky General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools failed at the ballot box Tuesday.

Amendment 2 —  which 65% of voters rejected, — would have opened a path for the Republican-controlled legislature to allow state dollars to flow to nonpublic schools, such as private or charter schools. , Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, attempted to bolster support for the measure while Democrats led by Gov. Andy Beshear attacked the amendment as a threat to public education.

Opposition to Amendment 2 spanned rural and urban Kentucky, said Will Powers, the policy and public engagement coordinator for the Kentucky Student Voice Team, which toured the state by bus rallying opposition.

“I think it’s a ubiquitous message. Everyone resonates with it,” Powers said Tuesday night during a Protect Ours Schools PAC watch party in Louisville. “Every community has a public school, not every community has a private school. And I think we’re seeing the ramifications of that one true fact.”

Jason Bailey, executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, said he was not surprised Amendment 2 failed.

“T��� opposition to Amendment 2 was bipartisan,” Bailey said. “It was really defeated by a huge margin in many rural counties that also voted for Donald Trump. So Kentuckians are smart. They were discerning, and they they saw this for what it was. It was a scam funded by outside billionaires to shift dollars away from public schools and to fund private school vouchers. And Kentuckians, by it looks like a very wide margin, said no.”

KyPolicy, a progressive think tank, opposed the measure and earlier this year that showed how similar systems to fund private schools in other states could harm the state’s public schools if they were replicated in Kentucky. Bailey said the defeat of the amendment would be “an end to this debate” and politicians should focus on further investments in existing public schools.

Outgoing Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer, of Georgetown, called the Amendment 2 defeat “disappointing, but not surprising.” He said in a phone interview that opponents of the amendment “confused” voters and added that “it’s hard to get people to understand a constitutional question when the opposition completely misleads the issue.”

“Also, I wish the Republican Party of Kentucky had been more engaged in defending the issue,” Thayer said.

Thayer said the Kentucky Democratic Party was engaged in getting voters to oppose the amendment. KDP held numerous press conferences around the state led by Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, and Democratic candidates often voiced their opposition to the amendment while campaigning. “T��� RPK did not ever really engage despite the fact that it was a priority bill of our legislative supermajority,” Thayer said. “But it’s hard to change the Constitution. That’s the way it is. And it’s the one disappointment on what appears to be a really good night.”

Beshear said in a statement that lawmakers should “recognize the will of the people and get serious about ensuring that every Kentucky child gets a world-class public education.” Beshear said that includes better funding public schools, raising teacher pay and establishing a universal pre-K program in Kentucky.

“Kentucky voters have once again definitively stated that public dollars belong only in public schools,” Beshear said.

In a statement reacting to the defeat of Amendment 2, Kentucky Students First, one of the leading PACs supporting the amendment, said its members and volunteers “fought hard to change the status quo protected by Kentucky’s education special interests.”

“Though the results may not have been in our favor, this campaign has been a powerful force for standing up to the Kentucky education bureaucracy,” Kentucky Students First said. “Perpetuating the low performance of Kentucky’s education system is a disservice to our children and our Commonwealth. Kentucky students deserve better, and our resolve to serve students over systems remains unchanged.”

A lot of money has been spent trying to sway voters on Amendment 2, with both sides reporting , according to the final pre-election finance reports. Beshear and Paul both took to airwaves in ads sponsored by political action committees. Most of the $16 million came from outside Kentucky, with much of it from “dark money” groups which structure themselves in a way that lets them keep their donors’ names private.

Days , Paul heralded Amendment 2, saying it would allow “the legislature to do what they’re supposed to do — debate how best we should get education for our kids.” Beshear decried the amendment as “a blank check to Frankfort politicians.”

Amendment 2 would have suspended seven sections of the state Constitution to allow public money to flow to nonpublic schools. The legislation for the amendment was earlier this year and an attempt to overcome constitutional hurdles cited by Kentucky courts striking down earlier charter school and private school tax credit laws.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on and .

Early education providers and teachers from the Iron Range piled on a bus headed south on Monday morning, shuttering their child care centers for the day so they could lobby lawmakers at the state Capitol in the final week of the legislative session.

Lawmakers have all but crushed the hopes of child care advocates with a minimalist session, but advocates continue to push for increased spending as part of the Day Without Child Care, a national campaign coordinated by the progressive organization .

“We’re closer to closing our centers permanently than people think,” said Amanda Reed, the director of two child care centers in Virginia, Minn.

As independent child care providers struggle to make ends meet, Minnesota families are paying some of the — and early education staff make far . Across the state, there is a shortage of child care slots and a need for new providers to enter the industry.

The coalition’s highest priority this session was a bill to establish the Great Start Child Care Affordability Program, which would have subsidized child care costs for families making less than 150% of the state’s median income. If fully funded — the bill’s authors estimate it would cost — it would cap qualifying families’ child care expenses at 7% of their household income and stabilize income for child care providers.

The bill received hearings in both chambers but due to the cost.

With tighter budgets looming on the horizon, DFL leadership — including Gov. Tim Walz —have taken a more cautious approach to spending this year; of the $540 million supplemental , around $59 million was earmarked for spending on children and families.

Which means neither parents nor child care workers can expect much help in the foreseeable future.

Cody Lupich, a school-age teacher and classroom lead at Iron Range Tykes in Mountain Iron, said his $16 an hour wage is above average for the industry and region — but he’s about to start a third job in order to save up for a down payment on a home.

“I’m here today because this is a job I want to stay in for a long time,” Lupich said.

Last year, the DFL-controlled Legislature spent including about $575 million to continue a federal COVID-era program that boosted teacher pay.

“T��� have been fantastic. We needed the funding. We still need the funding,” said Pat Ives, director of Kiddy Karousel child care center in Hibbing.

Ives listed off institutions that receive public funding: the Minnesota Zoo, the Science Museum of Minnesota, public schools and community colleges.

“Why isn’t child care on that list?” she asked.

(Child care does receive significant public spending, but not nearly enough to ensure families aren’t paying more than 7% of their income on child care, which is a goal set by the federal government.)

At a rally in the Capitol rotunda, Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, DFL-Eden Prairie, promised the child care workers and advocates that she would continue pushing for the Great Start Child Care Affordability Program.

Many advocates wore purple shirts — representing the mixing of red and blue — calling not for “living wages” but “thriving wages” for child care workers.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com. Follow Minnesota Reformer on and .

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Senate on Friday joined the House in passing legislation for a constitutional amendment — called a “game changer” by one Republican supporter — that would allow public dollars to fund nonpublic schools.

In a vote of 27-8, senators approved House Bill 2. Eastern Kentucky Republican Sens. Brandon Storm and Phillip Wheeler joined six of the seven Senate Democrats in opposing the bill. Democrat Robin Webb did not cast a vote, nor did Republicans Jared Carpenter and Brandon Smith.

Because the bill would amend the Kentucky Constitution, voters will decide the proposal’s fate in November. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who has , will not be officially weighing in because constitutional amendments are not subject to gubernatorial veto.

The Senate Education Committee chairman, Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, said the bill could pave the way to offering “school choice” to Kentuckians. During the House’s debate, Speaker David Osborne admonished members for speaking about possible future legislation stemming from the amendment, rather than the bill before them.

West said the constitutional amendment is an attempt to “modernize” the state’s education system.

“This is a game changer,” West said. “This will dictate where we are 25 years from now.”

The bill’s primary sponsor, House Republican Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, of Owensboro, has said the bill would “let the voters decide” if the General Assembly should have the option of funding education outside the “system of common schools,” an option not allowed by the Constitution adopted in 1891.

In the Senate, Republican leaders backed the bill. Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, of Greensburg, argued that it’s not new for public dollars to go to private entities. He pointed to contractors who build roads.

“If I had the list of vendors for which we send public funds to private entities, I can certainly more than fill my 10 minutes, Mr. President, reading that list of vendors,” Givens said.

Majority Floor Leader Sen. Damon Thayer, of Georgetown, urged Democrats to visit blue cities across the country in states like New York and California.

“T��� minority party and the education establishment here in Kentucky continue to protect the status quo despite the shift that is happening nationwide in blue cities and blue states in favor of more and more ‘school choice,’” Thayer said.

Like their House counterparts, Senate Democrats raised concerns about the bill being fast-tracked through the General Assembly this week. Democratic Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, called it a “flawed approach” to doing the public’s business on a bill of such importance. The Senate Education Committee forwarded the bill in . The House gave its approval Wednesday despite .

West pushed back on Thomas’ point, saying the bill is two-pages long and has been made public since January.

Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, admonished the proposed amendment for “notwithstanding,” or suspending, seven sections of the 1891 Constitution.

“I worry Mr. President, that we are so desperate to pass this amendment and give money to private schools to take it away from our public schools that we are risking shredding the Kentucky Constitution to make that happen,” she said.

Kentucky’s Constitution strictly bars using tax dollars to fund any but the state’s “common schools” (or public schools), and courts citing the Constitution have struck down legislative attempts to steer tax dollars into private or charter schools.

Courts have struck down the General Assembly’s charter school legislation. In December, wrote that charter schools are “private entities” that do not meet the Kentucky Constitution’s definition of “public schools” or “common schools.”

The unanimously struck down a Kentucky law in December 2022 creating a generous tax credit to help families pay for tuition at private schools. , which upheld a circuit court ruling by Shepherd, cited a long line of precedent reinforcing the Kentucky Constitution’s ban on the state financially supporting private schools.

Democratic Floor Leader Sen. Gerald Neal, of Louisville, said Kentucky’s existing public schools are already “simply underfunded” and should be prioritized. The General Assembly has yet to finalize the next two-year state budget.

“I think we have the capacity to do it,” Neal said. “T��� question is, do we have the will? Do we have the commitment? Do we have the wisdom to do it?”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on and .