{"id":326,"date":"2026-06-04T14:07:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=326"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:07:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:07:43","slug":"nc-lawmakers-defend-ai-earmark-move-to-require-schools-to-allow-off-campus-religious-instruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=326","title":{"rendered":"NC lawmakers defend AI earmark, move to require schools to allow off-campus religious instruction"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span>North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday revived a proposal to require school districts to allow students to participate in off-campus religious instruction during the school day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=325\">US House approves measure to restrain Trump action in Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Sen. Brad Overcash (R-Gaston) introduced the language as an <\/span><span>amendment<\/span><span> to Senate Bill 1006, an omnibus K-12 education bill, during the Senate Education committee meeting on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The move revives a <\/span><span>proposal<\/span><span> that was originally filed in February 2025 as Senate Bill 92, known as the <\/span><span> It\u00a0 had languished for more than a year without a hearing.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>State Senate bill would okay students attending off-campus Bible classes during school hours<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"wPrlpLXkhm\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/ncnewsline.com\/briefs\/state-senate-bill-would-okay-students-attending-off-campus-bible-classes-during-school-hours\/embed\/#?secret=ECLZrr47HX#?secret=wPrlpLXkhm\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cState Senate bill would okay students attending off-campus Bible classes during school hours\u201d \u2014 NC Newsline\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span>While S92 would have allowed local school boards to decide whether to offer released-time programs, the new version added into S1006 strips that option. It instead requires public schools to adopt policies allowing students to participate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Released-time programs allow students to leave campus for private religious instruction during the school day. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the practice in 1952, provided the classes are held off school grounds, use no public funds, and have parental consent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Overcash told lawmakers that similar programs already operate in dozens of states, including New York. \u201cIt really, really runs the gamut of political persuasions,\u201d said Overcash, who is also the co-chair of the committee. \u201cThese programs are important to help build the moral and religious character of our students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The amendment also removes part of S92 that would have allowed students to earn academic credit for the off-campus instruction. That specific proposal had drawn criticism in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Critics argue the program excludes other students, detracts from academics, and allows proselytization in public schools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=323\">North Carolina youth social media ban clears additional hurdle as it heads toward Senate vote<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Sponsor defends earmark for AI tutoring program<\/h4>\n<p><span>Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), a key sponsor of Senate Bill 1006, defended the decision to direct more than $10 million in recurring state funding to Khan Academy for a statewide AI tutoring program without a competitive bidding process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>NC bill would steer $10 million to Khan Academy for AI tool of debatable value<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Nzx28TKtVX\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/ncnewsline.com\/2026\/06\/01\/nc-bill-would-steer-10-million-to-khan-academy-for-ai-tool-of-debatable-value\/embed\/#?secret=lcE0lg4b0m#?secret=Nzx28TKtVX\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cNC bill would steer $10 million to Khan Academy for AI tool of debatable value\u201d \u2014 NC Newsline\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span>Lee said state officials had spent years evaluating the platform and pointed to meetings with Khan Academy founder Sal Khan and North Carolina officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D-Durham) questioned the evidence behind the earmark, saying, \u201cI\u2019m struggling to find the evidence that shows that this is a better investment than, say, $10 million in instructional assistance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In an April interview with Chalkbeat, Khan Academy founder Sal Khan acknowledged the company\u2019s AI tutoring tool, Khanmigo, had not met early expectations for classroom use. \u201cFor a lot of students, it was a non-event,\u201d he said. \u201cThey just didn\u2019t use it much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Under the proposal, participating districts would use state funds to purchase Khanmigo, which is designed to help teachers with lesson planning and answer student questions about coursework. Funding would be distributed based on enrollment in grades 6 through 12. Districts that opt in would review the program each year before deciding whether to renew contracts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 25-page bill includes more funding for Advanced Teaching Roles, a teacher apprenticeship program, and\u00a0 increased oversight of school district finances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It would also require districts to report their chronic absenteeism rates to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It advanced to the Senate Appropriations committee for further consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>We can&#8217;t cover the General Assembly without your support.<\/h4>\n<p>As a nonprofit newsroom, our articles are free for everyone to access. Readers like you make that possible. Can you help sustain our watchdog reporting today?<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=321\">North Carolina Senate overrides ninth Stein veto to enact scholarship tax credit bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<button>SUPPORT<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North Carolina lawmakers want to require schools to allow off-campus religious instruction, and defended earmarking $10M for an AI tutoring program its own creator says hasn&#8217;t met his expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NC lawmakers defend AI earmark, move to require schools to allow off-campus religious instruction - 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