North Carolina 2025 Session Status: In Committee 5 R cosponsors

SB 92 — Released Time Education Act.

Last action — Passed 1st Reading

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 12, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 24% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 5 sponsors

    2 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (5 R).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

10 added · 11 removed

Plain-language change summary

In the latest version of Senate Bill 92, the wording clarifies that students attending a released time program will not be marked absent from school. The specific mention of "denominational affiliation" was removed, which may indicate a focus on secular criteria for these programs. This change is important because it emphasizes that students can participate in such programs without facing penalties related to their religious beliefs, promoting inclusivity and flexibility in educational settings.

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FILED SENATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA Feb 12, 2025 S.B.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 S 1 SENATE BILL 92 Short Title:
92 SESSION 2025 PRINCIPAL CLERK S D SENATE BILL DRS15041-NH-8A Short Title:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ALLOW PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BE RELEASED DURING THE INSTRUCTIONAL DAY TO ATTEND COURSES IN RELIGIOUS MORAL INSTRUCTION.
Rules and Operations of the Senate February 13, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ALLOW PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BE RELEASED DURING THE INSTRUCTIONAL DAY TO ATTEND COURSES IN RELIGIOUS MORAL INSTRUCTION.
(6) Students shall not beconsidered absent fromschool whileattending a released time course.
(6) Students shall not beconsidered absent fromschool whileattendinga released time course.
*DRS15041-NH-8A* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (2) In determining how much credit to award for completion of a released time course, the governing body of the public school unit shall evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar courses.
*S92-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (2) In determining how much credit to award for completion of a released time course, the governing body of the public school unit shall evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar courses.
The decision to award credit for a released time course shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any test for, religious content ordenominational affiliation.
The decision to award credit for a released time course shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any test for, religious content ordenominational affiliation.Forpurposes ofthis section,secularcriteria may include the following:
Forpurposes ofthis section,secularcriteria may include the following:
Page 2 DRS15041-NH-8A
Page 2 Senate Bill 92-First Edition
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How this bill changes current law

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AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill establishes a framework for public school students in North Carolina to be released during the school day to attend religious moral instruction courses.

  • Article 7B of Chapter 115C

    Part 8. Courses and Credits. § 115C-78.3. Released time courses. (a) The following definitions apply in this section: (1) Released time course. – A course in religious moral instruction taught by a sponsoring entity that a student attends during the instructional day. (2) Sponsoring entity. – An organization that provides released time courses. (b) Released Time Course Policy. – The governing body of a public school unit may adopt a policy to allow students to attend a released time course for at least one but no more than five hours per week. At a minimum, the policy shall require that: (1) A student's parent or legal guardian gives written consent for the student to attend the released time course. (2) Transportation to and from the location of the released time course, including transportation for students with disabilities, is the complete responsibility of the sponsoring entity, parent or legal guardian, or student. (3) No federal, State, or local funds, other than minimal administrative costs incurred by facilitating the released time course policy, are expended in providing the released time course. (4) Students assume responsibility for any missed schoolwork. (5) Released time courses are not to be held on school property unless permitted under a neutral policy of equal access opening school property for use by community groups. (6) Students shall not be considered absent from school while attending a released time course. (c) Credit for Released Time Courses. – Notwithstanding any State Board of Education rules, as part of a governing body of a public school unit's released time course policy, the governing body may allow the awarding of up to two elective course credits to a student who successfully completes a released time course in accordance with the following: (1) A student's participation in a released time course but failure to earn credit shall not be denoted as a fail on the student's transcript. (2) In determining how much credit to award for completion of a released time course, the governing body of the public school unit shall evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar courses. The decision to award credit for a released time course shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any test for, religious content or denominational affiliation. For purposes of this section, secular criteria may include the following: a. The number of hours of classroom instruction time. b. A review of the course syllabus that reflects course requirements and materials used. c. The methods of assessment used in the course. d. The qualifications of the course instructor, which shall be similar to the qualifications of other teachers within the public school unit. (d) Duties and Responsibilities of Sponsoring Organizations. – An organization that provides a released time course shall do the following: (1) Maintain attendance records and make the records available to the public school unit the students enrolled in the course attend. (2) Upon request of a governing body of a public school unit that has students taking or seeking to take a released time course from that organization, provide a copy of the syllabus for the course. (3) Make provisions for and assume liability for students while they are under supervision of the sponsoring organization.

    This new part establishes guidelines for schools to implement released time courses for religious instruction, including policies on parental consent, transportation, funding, attendance, credit awarding, and responsibilities of sponsoring organizations.

Action History

  1. Passed 1st Reading

  2. Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

  3. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 174 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (174)

174 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 174 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 92?
SB 92 is sponsored by Timothy D. Moffitt (Republican), Jim Burgin (Republican), Carl Ford (Republican), W. Ted Alexander (Republican), and Bobby Hanig (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 92?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 12, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 92?
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