WHAT'S NEW: Updates from the National Alliance

• Continuing to wish our community a happy Back to School Month! Stay tuned this week for the announcement of our 2023-24 Rising Leaders Initiative cohort and more.
• Congratulations to North Carolina and advocates for two wins in their state last week! See the details spotlighted below. We love seeing a win for families.
• And a quick shout to Anirudh Rao, the brother of Gitanjali Rao, one of our 30 Under 30 Changemakers in 2021, and a student at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado, for winning The Paradigm World Challenge grand prize for his invention!

SPOTLIGHT: Two Wins for North Carolina Families

Last week, the North Carolina state legislature overrode two vetoes of crucial charter school legislation. 

Why it matters: 

• One law expands access to county funding for charter schools and eliminates growth restrictions on high-performing charter schools.
• Another streamlines charter school approval and review by placing the process in the hands of the Charter School Review Board.

We applaud this win for students and families! Thank you to our partners in the state for advocating for this important win.

ENGAGE: WEBINAR

Protecting Equitable Access to Dual Language Immersion Programs

• What: Join The Century Foundation and UnidosUS as they discuss policy framework to protect English learners’ access to programs to support bilingual skills in schools. 
• When: August 29 at 1 p.m. ET

ATTEND: Upcoming Events

Join these conferences and activities to connect with fellow charter school advocates!

• Aug. 1-30: Back to School Month
• Sep. 15-Oct. 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month
• Sep. 25-27: Texas Public Charter Schools Conference -- Austin, TX

READ: What We're Reading

• Des Moines' first charter school in a decade opens for first day of classes | Des Moines Register
• The Inequity of Public School Funding | The Wall Street Journal
• Back to school: First-day rituals at this Newark charter school network | NJ Spotlight News

That's all for this week!