The Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education was established in March 2026 by North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Destin Hall. The Commission is a joint bipartisan effort to ensure North Carolina’s public education system is positioned to serve students and educators well, today and into the future. The Commission’s work is rooted in North Carolina’s constitutional mandate to provide all children with the opportunity to receive a “sound, basic public education” (North Carolina Supreme Court, Leandro v. State, 1997).

Created by Executive Order No. 34 and an Authorization Letter issued by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Commission consists of 29 members from education, business and government sectors across the state.  The Commission is co-chaired by Dr. Don Martin, Chair of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, and Anne Faircloth, President of Buffalo Investments and Lafayette Farms.

Throughout 2026, the Commission will study the structure and implementation of public education in the State, examining critical areas for improvement, including:

• Teacher training and student advancement
• Administrative operations
• Educational leadership
• Accountability 

The Commission’s proposed recommendations will be provided to the Executive and Legislative branches in early 2027. 

The first meeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education will be held Monday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation.

The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation is the administrative lead and strategic research partner for the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education, supporting the structure, coordination and evidence development behind its work.

For media inquiries, please contact Heather Bronson, Director of Communications at the Friday Institute.