On Thursday, October 26, CSG South Senior Policy Analyst Cody Allen spoke before an Oklahoma Joint Interim Study Committee examining the state of public school property insurance in the region and possible policy solutions. His presentation to this Joint Education Committee hearing, chaired by Representative Rhonda Baker and Senator Darcy Jech, focused on the North Carolina Public School Insurance Fund, established in 1949 by the General Assembly, as an equitable and lower-cost property insurance option for school districts. Notably, this voluntary program currently enrolls approximately 68 percent of the state’s local education agencies – along with community colleges and charter schools, who choose to participate. He also touched on legislation considered and enacted in Kentucky, Texas, and West Virginia and emergency appropriations from Arkansas to address this crisis and assist struggling school systems. Allen closed his testimony by highlighting the nationwide scope of the property insurance crisis and acknowledging states are continuing to study this issue as they prepare for the 2024 legislative session.

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