SB 312 North Carolina Senate · 2025-2026 Session

The Stars and Stripes Commitment Act.

SB 312, the "Stars and Stripes Commitment Act," requires all North Carolina public schools (including charter, regional, and laboratory schools) to schedule daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance within one hour of the start of the school day, display U.S. and North Carolina flags in classrooms when available, and provide age-appropriate instruction about the flag and pledge. It also mandates that State Board of Education and local school governing body meetings begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. The bill explicitly states these requirements do not compel any student, staff, or attendee to stand, salute, or recite the Pledge. The law applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 17, 2025 Last action Mar 18, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed → Edition 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill version transitioned from a filed draft to an official edition with formatting updates and a minor text correction. The most notable substantive change is a clarification of meeting hosting responsibilities for a specific educational commission, shifting responsibility from the University Board of Governors to include the 1988 meeting in the hosting schedule.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on scheduling Pledge of Allegiance recitations in schools, with no changes to core requirements. The only substantive policy adjustment concerns administrative details of an educational commission meeting schedule.

TECHNICAL

Header formatting updated from draft notation (DRS35131-NH-125) to official edition notation (S312-v-1) with session and bill number standardization.

Added Senate Rules and Operations Committee referral information dated March 18, 2025, indicating the bill's committee assignment.

Removed blank referral line and draft-specific numbering notation that was present in the filed version.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that the 1988 meeting shall be hosted by the University Board of Governors, adding specificity to the meeting hosting schedule for an educational commission.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 18, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

Mar 17, 2025

Introduced

Filed

upper

2 primary · 11 co-sponsors