Rep. Pittman files bill in North Carolina House to fund teacher cadet program

A new bill filed by State Rep. Dante Pittman in the North Carolina House seeks to strengthen the educator pipeline through expanded training and support for the Teacher Cadet Program, according to the North Carolina State House.

The bill, filed as HB 943 on April 10 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Turning High-Achieving Students into Teachers.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill appropriates $100,000 in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction for each year of the 2025-27 fiscal biennium to support the North Carolina Teacher Cadet Program (NCTCP). These funds aim to enhance the development of the educator pipeline by conducting statewide curriculum training workshops for teachers, both in-person and online, and expanding services in counties classified as development tier one areas. For these schools, priority will be given to those with the highest teacher attrition rates from the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, the program will focus on training for underrepresented teaching demographics, such as male cadets and those identifying as persons of color, leveraging past and current cadets who are classroom teachers or pursuing education degrees. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

Of the four sponsors of this bill, Frances Jackson, PhD proposed the most bills (23) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Pittman graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018 with a BA.

Pittman, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2025 to represent the state’s 24th House district, replacing previous state representative Ken Fontenot.