High-school students in Beaufort County can expect fewer end-of-course tests beginning this fall following action earlier this week in the state Legislature.

In a vote that crossed party lines, the N.C. Senate approved a bill Thursday that would eliminate end-of-course tests for high-school students in U.S. history, civics and economics, Algebra II and physical science beginning next fall.

Sen. Stan White, a Dare County Democrat who represents Beaufort County, was among 44 of 50 senators voting for the bill Thursday before it won final approval on a voice vote.

The Senate action followed approval of the measure last month by the N.C. House of Representatives, also by a bipartisan vote of 94-13.

Rep. Bill Cook, a Beaufort County Republican, and Rep. Tim Spear, a Washington County Democrat, were among those voting in favor of the bill.

The measure now goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue for her signature.

Perdue has indicated that she will sign the bill, according to a report from The Charlotte Observer.

Under provisions of the bill, public schools in Beaufort County and across the state will not be required to give any standardized tests unless they are required by federal law or as a condition of a federal grant beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

The General Assembly approved the measure despite a warning from Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, who told lawmakers the test results are needed to determine if children are getting the “sound basic education” required by the state constitution.

One Beaufort County school leader said Friday that he is disappointed that state lawmakers eliminated the measure of student performance before establishing another means of measuring student performance across the state.

“I agree with Judge Manning. You need to know how well children are doing in their classes,” said Robert Belcher, chairman of the Beaufort County Board of Education. “You need some kind of standardized measure to determine that.”

“When you just take an acceptable measure of performance away without replacing it with another, I think it’s just bad business,” he said.

The measure eliminating the four standardized tests is just one bill affecting public education in North Carolina that is making its way quickly through the General Assembly.

A state House committee is scheduled Tuesday to discuss a bill that would eliminate the cap on charter schools, take oversight of such schools away from the state Board of Education and require local school systems to share all their revenues with charter schools, among other provisions.

The bill was approved by the state Senate last month. If approved by the committee, it could head to the House floor for a vote by that chamber this week.

Groups like the North Carolina Association of Educators and the North Carolina School Boards Association that have traditionally opposed raising the cap had announced publicly they are backing off that opposition, citing the new political realities in Raleigh.

The focus by some education interests has now shifted to attempts to modify the bill.

Last week, the local school board voted unanimously to support an effort by the North Carolina School Boards Association to have the bill amended before a vote is taken in the state House.

On Friday, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison and State Superintendent of Schools June Atkinson issued a joint statement in support of expanding the number of charter schools but cautioning against creating additional bureaucracy to oversee those schools.

“We believe that charter schools offer an important option for some students and families and that they do provide an important incubator for educational innovation,” the statement reads.╩

“We caution, however, against expansions that are not managed in an orderly manner, and we believe it is important to maintain accountability for charter school performance and business practices. Allowing expansion without an emphasis on sustainable quality would not be in the best interest of students or parents.╩ Creation of a separate government entity to oversee charter deployment would create a redundant bureaucracy in state government,” the statement continued.