House committee substitute to the 2nd edition makes the following changes. Requires the State Board of Education to decrease the number of elective credits by one (was, to decrease the number of science credits by one) to account for new computer science requirement.
Bill Summaries: H8 (2023-2024 Session)
Tracking:
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Bill H 8 (2023-2024)Summary date: Feb 23 2023 - View summary
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Bill H 8 (2023-2024)Summary date: Feb 14 2023 - View summary
House committee substitute replaces the content of the 1st edition with the following.
Amends GS 115C-12(9d) to mandate that the State Board of Education (State Board) require a passing grade in a computer science course to graduate from high school. Requires the course to fulfill one credit that is not an English, math, science, or social studies credit. Exempts students enrolling in the State after completion of the eleventh grade from the requirement, and students whose individualized education program states that the student's disability would prevent completion. Applies beginning with the 2024-25 school year.
Requires the State Board to establish the course requirement by reducing required science credits by one.
Enacts GS 115C-81.90, specifically requiring the State Board to include computer science instruction, as defined, in the standard course of study for middle and high school students. Requires public school units to offer an elective introductory course to middle school students beginning in the 2025-26 school year, and a course on using existing technologies and creating new technologies to high school students beginning in the 2024-25 school year, with a passing grade in the latter course satisfying the graduation requirement established in GS 115C-12(9d), as amended. Authorizes units to offer the graduation requirement course to middle school students. Requires the State Board to consult with the Department of Public Instruction to adopt a list of approved courses that fulfill each offering requirement and make the list available on DPI's website. Requires in-person instruction when practicable with remote courses otherwise permitted that meet state law requirements. Applies beginning with the 2024-25 school year.
Directs the State Board to adopt and post the list of approved high school courses by July 1, 2023, and middle school introductory courses by January 1, 2025.
Provides for waiver of the course requirement for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years by the unit submitting a signed notification to DPI stating that a course was not available to students, waiving both the requirement to offer the course and the graduation requirement for students entering the ninth grade in the school year in which the notification is submitted. Additionally provides for waiver of the unit's requirement to offer the course for the 2025-26 school year by submitting a signed notification to DPI stating that a course was not available to students.
Amends GS 115C-218.85, GS 115C-238.66, GS 116-239.8, and Section 6 of SL 2018-32, requiring charter schools, regional schools, lab schools, and renewal schools to provide computer science instruction pursuant to new GS 115C-81.90.
Changes the act's long title.
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Bill H 8 (2023-2024)Summary date: Jan 25 2023 - View summary
Section 1
Amends GS 115C-12 by adding to the powers and duties of the State Board of Education (Board), applicable beginning with students entering grade nine in the 2024-25 school year. Requires the Board to require that one full credit of a computer science course (that is, as defined in new GS 115C-81.90 below and approved by a local board of education) be used to fulfill one academic credit in science, except for the requirement for biology or physical science courses. Requires the Board to set forth criteria to determine if middle school courses qualify for the computer science credit.
Section 2
Enacts new GS 115C-81.90 setting forth computer science requirements and offerings in high school and middle school. Requires students to complete a high school level computer science course to graduate unless they enrolled in a North Carolina public school after completing eleventh grade on or after July 1, 2023. Allows for computer science courses to fulfill other science requirements adopted by the Board as set forth in Section 1, above. Defines computer science as the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, hardware and software designs, implementation, and impact on society, as defined by the North Carolina Computer Science Standards. Defines computer science course as a course set in a middle school or high school that teaches computer science as a standalone subject for one semester or a full-year course. Requires the content of computer science courses to focus on teaching students how to create new technologies as well as the use of existing technologies. Defines exploratory computer science course as a course set in a middle school that serves as an introduction to computer science and surveys the field of computer science (prohibits an exploratory computer science course from satisfying the computer science graduation requirement).
Effective July 1, 2025, and beginning with the 2025-26 school year, middle schools are required to offer an exploratory computer science course. Requires the Board, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), to adopt a list of approved courses that fulfill the exploratory computer science requirement by July 1, 2025. Requires the list to be made public on DPI’s website.
Requires the Board, in consultation with DPI, to adopt a list of approved courses that fulfill the computer science requirement by July 1, 2023. Requires the list to be made public on DPI’s website. Allows students to take computer science requirement in middle school or high school so long as the course meets or exceeds the high school standards requirements established by the Board. Requires both exploratory computer science courses and computer science courses to meet in person; allows for a virtual or distance option when an in-person setting is not feasible.
From July 1, 2024 until July 1, 2026, allows for public school units to submit a signed notification to DPI certifying that a computer science course was not available for pupils to fulfill the computer science requirement and is waived for those pupils. Requires DPI to maintain a list of those public school units.
With the exception of the exploratory computer science course requirement (discussed above), the remainder of the act is effective when it becomes law and applies to students entering grade nine in the 2024-25 school year.