Enacts new GS 115C-81.12 requiring the State Board of Education (Board) to develop standards for a middle school course in which seventh grade students investigate and learn about career pathways to align with new GS 115C-158.10, and complete a career development plan, as discussed below.

Enacts new GS 115C-158.10 providing as follows. Requires all middle school and high school students enrolled in local school administrative units to complete a career development plan. Encourages charter schools to participate. Specifies that a career development plan must contain at least the following main prongs of assessment: (1) self-assessment of the student's aptitudes, skills, values, personality, and career interests; (2) exploration and identification of pathways for careers aligned with the student's self-assessment that include specified information for each career; (3) alignment of academic courses and extracurricular activities with the student's identified career interests, including specified inventory of courses and recordkeeping; and (4) creation of a career portfolio. Requires the Board to develop rules regarding career development plans. Requires local boards of education to: provide parents written notice of the initial career development plan along with instructions on how to access it, ensure that career development plans are easily accessible to students and parents, and provide access to all career development plans through a designated electronic app. 

Specifies that students will not be promoted from seventh grade until the plan is created, and cannot be promoted from tenth grade until the career development plan is revised.

Amends GS 115C-218.75 (pertaining to general operating requirements for charter schools) to encourage charter schools to develop career development plans.

Effective beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

Requires the Board to establish a pilot of at least 20 local school administrative units during the 2023-24 school year to develop the plan requirements and professional development necessary for successful statewide implementation of career development plans in the 2024-25 school year. Requires Board to direct the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to develop an electronic app for the career development plan as discussed above, with the additional specification that the app integrate with career information available through other state agencies, and to provide that app to local boards of education and participating charter schools by no later than the 2024-25 school year. Requires DPI and local boards of education, as appropriate, to provide or cause to be provided, prior to the start of the 2024-25 school year the content curriculum and professional development needed for the above.