Abolishes funds, grants, allotments, and other sources of funding that expend their funds from the State Public School Fund that are in effect before the act’s effective date.

Enacts new Article 3A to GS Chapter 115A, establishing the NC Weighted Student Funding Model, providing as follows.

Defines the following terms: average daily membership (ADM) is the sum of the total number of days in a month a student is enrolled divided by the total number of school days in that month.

Base funding amount is the uniform dollar amount that each student generates toward the student's funding allocation in a given school year.

Academically or intellectually gifted student is a student who participates in plans developed pursuant to Article 9B of GS Chapter 115C.

Economically disadvantaged student is any student identified by a public school unit (PSU) meeting the criteria of Directly Certified, Categorically Eligible, or a method consistent with State or federal guidance for financial assistance regardless of participation or eligibility in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Directly Certified means students who are eligible for free meals through data matching of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), which includes Extended Eligible students and those found in the Direct Certification system.

Categorically Eligible means students who qualify as economically disadvantaged based on their classification as homeless, runaway, migrant, foster, Medicaid recipient, or being enrolled in Head Start or a comparable State-funded Head Start or pre-kindergarten program.  

Economically disadvantaged student factor is the headcount of economically disadvantaged students in a public school unit multiplied by the percentage of students in the unit identified as economically disadvantaged.  

Exceptional children are students who receive services provided pursuant to Article 9 of GS Chapter 115C (students with disabilities).

Limited English proficient student is a student who receives services for students learning English as a second language.

Small county school administrative unit is a local school administrative unit that has an ADM of fewer than 3,300.

Sets forth a public school funding model based on ADMs and weighted categories as follows. Requires that the base funding amount for each student will be allotted to each public school unit on the basis of the ADM for the unit. Provides that additional weighted allocations, none of which are mutually exclusive, will be provided to public school units for each student in the following categories:

(1) ADM in grades K-5, which will be 31% for the 2023-25 biennium.

(2) ADM in grades 8-12, which will be 29% for the 2023-25 biennium.  

(3) Economically disadvantaged student factor, which will be 38% for the 2023-25 biennium.  

(4) ADM in small county school administrative units, which will be 32% for the 2023-25 biennium.    

(5) Student headcount of exceptional children, which will be 130% for the 2023-25 biennium.  

(6) Student headcount of academically or intellectually gifted students, which will be 4% for the 2023-25 biennium.   

(7) Student headcount of limited English proficient students, which will be 10% for the 2023-25 biennium.  

Requires biannual reports at the end of October and February of each year from each local board of education through the superintendent, based on information provided by the principal, for each school within the local school administrative unit with the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). Specifies form and content of report. Requires periodic audits by the SPI for accuracy and for student-teacher ratios. Permits the State Board of Education (Board) to penalize local boards of education if those ratios have been improperly exceeded. Requires the SPI to submit a summary of the biannual reports and the results of any audit conducted by the SPI to the specified NCGA committee. 

Amends GS 115C-105.25, pertaining to budget flexibility as follows. Permits school flexibility to accomplish school goals, so long as the local board does not violate rules associated with the receipt of federal funds or federal grants. Amends publication requirements for local school administrative units to specify that the public must be informed on how State, local, and federal funds have been used (currently, just funds). Deletes provisions limiting the transfers of funds to certain purposes and reporting information on the use of budget flexibility provided to Advanced Teaching Roles schools. Makes technical and conforming changes.  

Amends GS 115C-283.82 to delete references to "allotment" and/or "classroom teacher allotment" and to replace those terms with "funding."

Amends GS 115C-301, pertaining to class size, as follows. Deletes provisions pertaining to teacher position allotments, requests for teacher funds to the Board, appropriation, biannual reports, and provisions allowing allotment of additional classroom teachers when consolidation is not feasible. Changes references from “maximum class size” or “class size” to “student-teacher ratios.” Amends the class size requirements for kindergarten through third grade to only require that an average class (currently it’s each individual class) not exceed the listed student-to-teacher ratio by more than three students. Deletes provisions stipulating that the average class size for those grades cannot exceed the funded allotment ratio of teachers to students in kindergarten through third grade. Deletes provisions allowing local school administrative units maximum flexibility to use allotted teacher positions to maximize student achievement in grades 4 through 12. Deletes provisions authorizing the Board to allot additional positions at any grade level upon report of significant increases in class size. Only allows for waivers of the required ratios if that occurs. Makes technical, organizational, and conforming changes.

Amends GS 115C-375.5 (education for pregnant and parenting students) to delete reference to "supplemental funds from the at-risk student services allotment" and replaces that with "funds." Deletes references to allotments or allocations (including distribution thereof) in GS 115C-105.30 (distribution of staff development funds) and GS 115C-528 (lease sales and purchase contracts).

Repeals GS 115C-238.50A(1b) (definition of cooperative innovative high school allotment) and makes conforming change to GS 115C-238.54(a) (pertaining to school codes for cooperative innovative high schools) and GS 115C-156 (state funds for career and technical education). Deletes the funding calculations in GS 115C-238.70 (state and local funds allocated to regional schools) and replaces them with a reference to new GS 115C-25.2. Deletes statutory references to state and local funds for charter schools in GS 115C-218.15 (charter school operation) and GS 115C-218.100 (charter school dissolution). Replaces charter school funding formula with reference to new GS 115C-25.2.

Repeals the following laws:

• GS 115C-316.5 (school psychologists allotment).
• GS 115C-218.42 (charter school transportation grant program)
• The Education and Workforce Innovation Program (Article 6c)
• GS 115C-105.60 (school resource officer grants)
• GS 115C-311 (teacher compensation models)
• GS 115C-377 (feminine hygiene grant program)
• GS 115C-111.3(b) (pertaining to cost of education for children in group homes or foster homes)
• Section 7.8 of SL 2007-107, as amended (pertaining to disadvantaged student supplemental funding and low wealth initiatives)
• Section 7.12 of SL 2021-180 (transportation reserve fund for homeless and foster children)

Enacts new GS 115C-25.4, requiring the Board to maintain an ADM Contingency Reserve for schools whose needed funding for a given school year exceeds their initially funded amount. Specifies that if there are not enough funds, then the Board may use funds appropriated to the State Aid for Public Schools. Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, requires the Department of Public Instruction (Department) to distribute funds to public school units whose funding is determined by the model set forth above. The Department must provide funds from the ADM Contingency Reserve to fund public school units whose funding as determined at the conclusion of the second month of the school year by the method set forth above for the current school year exceeds the amount determined at the time of the initial funding determinations, based on changes in ADM and ADM and headcount within weighted groups.

Repeals Section 7.15 of SL 2007-232.

Effective July 1, 2023, and applies beginning with the 2023-24 fiscal year.