OMNIBUS EDUCATION LAW CHANGES (NEW).

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View NCGA Bill Details2017-2018 Session
House Bill 155 (Public) Filed Tuesday, February 21, 2017
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO EDUCATION LAWS.
Intro. by K. Hall, Conrad, L. Bell, Floyd.

Status: Ch. SL 2017-157 (House Action) (Jul 21 2017)

SOG comments (2):

Long Title Change

House committee substitute to the 1st edition made changes to the long title. The original title is as follows:

AN ACT TO EXPAND ACTIVITIES QUALIFYING FOR CONTINUING LICENSURE OF RETIRED TEACHERS, EXEMPT MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHERS, AND ALLOW SCHOOL BOARDS TO HIRE RETIRED EDUCATORS TO SERVE AS INTERIM PRINCIPALS.

Short and Long Title Changes

Senate committee substitute to the 2nd edition makes changes to the short and long titles. The original titles are as follows:

MODIFY EDUCATOR LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS.

AN ACT TO EXPAND ACTIVITIES QUALIFYING FOR CONTINUING LICENSURE OF RETIRED TEACHERS, EXEMPT MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FROM CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHERS, AND ALLOW SCHOOL BOARDS TO HIRE RETIRED PRINCIPALS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS TO SERVE AS INTERIM PRINCIPALS.

Bill History:

H 155/S.L. 2017-157

Bill Summaries:

  • Summary date: Jul 25 2017 - View Summary

    AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO EDUCATION LAWS. Enacted July 21, 2017. Effective July 21, 2017, except as otherwise provided.


  • Summary date: Jun 26 2017 - View Summary

    Senate amendment #1 makes the following changes to the 3rd edition. Adds the requirement that the State Board of Education provide notice to local school administrative units participating in the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child pilot program regarding Part IV (superintendent study student health issues) and Part V (State Board of Education Interagency Committee and school-based mental health initiative delay implementation) of the act and allow the units to withdraw from the pilot program.


  • Summary date: Jun 21 2017 - View Summary

    Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 2nd edition.

    Deletes all provisions of the previous edition. Changes the act's long and short titles, and now provides the following.

    Part I. Modify School/Class Size Report Date

    Amends GS 115C-47(10), as amended, to change the reporting dates for the biannual report that must be submitted by local boards of education to the Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent) regarding school organization data for each school in a local administrative unit to October and February of each year (currently, September and February).

    Amends GS 115C-301(f), as amended, to change the reporting dates for the biannual report that must be submitted by local boards of education to the Superintendent regarding the organization for each school in a local administrative unit to October and February of each year (currently, September and February).

    Applies beginning with the 2017-18 school year.

    Part II. Makes Conforming Changes to Career Status Statutes to Align with North Carolina Supreme Court Decision

    Repeals Section 9.6(a) of SL 2013-360, which repealed GS 115C-325 (System of employment for public school teachers) effective June 30, 2018.

    Amends GS 115C-325 (System of employment for public school teachers) as follows. Amends subsection (a) to eliminate career school administrator, career teacher, day, exchange teacher, probationary teacher, school administrator, and year from the defined terms. Amends the definition of a career employee to now define the term to mean an employee who was awarded career status with that local board as a teacher prior to August 1, 2013. Removes reference to a school administrator from the definition of demote. Redefines disciplinary suspension to mean a final decision to suspend a career employee without pay for no more than 60 days under GS 115C-325(f)(2).

    Adds new subsection (a1), providing that the statute applies only to career employees. Specifies that no person who is employed as a teacher who did not acquire career status as a teacher by August 1, 2013, can have career status. Makes conforming changes to refer to career employees only and limit the statute's scope to career employees.

    Modifies subsection (n), regarding appeals from dismissal, demotion, or suspension without pay for career employees, delineating the grounds of appeal for a career employee under the statute to include that the decision of the board: is in violation of constitutional provisions; is in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the board; was made upon unlawful procedure; is affected by other error of law; is unsupported by substantial evidence in view of the entire record as submitted; or is arbitrary or capricious.

    Makes conforming technical and clarifying changes. Makes language gender neutral.

    Amends GS 115C-218.90(a)(3) and GS 115C-238.68(3), permitting a teacher who has received a leave of absence to teach at a charter school or regional school to return to a public school in the local school administrative unit at the end of the leave of absence or upon the end of employment at the charter school or regional school if an appropriate position is available, as well as return with career status if the teacher has career status under GS 115C-325 prior to receiving a leave of absence to teach in a charter or regional school. Further amends GS 115C-218.90(a)(3) to delete the provision providing that when an appropriate position is unavailable for teachers returning from leave from teaching at a charter school, the teacher has priority for all positions for which that teacher is qualified.

    Amends GS 115C-287.1, adding new subsection (f1). Provides that if a school administrator held career status as a teacher prior to appointment as a school administrator in the same local administrative unit, the school administrator retains career status as a teacher if the school administrator is not offered a new, renewed, or extended contract by the local board of education, unless the school administrator voluntarily relinquished career status or is dismissed or demoted pursuant to GS 115C-325. Amends existing subsection (h), providing that if the school administrator held career status as a teacher in the local school administrative unit prior to being employed as an assistant principal and the State Board of Education for any reason that does not extend the school administrator's provisional assistant principal's license, the school administrator retains career status as a teacher unless the school administrator voluntarily relinquished career status or is dismissed or demoted pursuant to GS 115C-325.

    Amends GS 115C-296(b)(1)a.1, concerning the teacher licensure program, to include continuing licensure of a teacher as defined in GS 115C-325.1(6) as existing law specifies.

    Amends GS 115C-302.1(b), adding dismissal under GS 115C-325.4 for which a teacher who has been prepaid and continues to be employed by a local board but fails to attend scheduled workdays may be subject. 

    Amends GS 115C-325.1, setting out definitions for the provisions relating to principal and teacher employment contracts, to add a clause making the definitions set out in GS 115C-325 applicable to the Part.

    Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-404(b) to refer to a "career employee" instead of a "career teacher."

    Amends GS 116-239.10(4) similarly to GS 115C-238.68(3), permitting a teacher who has received a leave of absence to teach at a lab school to return to a public school in the local school administrative unit at the end of the leave of absence or upon the end of employment at the lab school if an appropriate position is available, as well as return with career status if the teacher has career status under GS 115C-325 prior to receiving a leave of absence to teach in a lab school.

    Makes conforming changes to GS 143B-146.8(b) to refer to a career employee instead of a career teacher.

    Makes conforming change to repeal Section 9.6(i) of SL 2013-360.

    Amends Section 9.6(j) of SL 2013-360, providing that GS 115C-325.1 through GS 115C-325.13 as enacted apply to all teachers on one-, two-, or four-year contracts beginning July 1, 2014. Deletes the provision making those statutes as enacted applicable to all teachers employed by local boards of education or the State on or after July 1, 2018.

    Makes conforming changes to repeal Sections 9.7(o) through 9.7(t) of SL 2013-360, and Sections 9.7(v) through 9.7(x) of SL 2013-360, amending various statutes concerning teacher and personnel licensure and evaluation. Makes conforming changes to Section 9.7(y) of SL 2013-360.

    Repeals Section 8.38(c) of SL 2015-241, which repeals GS 115C-325(e)(2) as amended by that act effective June 30, 2018.

    Part III. Authorize Assistant Principals at Certain Schools to Conduct Evaluations for Beginning Teachers

    Amends GS 115C-333(a) and GS 115C-333.1(a), permitting the required annual evaluation of teachers assigned to low-performing and non low-performing schools that have not been employed for at least three consecutive years to be conducted by an assistant principal for high schools with at least 1,500 schools, so long as at least one evaluation in a teacher's first three years of employment is conducted by a principal. Applies beginning with the 2017-18 school year.

    Part IV. Superintendent Study Student Health Issues

    Directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent) to convene a Work Group to study effective and positive intervention measures or policy changes to address risky behaviors and encourage student health and mental health. Details the composition of the Work Group. Directs the Superintendent to report on the Work Group's findings and recommendations to the State Board of Education and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by April 1, 2018.

    Part V. State Board of Education Interagency Advisory Committee and School-Based Mental Health Initiative Delay Implementation

    Prohibits the State Board of Education (State Board) from adopting or implementing any policies or recommendations from the Interagency Advisory Committee established by the State Board in Policy ADVS-009 until October 1, 2018.

    Directs the State Board to change the timelines for the development and implementation of plans and training as required by Policy SHLT-003 regarding school-based mental health initiatives as provided for local school administrative units and charter schools.

    Part VI. Study/Expand Computer Science to All Students

    Directs the Superintendent and the Department of Public Instruction (Department) to develop recommendations to further the teaching and student learning of computational thinking and computer science in NC K-12 schools. Directs the Superintendent and Department to collaborate with the Friday Institute and the NC School of Science and Math. Details requirements of the study, including developing curriculum guidelines aligned with the K-12 Computer Science Framework (October 2016) developed by the CSforAll Consortium.

    Directs the Superintendent to report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the recommendations developed in accordance with this act by January 15, 2018. 


  • Summary date: Mar 21 2017 - View Summary

    House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 1st edition:

    Amends the long title.

    Directs in GS 115C-296(b)(1) that the licensure program will provide licensure based on teaching experience for retirement licensure (currently, continuing licensure) of a teacher as specified.

    Directs that the increased standards for continuing licensure will include, for teachers seeking a retirement license (currently, retired teachers serving as substitutes), at least 640 hours of documented employment as specified.

    Deletes the proposed amendment to GS 115C-284. Amends GS 115C-284(e) to authorize local boards of education to select a retired principal or a retired assistant principal to serve as an interim principal for the remainder of any school year regardless of licensure status.

    Clarifies that Section 1 of the act (amending GS 115C-296) applies to applications for retirement licensure on or after that date.


  • Summary date: Feb 21 2017 - View Summary

    Amends GS 115C-296(b)(1) to require the State Board of Education's licensure program to provide for continuing licensure of a teacher as defined in GS 115C-325(6) who has 30 or more years of teaching experience in North Carolina upon the date of the teacher's retirement and who has been employed by a local school administrative unit after retirement. Qualifies that employment by a local school administrative unit after retirement must be either employment as (1) a substitute teacher (was, a substitute teacher at least once every three years since retirement) or (2) a part-time position providing any of the seven specified services, including writing curricula or working in after-school programs (previously, did not include employment in a part-time position at a local school administrative unit). Makes conforming changes. Applies to applications for continuing licensure on or after the date this act becomes law.

    Amends GS 115C-296(b)(1) to exempt a member of the General Assembly from the continuing education credit requirements for teachers during any five-year licensure renewal cycle in which the member serves a term or some portion thereof in the General Assembly. Requires the member to notify the Department of Public Instruction of the exemption during that five-year licensure renewal cycle.

    Amends GS 115C-284 to allow a local board of education to select a retired principal, retired assistant principal, or retired teacher to serve as an interim principal for the remainder of any school year regardless of the school administrator certification status of the retired principal, retired assistant principal, or retired teacher. Applies beginning with the 2017-18 school year.