Part I.  Revise the Governance Structure and Admissions Standards for the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Amends GS 115C-296.5 (governing the powers of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) and the duties of its trustees) as follows. Expands the individuals eligible to participate in NCCAT mentorship and advance study from “career teachers” to “teachers.”  Removes the current law’s NCCAT admission priority to teachers with 15 years of experience or less for NCCAT opportunities.  Admission becomes available to all teachers regardless of experience.  Removes the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (Board of Trustees) as the entity responsible for NCCAT’s discharge of its functions and replaces it with the Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent). Additionally, gives Superintendent full authority over (i) all aspects of NCCAT employment (including directly supervising NCCAT’s executive director) and (ii) contracts, in accordance with State personnel and contract procedures. Requires the Board of Trustees to advise the Superintendent in the exercise of their powers and duties. Adds the Superintendent as one of the required persons to receive an NCCAT annual report from the executive director. 

Amends Section 9.13(a) of SL 2009-451 (governing NCCAT’s transfer to the State Board of Education) to remove language setting forth the Board of Trustee’s authority to govern NCCAT, including authority over employment and contracts.

Part II. Contract with Gooru for Pandemic Learning Loss

Requires the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to use the $9 million appropriated by appropriated by Section 3.5(a)(10) of SL 2021-25 (as amended by SL 2021-180) (contractor funds to track and improve student learning/performance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) to contract with Gooru, Inc. The contract must be for a period of up to three years for the software program Gooru Navigator to evaluate and improve student learning and performance and to provide students with an individualized roadmap for improving learning and performance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Part III. National Student Clearinghouse Data

Requires the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to use funds provided pursuant to SL 2022-74 (Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2022) to contract with the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research at NCSU to purchase attainment data from the National Student Clearinghouse and share the data annually with eligible and appropriate sectors, partners, and individuals as requested and approved by DPI. 

Part IV. Student and Evaluation of School Achievement Scores and Metrics

Requires the Superintendent to study: (1) school achievement, growth, achievement scores, and grades awarded pursuant to GS 115C-83.15 (school achievement, growth, performance scores, and grades) and (2) school performance indicators for compliance with federal law pursuant to GS 115C-83.16 (setting forth school performance indicators to comply with federal law). Requires the Superintendent to report the results to the specified NCGA committees on or before April 15, 2023.  Requires the report to include (1) any efforts by DPI to review the statewide school performance model set forth in GS 115C-83.15; and (2) research results (if any) regarding external school accountability systems in states comparable to North Carolina and how those states were determined to be comparable.

Requires DPI to submit a report to the specified NCGA committee on suggested changes to the current school evaluation model set forth in Part 1B of Article 8 of GS Chapter 115C (school performance) by February 15, 2024. The report must include at least: (1) potential indicators to be used in evaluating schools, including the impact of potential indicators on school performance metrics and compliance with federal law and (2) if there are changes to the methodology behind awarding scores and grades pursuant to GS 115C-83.15 or performance indicators pursuant to GS 115C-83.16, to set forth recommendations/suggested legislation for NCGA to consider.