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

Amends the act's titles. Places the previous provisions into new Part I, and adds the following.

Part II.

Amends GS 115C-218.6, to allow the State Board to renew a charter for less than the standard 10-year period, if the percent of students who scored at or above proficient for all end-of-grade and end-of-course tests taken in the previous school year is at least five percentage points lower than in the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is located (previously, if the charter school's student academic outcomes for the preceding three years have not been comparable to those of students in the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is located). Maintains the remaining situations in which the renewal period can be less than the standard period.

Part III.

Amends GS 115C-218.1 to require charter applications to include a nationwide criminal background check for each member of the board of directors of the proposed charter to ensure no member has a conviction of a crime listed in GS 115C-332 or a substantially similar crime in another state. Requires the check to include a Social Security number trace and any known aliases. Also requires charter applications to certify whether each board member has been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor, and if so, include the the charge, the year of the charge, and its disposition. 

Part IV.

Amends Section 8.35 of SL 2014-100, as amended, concerning the virtual charter schools pilot program. Modifies the enrollment cap at participating schools to be no greater than 1,500 in its first year of operation with an allowable annual increase by 20% for each school to a maximum enrollment of 3,000 in the eighth year of the pilot (was, an increase by 20% for each school to a maximum enrollment of 2,592 in the fourth year of the pilot). Authorizes the State Board of Education to waive the 3,000-student maximum enrollment beginning in the eighth year of the school's operation (previously, authorized waiver of the the maximum enrollment threshold beginning in the fourth year of the school's operation) if the State Board determines it to be in the State's best interest. Applies beginning with the 2019-20 school year.