Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 1st edition.

Amends the act's long title.

Amends GS 115C-296, specifically the new provisions which state that the State Board of Education (SBE) will require all applicants for licensure to have a criminal history check, adding language to clarify that this a requirement for all applicants for licensure in the State of North Carolina. 

Amends newly enacted GS 115C-297.1, School personnel criminal history checks, setting out and defining applicant for use in this statute. Also amends the definition for criminal history, making technical changes and provides that a plea of nolo contendere to a crime is also included in the definition for "criminal history." Further amends the definition to also state that the conviction of or plea of nolo contendere to a crime is considered criminal history if the conviction or nolo contendere plea indicates that the applicant otherwise fails to meet the standards and criteria adopted by the SBE concerning the ethics and moral character required for professional educators. Makes conforming changes and provides that written findings by the SBE regarding how criminal history information was used will only occur when an applicant is denied based on the review of their criminal history (previously, required such written findings in all licensure decisions).

Amends GS 115C-218.90(b) and GS 115C-238.73 to allow charter school boards of directors and regional school boards of directors to require applicants for school personnel positions to be checked for criminal history against the State and National Repositories of Criminal History as specified. Amends GS 115C-218.90(b) further to also require fingerprinting and to make information received in the background check privileged. Further amends GS 115C-238.73 to exclude applicants for a personnel position at a regional school from the criminal history check if the individual has received a license within six months of employment that required the equivalent of the check requirement in (c) of the statute.

Amends GS 115C-332, concerning the general regulations of elementary and secondary education institutions, to require criminal history checks for school personnel and to provide an exemption for the criminal history check for those applicants for school personnel positions with a local board of education that received a license within the last six months prior to employment that required a criminal history check at least equivalent to the required criminal history check. Allows local boards of directors and local boards of education to charge applicants for the criminal history check. 

Amends GS 143B-931, concerning powers of the Department of Public Safety (DPS), making conforming changes to allow DPS to provide state and national criminal histories to the board of directors of charter schools. 

Deletes language that required the SBE to require applicants for licensure renewal to undergo a criminal history check if they had not previously been checked for criminal history by the SBE.

Amends the effective date clause, providing that the bill is effective when it becomes law, applying to all applications for licensure received 60 days on or after that date (previously, effective July 1, 2016, applying to applications for licensure received on or after that date).