SCHOOLS ACT.

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View NCGA Bill Details2021
House Bill 1118 (Public) Filed Thursday, May 26, 2022
AN ACT TO ALLOW USE OF REMOTE INSTRUCTION FOR SCHOOL MAKEUP DAYS, TO GRANT SCHOOL CALENDAR FLEXIBILITY STATEWIDE, TO INCREASE PRINCIPAL SALARIES, TO CREATE A TUTORING FUND FROM AVAILABLE REMAINING OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS, TO LOOSEN ZONING RESTRICTIONS FOR SCHOOLS, TO RESTORE RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO STATE EMPLOYEES, AND TO MODIFY SCHOOL PERFORMANCE SCORES AND REPORT CARDS.
Intro. by Hunt, Autry, Brown, Logan.

Status: Ref to the Com on Appropriations, if favorable, Pensions and Retirement, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action) (May 31 2022)

SOG comments (1):

Identical bill

Identical to S 899, filed 5/26/22.

H 1118

Bill Summaries:

  • Summary date: May 31 2022 - View Summary

    Part I.

    Repeals the June 30th, 2022, sunset of Section 3, SL 2021-130, which enacts GS 115C-84.3, permitting public school units to use remote instruction up to a certain threshold to meet school calendar requirements, and makes GS 115C-84.3 apply to charter schools, innovative schools, regional schools, laboratory schools, and renewal school systems. Instead, makes the Section applicable beginning with the 2022-23 school year, with no sunset given.

    Part II.

    Amends GS 115C-84.2(d) to eliminate provisions which require local boards of education to adopt a school calendar with opening and closing dates within the parameters specified, including year-round schools. Deletes the provisions of subsection (d) concerning waiver of the opening date requirements upon a showing of good cause. 

    Part III.

    Sets an annual principal salary schedule, applicable to the 2022-23 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022. Sets out the base schedule based on average daily membership (ADM), ranging from $71,574 for 0-200 ADM, to $96,347 for 3,001 or more ADM. Sets out a complimentary schedule based on school growth scores, ranging from $78,731 to $105,982 for meeting expected growth, and $85,889 to $115,617 for exceeding expected growth. Details qualifications for payment on the salary schedules. Provides that in lieu of the amounts of annual longevity payments, beginning with the 2017-18 fiscal year, the amounts of those longevity payments are included in the salary. Details principal compensation for the 2022-23 school year based on (1) the applicable salary schedule, (2) the sum of the salary received in 2016-17 and longevity pay for the 2016-17 school year, or (3) the salary received in 2016-17 if not eligible for longevity at that time. Appropriates $140,000 in recurring funds for 2022-23 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for the salaries described. Effective July 1, 2022. 

    Part IV.

    Enacts GS 115C-238.35, creating the NC Tutoring Fund (Fund), administered DPI and consisting of monies from legislative appropriations and monies transferred from the Opportunity Scholarship Fund Reserve (Reserve). Limits use to allocations to public school units, based on ADM, to improve student learning through tutoring. Requires the Department of Education (appears to intend DPI) to adopt rules for administration of funds. Allows for funds transferred from the Reserve to the Fund to carry forward until the end of the subsequent fiscal year, at which time any unspent funds revert to the General Fund. Authorizes DPI to retain up to 4% each fiscal year for administrative costs. 

    Amends GS 115C-562.8 to require funds appropriated from the Reserve to be used for the award of scholarships in the following fiscal year which are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the funds were appropriated to be transferred to the Fund (previously, required such funds to first be used by the Education Assistance Authority, up to $500,000, to contract with a nonprofit corporation representing parents and families for outreach and scholarship education and application assistance for parents and students pursuant to Part 4A of this Article 39, then permitted remaining funds to be carried forward for one fiscal year to be used to award scholarships pursuant to Part 4A). Effective June 30, 2022.

    Part V.

    Mandates DPI to allow local units to apply for a separate school code and offer virtual instruction.

    Part VI.

    Repeals Section 35.21(c) and (d), SL 2017-57, which amend GS 135‑48.1(18), defining retired employee to include only members that earned contributory retirement service in one of the named State retirement systems prior to January 1, 2021, and GS 135‑48.40, defining categories of coverage eligibility to include only retired employees, with regard to the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees. Effective retroactively to December 31, 2020.

    Part VII.

    Amends GS 115C-12 to require that the annual report card for each local school administrative unit include numerical school achievement and school growth scores and a separate corresponding letter grade of A-F for both the school achievement and school growth earned by each school within the unit. Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-47(58). 

    Amends GS 115C-83.15, establishing scales for school achievement grades and school growth grades based on school achievement scores and school growth scores. Enacts new subsection (b1) to now require the score for school achievement (determined pursuant to existing subsection (b)) to be used to determine the school achievement grade, according to the following scale, which cannot be modified to add any other designation related to other performance measures, such as plus or minus: a score of at least 85 is equivalent to an A, at least 70 is equivalent to a B, at least 55 is equivalent to a C, at least 40 is equivalent to a D, and less than 40 is equivalent to an F. Similarly, enacts new subsection (c1) to now require the score for school growth (determined pursuant to existing subsection (c)) to be converted by the State Board of Education (State Board) to a 100-point scale and used to determine the school growth grade, according to the following scale and modified to add any other designation related to other performance measures, such as plus or minus: a score of at least 90 is equivalent to an A, at least 80 is equivalent to a B, at least 70 is equivalent to a C, at least 60 is equivalent to a D, and less than 60 is equivalent to an F. Makes conforming changes throughout the statute. Adds to the information that must be displayed prominently on a report card, accessible to the public on the Department of Public Instruction's website, the percentage of schools receiving a school growth letter grade of A-F earned by each school located within a local school administrative unit and statewide. 

    Amends GS 115C-83.17 by defining school grades as the letter grades earned by a school for achievement and growth for all students served by a school. Defines school scores as the numerical scores earned by a school for achievement and growth. Makes further conforming changes to statutory references and terms. 

    Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-83.16, concerning school performance indicators for the purpose of compliance with federal law. Adds a new requirement for the State Board to calculate the overall school performance score by adding the school achievement score and the school growth score earned by a school, with the student achievement score accounting for 80% and the school growth score accounting for 20% of the total sum, for purposes of compliance with specified federal law. Makes conforming changes. 

    Makes further conforming changes to GS 115C-105.37, GS 115C-105.39A, GS 115C-218.65, GS 115C-218.94, GS 115C-238.66, GS 116-239.8, and GS 116-239.13.

    Part VIII.

    Provides a severability clause.