Senate committee substitute to the 1st edition places previous content into Part XIII and adds the following content. Makes conforming changes to act’s long and short titles.

Part I.

Expands the advanced courses to be offered by local board of education when practicable to include English Language Arts courses under GS 115C-81.36. Makes conforming changes including automatic enrollment in advanced learning opportunities for the next school year when a student scores at the highest level on the corresponding end-of-grade test. Requires that a parent or guardian wanting to remove a student from the advance learning opportunities or advanced courses be first given notice that the student's placement was determined by their achievement on the previous end-of-grade or end-of-course test. Specifies that the submission date for the annual report submitted by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to the specified NCGA committees is December 15, and requires DPI to include data on socioeconomic status collected for the current school year, as described. Makes technical, conforming, and organizational changes. Applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

Part II.

Deletes the limitation in GS 115C-111.2 (contract with private service providers ) which directed that the local educational agencies are only able to contract with private special education facilities or providers when the local entity is unable to provide the service, so that local educational agencies may contract with private providers for any service. Defines nursing services. Adds new GS 115C-111.2(b) specifying the following conditions that must be met before a local education agency must make available a parent’s choice of nurse when providing nursing services required under an Individualized Education Plan (IEP): (1) the child received nursing services from the nurse (i) prior to the nursing services being required by the child's IEP or (ii) prior to the child enrolling in his or her current school; (2) the parent's choice of nurse is employed by a nursing agency and willing to provide the nursing services required by the child's IEP; (3) the nursing agency employing the parent's choice of nurse meets all standard contract terms required for any other nursing agency contracted by the local educational agency, including licensing and liability requirements; and (4) the contracted rate is equal to or less than the contracted rate of other nurses contracted by the local educational agency. Specifies that GS 115C-111.2 should not be construed to limit the local education agency’s responsibility to provide a free public education.  Applies beginning with the 2025-26 school year. 

Part III.

Grants the NC Charter Schools Review Board (Review Board) the power to propose, recommend, and approve rules and policies regarding all aspects of charter school operation, including processes in GS 115C-218. Directs the State Board of Education (Board) to assign the Review Board to conduct any hearings pertaining to review of financial assistance. Allows the Review Board to contract for and employ private counsel to advise, represent, and to provide litigation services to the Review Board. Makes conforming changes. Makes the Executive Director reportable to the Review Board instead of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in GS 115C-218. Amends GS 115C-218.105 (state and local funds for a charter school) to make the Review Board, instead of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, responsible for duties related to fiscal violations and transfer of the per pupil share of funds.

Requires for each charter school’s written charter to be approved by the Review Board in GS 115C-218.15. Allows charter schools to refrain from listing a student’s class rank on the student’s official transcript or record in GS 115C-218.9. Instructs charter schools to include standards and criteria similar to those used in the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process, or such other evaluation standard and process required to be used by local school administrative units, in its evaluations for conducting teacher evaluations in GS 115C-218.90.  Directs the Review Board in GS 115C-218.94 to require low-performing charter schools to prepare and report on plans to improve the performance of the schools. Exempts charter schools from the requirements of GS 115C-105.27 (development and approval of school plans). Authorizes, in GS 115C-218.123, charter schools operating a remote academy with an actual or intended enrollment with 250 or more students to request that the Review Board grant the remote academy portion of the school a separate charter. Requires an expedited review process. Provides, in GS 115C-218.125 (evaluations), for a separate school performance grade and review process for the remote academy component of any charter school operating a remote academy.

Applies beginning with the 2025-26 school year.

Part IV.

Directs, in new GS 115C-218.106, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to provide a charter school access to any required financial data reporting platforms during the charter school's first year of operation at no cost to the charter school.

Part V.

Enacts GS 115C-264.6, the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) meal incentive program, established by DPI to expand public school participation in the federal CEP program to increase the number of students with access to healthy, cost-free school breakfast and lunch in each year funds are made available. Defines seven terms, including ISP (individual student percentage). Provides for a CEP application developed by DPI. Sets July 15 for DPI to make eligibility determinations. Sets methodology for calculating grant awards. Requires participating schools to have a breakfast option available where students have access to breakfast and are allowed to consume breakfast in the classroom. Provides for prioritization of grant awards if funds are not sufficient for all eligible applicants, first awarded to units with an ISP of greater than or equal 55% and then to units that will draw the greatest federal match. Requires DPI to submit an annual report on the CEP by January 1 to the specified NCGA committees and division.  Authorizes DPI to use up to $500,000 of funds appropriated for the program for administrative costs.  Repeals Section 7.59 of SL 2023-134 (setting up a CEP program for the 2023-25 biennium). Effective July 1, 2025.

Part VI.

Adds and defines the terms individualized education program (IEP), related services, and special education to GS 115C-270.1 (concerning definitions for licensure of elementary and secondary school teachers).  Expands the class of persons who may request that a residency teacher’s license be issued under GS 115C-270.20 to include the described nonpublic schools approved to provide special education and related services pursuant to a student’s IEP, along with the already included governing bodies of public school units. Applies to applications for residency licenses occurring on or after the act becomes law.

Part VII.

Amends GS 115C-270.15 (exam requirements) to waive the licensure exam requirements for a teacher with a limited license who has available growth data under the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) and has a positive growth score for two of the three most recent years for which growth scores are available. Directs the State Board of Education (Board) to convert that teacher’s limited license to a continuing professional license. Makes conforming changes. Applies to limited licenses expiring on or after the act becomes law.

Part VIII.

Removes the program completion and portfolio submission requirements for an administrator license under GS 115C-270.20. Requires those licensee applicants to meet other requirements adopted by the Board. Creates a five-year, renewable principal license issued to those who meet the four listed criteria including a program and portfolio requirement. Requires applicants for provisional assistant principal licenses to participate in a principal preparation program instead of the administrator preparation program. Makes conforming changes to: (1) GS 115C-270.1 as amended by the act; (2) GS 115C-284.1 (principal preparation programs); and (3) Section 3J.15 of SL 2024-57. Applies to initial applicants for administrator or principal licensure on or after the act becomes law.  

Part IX.

Authorizes the Board, for any ATR unit (defined) that received its final year of grant funding under GS 115C-310.11 in the 2024-2025 school year, to permit the ATR unit to exceed the maximum class size requirements for kindergarten through third grade for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. Amends GS 115C-310.15 to task DPI with creating designations for teachers serving in advanced teaching roles in the student information system.

Part X.

Requires each local board of education, by no later than August 15, 2025, and annually thereafter to publish and maintain listed information for each central office employee (defined) under GS 115C-320 (publication and inspection of certain records) including: (1) total compensation for each central office employee from all funding sources including at least salary and reimbursements and allowances; (2) position title and description (including the date the employee’s position was created and department, unit, or office where the position is located) for each central office employee; (3) the title of each central office employee position in the local school administrative unit and the number of positions associated with that title; and (4) for each department, unit, or office of the local school administrative unit, the number of central office employees located in that department, unit, or office along with the number of central office employees for each position title. Expands the type of information a local board of education must maintain for its employees to include current total compensation (was, salary), including salary, reimbursements and allowances, including for travel (was, salary). Expands what is included in salary to include supplements. Makes conforming changes.

Part XI.

Requires, in GS 116-239.8 the chancellor and the local school administrative unit to adopt a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the operation and maintenance of the laboratory school that includes the identified facilities and services. Provides for five-year terms with renewal periods. Provides for amendments to the MOU pursuant to the described process. Allows the laboratory school to administer the National School Lunch Program for its students in the MOU. Requires the local school unit to do the following in administering the school lunch program for the laboratory school: (1) purchase, prepare, deliver, and serve food and drink for students in the laboratory school and (2) engage in any contracts or other actions necessary to provide these services, including procuring federal reimbursement funds. Allows laboratory schools to provide the specified services to its students if the local school administrative unit fails to provide those services and to seek reimbursement from the local school administrative unit. Makes conforming, organizational, and clarifying changes.

Part XII.

Changes the school year by which the Board must conduct a review of the operation and student performance of the local school administrative unit operating under an approved renewal school system plan under Section 6 of SL 2018-32 from the 2022-23 school year to the 2028-29 year and extends the follow up review obligation from every three years after to every five years. Removes the four listed prongs of information (assessment instruments, described vacancies, student absences, and anything else deemed necessary) that a local school unit must annually report to the superintendent of DPI. Now requires those units submit those annual reports on five matters, including proficiency data on each end-of-grade or end-of-course exam, EVAAS growth data for the local school administrative unit, high school graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism. Authorizes local school administrative units operating under a renewal school system plan to use an alternative evaluation model to the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System (NCEES) when evaluating teacher effectiveness. Directs the NC Collaboratory to study the effect of the Renewal School System on student outcomes, with an analysis of how financial and personnel flexibilities permitted under a renewal school system plan have been utilized. Requires the NC Collaboratory to report its results to the specified NCGA committee by January 15, 2026.  Makes conforming changes.

Part XIV.

Effective June 30, 2025, extends the reversion date for school safety grants under Section 7.36 of SL 2023-134 from June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2027.

Part XV.

Extends the SparkNC Program through the 2031-33 biennium in Section 7.62 of SL 2023-134, as amended. Allows all public school units to participate in the program for each year of its operation (was, just selected schools for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years). Requires SparkNC to submit an annual report, as described for each year of the program (was, interim report due March 1, 2025, and final report due in 2027).  Expands reporting requirement to include recommendations on development of a competency transcript.

Part XVI.

Repeals GS 115C-12(25) (duty of the Board to report to the specified NCGA committee). Recodifies that provision into GS 115C-21(b), with the following changes. Now tasks the Superintendent of DPI (was, Board) to submit the described report to the specified NCGA committee and changes the due date to March 15 each year (was, November 15). Repeals DPI’s reporting requirement to the specified NCGA committee set forth in GS 115C-81.45 (classes in English, citizenship, civic literacy). Repeals Section 7.17(b) of SL 2018-5 (the reporting requirement concerning funds to DPI for workforce/hospitality jobs). Repeals Section 7.32(d) of SL 2017-57 (reporting requirement for the financial literacy elective course pilot program). Changes the Board’s reporting deadline for its annual report on computer science under GS 115C-12 from November 15 to March 15. Repeals GS 115C-316.2 (school health personnel reports). Changes the definition of school health personnel in GS 115C-316.5 by removing the statutory cross reference and instead lists school psychologists, school counselors, school nurses, and school social workers as those occupations falling within the term.

Replaces references to “the state of the teaching profession” with “teacher attrition and mobility” in GS 115C-299.5. Requires the specified report to be submitted by DPI (was, the Board) by February 15 (was, December 15). Replaces references to “the state of the teaching profession” with “teacher attrition and mobility” in GS 115C-12 and GS 115C-289.2 (State of the School Administration Profession report). Makes conforming changes. Tasks DPI with submitting the report on Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) report cards to the specified NCGA committee by February 15 (was, the Board by December 15). Changes the date the Board must publish such data on its website to February 15 (was, December 15). Makes technical changes.

Changes the reporting date for DPI’s now annual report under GS 115C-450 (school food services) to the specified NCGA committees to February 15 (was, May 15 and every six months thereafter). Changes DPI’s reporting date to the specified NCGA committees under GS 115C-218.42 (charter school transportation program) from March to August 15 each year.  

Changes the Board’s reporting date under GS 115C-218.110 (educational effectiveness of charter schools) to the specified NCGA committees from June to September 15 each year.  Removes the required documents and analyses that must be submitted to the specified NCGA committee as part of the Board’s annual report under GS 115C-107.5. Instead requires the Board to submit a copy of the annual report submitted as part of the State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report that is submitted to the United States Department of Education and United States Office of Special Education Programs.

Specifies that the census submitted to the NCGA as part of GS 115C-107.3 (child find) may be a copy of any similar information or report submitted to the federal government as part of compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Part XVII.

Makes conforming change to the act’s effective date.