House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 4th edition.

Amends the act's long title. 

Amends GS 115C-297.1 concerning criminal history checks of school personnel, allowing the State Board of Education (SBE) to license an applicant conditionally while the criminal history check and subsequent decisions based on those results are being made. Provides that the SBE must check the criminal history  of an applicant before issuing an unconditional license to that applicant (previously, the SBE required all applicants to be checked before any license could be issued). Further provides that regional board of directors or charter board of directors can pay for the criminal history check in addition to local boards of education. Amends provisions to allow the SBE to provide the results of the criminal history check to interested parties as specified during the entire period of licensure (previously, only allowed such disclosure during first six months of licensure). Provides that the SBE can destroy the information after it is used for the authorized purposes, after the licensure of the individual has ended or been renewed (previously, only allowed the SBE to destroy the information after one calendar year). 

Adds a new section encouraging the SBE to work towards aligning the licensure system with the MultiState Educator Lookup System to enable electronic validation of out-of-state credentials and related information. 

Amends proposed GS 115C-218.90(b)(1a) concerning the employment requirements of charter schools, requiring the charter board of directors to uniformly require applicants to be checked for criminal history by either a consumer reporting agency, the Department of Public Safety, or both (previously, did not allow the criminal history check to be conducted by a consumer reporting agency). Clarifies the procedure for the check if it is to be conducted by the Department of Public Safety. Prohibits charter board of directors from employing or contracting with individuals that refuse to consent to a criminal history check. 

Enacts new GS 115C-238.73(a)(1a), concerning regional schools, defining consumer reporting agency for use in the statute concerning criminal history checks for employment in a regional school. Deletes a provision in subsection (b) that exempted applicants for a personnel position at a regional school from the criminal history check requirement if the individual had received a license within six months of employment that required the equivalent of the check requirement in (c) of the statute. Adds language to subsection (c) requiring the regional board of directors to uniformly require applicants to be checked for criminal history by either a consumer reporting agency, the Department of Public Safety, or both (previously, did not allow the criminal history check to be conducted by a consumer reporting agency). Clarifies the procedure for the check if it is to be conducted by the Department of Public Safety. Prohibits regional boards of directors from employing or contracting with individuals that refuse to consent to a criminal history check (previously, allowed the board of directors to take it into consideration when making employment decisions but refusal was not an outright ban to employment). Also provides that the board of directors can require applicants to pay for the fingerprints required under this statute (previously, did not let the board of directors charge applicants for fingerprints). Enacts new subsection (i) allowing the board of directors to adopt a policy providing for the periodic checks of criminal history of employees and provides that the board cannot require employees to pay for the criminal history check as authorized by this statute. Makes clarifying changes.

Amends GS 115C-332 concerning criminal history checks of employees of local boards of education, enacting new subsection (a)(1a), defining consumer reporting agency for use in the section. Adds language to subsection (c) requiring local boards of education to uniformly require applicants to be checked for criminal history by either a consumer reporting agency, the Department of Public Safety, or both (previously, did not allow the criminal history check to be conducted by a consumer reporting agency). Clarifies the procedure for the check if it is to be conducted by the Department of Public Safety. Prohibits boards of education from employing or contracting with individuals that refuse to consent to a criminal history check (previously, allowed the board of directors to take it into consideration when making employment decisions but refusal was not an outright ban to employment). Also provides that local boards of education can require applicants to pay for the fingerprints required under this statute (previously, did not let the local board of education charge applicants for fingerprints). Enacts new subsection (i) allowing the local boards of education to adopt a policy providing for the periodic checks of criminal history of employees and provides that they cannot require employees to pay for the criminal history check as authorized by this section. Makes clarifying changes.

Enacts new Article 29E, Student Safety Reporting in Athletics, in GS Chapter 115C, to provide as follows.

Requires the SBE to create a database maintained by the Department of Public Instruction for high school and middle school personnel to report catastrophic illnesses and injuries and concussions occurring during athletic activities involving school athletes. The Article defines catastrophic illness or injury as an illness or injury occurring during athletic activity that results in a fatality, permanent disability, or serious injury, including, but not limited to, a fractured neck; severe traumatic brain injury, such as a subdural hematoma; temporary or transient paralysis; heat stroke related to exercise; sickle‑cell trait associated collapse; sudden cardiac arrest; or commotio cordis. The Article defines athletic activities as an activity offered to students enrolled in a high school or middle school covering grades six or higher under any of the following circumstances: (1) interscholastic athletics; (2) an athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic athletics, sponsored by a school, including cheerleading, or any other sports activities provided by a club or school‑affiliated organization that is school‑sponsored; or (3) practices, interschool practices, and scrimmages for all of the activities listed above.

Requires that the SBE require at least the nine listed types of information to be included in the report, including the sport that the student was playing when becoming ill or injured, the category of illness or injury, and whether the illness or injury resulted in a fatality. Requires a report to the Department of Public Instruction from the athletic director, principal, or their designees on whether a catastrophic illness or injury or a concussion has occurred, with a report required each month in which student athletes are participating in an athletic activity at a high school or middle school. Limits the entities that will have access to the information contained in the database and prohibits the information in the database from containing personally identifiable student data.

The above reporting requirements apply beginning January 1, 2017.

Amends Section 2 of SL 2015-126, an act to require that the state board of education include specific data in its annual report on the teaching profession, to make the changes to GS 115C-12 applicable beginning with the annual report compiled in 2016 (was, 2017). Makes conforming changes. Adds that beginning in 2016, the annual report is due on December 1 of each year and may not be released publicly in final or draft format by the SBE or the Department of Public Instruction before November 15 of each year.

Amends GS 160A-417(a2) by adding that no low voltage permit is required for any construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration of passive optical networks.

Provides that if H242, Various Charter School Law Changes, becomes law, then Section 6.5 of SL 2014-101, as amended in H242, is further amended to require that the SBE ensure that the rules for a fast-track replication process provide that decisions by the SBE on whether to grant a charter through the replication process be completed in less than 120 days from the application submission date but in no even later than October 15 of the year immediately preceding the year of the proposed school opening (was, completed no later than October 15 of the year immediately preceding the year of the proposed school opening).

Provides that if federal Investing in Innovation Grant funds are unavailable because of the insolvency of the North Carolina New Schools Project, any costs incurred by local school administrative units and the community college partners in implementing the program may be funded by the local school administrative unit or a third party. Prohibits community colleges from earning budget FTE for student course enrollments under this section, unless the student course enrollment is otherwise authorized in GS 115D-20(4)a. Applies only to the 2016-17 school year.

Makes Section 1 of the act, amending GS 115-296, GS 115C-297.1, and GS 143B-931.1 applicable to applications for licensure received on or after October 1, 2016. Section 2, amending GS 115C-218.90, GS 115-238.73, GS 115C-332, and GS 143B-931, is applicable to applications for employment received on or after January 1, 2017. Section 3, amending GS 115C-218.1 and enacting GS 115C-218.115, applies to applications for initial charters that are received on or after October 1, 2016.

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

Amends proposed new GS 115C-297.1 to require that the State Board of Education require applicants to be checked for a criminal history (was, required the criminal history of applicants who have not been previously licensed in the State) before issuing a license.