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

Adds to the membership of the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (Commission) established in new GS 115C-268.1, increasing the membership from 16 to 18. Adds two personnel administrators from local school administrative units in North Carolina with at least 30,000 students to the Commission to be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of one by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and one by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Adds to new GS 115C-268.5 (Powers and duties of the Commission). Amends subdivision (a)(1), which requires the Commission to develop and recommend to the State Board of Education (State Board) rules related to all aspects of the educator preparation programs in accordance with Article 17D, to specifically require these rules to include requirements for appropriate pedagogy to be included in residency license programs. Amends subdivision (a)(2), which requires the Commission to develop and recommend to the State Board rules related to all aspects of professional standards for NC educators in accordance with Article 17E (Licensure), to specifically require these rules to include specific hour requirements for (1) preservice training and field experiences prior to entering the classroom for individuals issued residency licenses and (2) preservice training prior to entering the classroom for individuals issued emergency licenses. Adds a new subsection, requiring the Commission to recommend ways to ensure that the clinical practice requirements described in GS 115C-269.25(d) effectively prepare high quality professional educators who meet the demands of NC schools. 

Modifies new GS 115C-269.20 (Content and pedagogy requirements). Adds to subsubdivision (a)(4)a., which requires Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) providing training for middle and high school teachers to include adequate coursework in the relevant content area, to provide that for clinical residency programs, students can instead demonstrate a mastery of the relevant content area through the passage of the relevant content area examination approved by the State Board.

Modifies new GS 115C-269.25 (Clinical partnerships and practice in educator preparation programs). Amends subsection (d), setting forth the clinical practice requirements that EPPs must require, to include in the residency criteria the qualification that the resident completes field experiences and training required by the State Board prior to the residency (previously, required the resident to complete at least 30 hours of field experience and 150 hours of coursework and/or training prior to the residency).

Modifies subsection (c) of new GS 115C-269.35 (Accountability for educator preparation programs) by eliminating the requirement that EPPs annually provide performance reports to the UNC Board of Governors to be incorporated into the Teacher Quality Dashboard. Instead, adds to new GS 115C-269.50 (EPP report cards), requiring the State Board to provide the information from each EPP's annual performance report to the UNC Board of Governors to be incorporated into the Teacher Quality Dashboard to provide greater accessibility and comparability of data on the performance of EPPs in the State.

Amends subdivision (a)(2) of new GS 115C-270.20 concerning an emergency license (EL). Adds that applicants for ELs must meet all other requirements established by the State Board, including preservice training, prior to teaching (previously, did not expressly include that preservice training requirements be met, and did not specify that the requirements must be met prior to teaching). Adds new subdivision (a)(5), providing for a one-year, once renewable residency license (RL). Details requirements that must be met for an RL: (1) the license must be requested by the local board of education and accompanied by a certification of supervision from the recognized educator preparation program in which the individual is enrolled and (2) the individual meets four qualifications, including that the individual has either completed coursework relevant to the requested licensure area or passed the content area examination relevant to the requested licensure area that has been approved by the State Board. Adds new subsection (c) to proposed GS 115C-270.20, providing that for individuals seeking licensure in a career or technical education area, the State Board can establish alternate criteria related to that area to establish competency in lieu of a bachelor's degree.

Provides that any professional educator license issued by the State Board prior to the effective date of the act continues in effect until the expiration of that license. Permits the State Board to continue to issue lateral entry licenses for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years in accordance with State Board Policy LICN-001 as it was in effect on the effective date of the act.

Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-325.1(6)a. and GS 115C-325.4(a)(11).

Makes organizational changes.