Bill Summary for H 938 (2017-2018)

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Summary date: 

May 30 2018

Bill Information:

View NCGA Bill Details2017-2018 Session
House Bill 938 (Public) Filed Wednesday, May 16, 2018
AN ACT TO REQUIRE PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT PROGRAMS AT ALL SCHOOLS WITH GRADES SIX AND HIGHER; TO REQUIRE ANNUAL FACILITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS FOR EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING; TO REQUIRE AN ANNUAL REPORT ON SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS BY EACH LOCAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT AND THE CENTER FOR SAFER SCHOOLS; TO DEFINE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER AND ESTABLISH SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS; AND TO REQUIRE ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TO ENCOURAGE NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS TO DEVELOP A SCHOOL RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN, HOLD SCHOOL SAFETY EXERCISES, AND PROVIDE SCHOOL SAFETY INFORMATION TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
Intro. by J. Bell, Lewis, Torbett.

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Bill summary

House committee substitute makes the following changes to 1st edition. Deletes all provisions of the previous edition, except where indicated, and replaces it with the following. Makes conforming changes to the act's titles. 

Part I

Amends GS 115C-47, adding new subdivision (64), requiring local boards of education to require creation of peer-to-peer student support programs at all schools with grades six and higher. Encourages creation of support programs for other grade levels. 

Amends GS 115C-316.1, adding new subdivision (c), requiring school counselors to coordinate and provide training for students in peer-to-peer student support programs that address areas such as conflict resolution, general health and wellness, and mentoring. Directs the Center for Safer Schools to support school counselors in the administration and delivery of peer-to-peer student support programs. 

Part II

Amends GS Chapter 115C, Article 8C, adding new section 115C-105.52A, titled Facility vulnerability assessments. Requires each local school administrative unit to require each school to complete a facility vulnerability assessment for each school building at least once annually. Directs the Center for Safer Schools, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations, and the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, to develop a facility vulnerability assessment tool, to be used when completing facility vulnerability assessments. 

Further amends GS 115C-105.49A(b) to require SRRMS to integrate any facility vulnerability assessments as part of the SRMP pursuant to GS 115C-105.52A whenever technically feasible. Directs the Center, in collaboration with Division of Public Instruction, Division of School Operations and Division of Emergency Management to develop the facility vulnerability assessment tool by January 15, 2019. Directs each local school administration unit to require each unit under its control to complete facility vulnerability assessment for each school building before the end of the 2018-19 school year.

Part III
Amends GS Chapter 115C, Article 8C, adding new section 115C-105.58, titled School resource officer reports. Requires each local school administrative unit to annually report in writing by September 15 to the Center for Safer Schools the number of school resource officers and the placement of each officer in the administrative unit. The report must include the source of funding and method of employment for each school resource officer position. Requires the Center for Safer Schools to provide annually by November 15 to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee an executive summary and the disaggregated data for each local school administrative unit regarding the information reported by the school administrations. 

Part IV

Amends GS Chapter 115C, Article 8C, adding new section 115C-105.59, defining a school resource officer as a law enforcement officer who is assigned to one or more public schools, at least 20 hours per week, to assist with school security, emergency preparedness and response, and any other responsibility assigned by the employer may SRO be employed by the local board of education or governing board of a public school, or by a local law enforcement agency. Requires all school resource officers to comply with any continuing education training requirements. A law enforcement officer who did not serve as a school resource officer during the 2018-19 school year must also complete initial training. Requires the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission (Commission), in collaboration with the Center for Safer Schools, to establish initial training and continuing education standards for school resource officers. Standards must include diversity, tactical, and mental health training. Amends GS 17C-6(a) and GS 17E-4(a) to require the Commissions to establish initial training and continuing education training standards for school resource officers. Initial training standards must be established by January 15, 2019. This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to school resource officers employed beginning with the 2019-20 school year.  

Part V

The following provisions are effective July 1, 2019, and apply beginning with the 2019-20 school year.

Codifies GS 115C-105.46, GS 115C-105.47A, and GS 115C-105.48 into Part 1 of Article 8C of GS Chapter 115C and entitles Part I as “Local Plans for Alternative Schools/Alternative Learning Programs.” Codifies the remaining portions of Article 8C into Part 2, entitled “Maintaining Safe and Orderly Schools.”

Enacts new GS 115C-105.48A in Part 2, providing as follows. Defines local school administrative unit as: the local board of education of a local school administrative unit, the board of directors of a charter school, the board of directors of a regional school, the governing entity of a school providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by the State Board of Education or the University of North Carolina. Defines public secondary school as any of the following types of public school serving grades six or higher: a school under the control of a local board of education, a school under the control of the State Board of Education, a school under the control of the University of North Carolina, a charter school, or a regional school.

Amends GS 115C-105.49A(b), as amended earlier in the act, to require that the Division of Emergency Management leverage the schematic diagrams of school facilities provided by local school administrative units as well as nonpublic schools (was, local school administrative units only) when constructing the SRRMS.

Amends GS 115C-105.53(b) to allow nonpublic schools to use the standards developed by the Department of Instruction to assist in preparing their schematic diagrams.

Amends GS 115C-218.75 by requiring charter schools to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C. Makes conforming repeals to GS 115C-218.75(b), concerning charter school risk management plans; (d), concerning charter school safety exercises; and (e), concerning providing charter school safety information to the Division of Emergency Management.

Amends GS 115C-238.66 requiring regional schools to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C. Makes conforming repeals to GS 115C-238.66(7a), concerning school risk management plans for regional schools; (7b), concerning schematic diagrams and school crisis kits for regional schools; (7c), concerning school safety exercises at regional schools; and (7d), concerning regional schools providing safety information to the Division of Emergency Management.

Amends GS 116-239.8 by requiring laboratory schools to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C. Makes conforming repeals of (b)(10-13) concerning laboratory school risk management plans, schematic diagrams and school crisis kits, school safety exercises, and providing safety information to the Division of Emergency Management.

Amends GS 115C-75.9 by requiring innovative schools to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C.

Enacts new GS 115C-150.16 requiring a school governed by Article 9C (Schools for Students with Visual and Hearing Impairments) to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C.

Enacts new GS 116-69.2 requiring the North Carolina School of the Arts to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C.

Amends GS 116-235 requiring the North Carolina School of Science and Math to comply with the applicable requirements of Part 2 of Article 8C.

Retains changes to GS 115C-551 from the previous edition concerning private church school risk management plans, schematic diagrams and crisis kits, school safety exercises, and provision of school safety information to the Division of Emergency Management.

Retains changes to GS 115C-559 from the previous edition concerning nonpublic school risk management plans, schematic diagrams and crisis kits, school safety exercises, and provision of school safety information to the Division of Emergency Management.

Repeals GS 115C-105.51(g); defining public secondary school, if Senate Bill 99 (Appropriations Act of 2018) becomes law.

Part VI

Except as otherwise provided, effective when the act becomes law.