Post-Session Bill Summaries - Education Related Legislation

Education-Related Legislation

HB 235, Parents Consent Required to Quit School (Lambeth, Whitmire, Brandon, Ramsey)/SB 313 (Parmon, Robinson).  HB 235 would require children to attend school until the age of 18 (raised from 16) unless they have graduated or the parent has consented after all of the following have occurred: (i) the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian attend a final counseling session at the school, (ii) during that session a statement to encourage the child to remain in school or to pursue educational alternatives is presented to the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, and (iii) the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian sign the statement. The statement shall include information regarding the academic skills that the child has not yet achieved, the difference in future earning power between a high school graduate and a high school dropout, and a listing of educational alternatives that are available for the child.  The bill was never heard in committee.

HB 250, Charter School Enrollment and Charter School Revisions (Hardister, Brandon, Stam, Lambeth).  HB 250 provides for enrollment priority and procedures for certain students applying to charter schools. The bill adds language to the current statute regarding admission to direct charter schools, within one year after beginning operation, to make efforts for the population of the school to reasonably reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population residing within the school district or the racial and ethnic composition of the special population that the school seeks to serve residing within the district. The school shall be subject to any court-ordered desegregation plan in effect for the local school administrative unit.   It also allows for priority in enrollment for siblings (including foster children residing in the same home); children of employees and children of board of directors up to a limit; and students previously enrolled under certain circumstances.  It also allows charter schools to do the following without prior approval of the State Board: increase enrollment during the second year of operation and annually thereafter by up to 20%; increase enrollment in accordance with planned growth as authorized in the school's charter; or expand to offer one grade higher than the charter school currently offers if the charter school has operated for at least three years and has not been identified as having inadequate performance.  It was signed by the Governor on July 26, 2013 and is S.L. 2013-359.  It applies beginning with the 2013-14 school year.      

HB 269, Children with Disabilities Scholarship Grants (Jordan, Brandon, Jones, Stam). HB 269 seeks to repeal the tax credit for families of children with disabilities who send their children to a non-public school, and, instead, enact a scholarship in the same amount, $3000 per semester, for the reimbursement of tuition and special education and related services, including services provided to home schooled students.   It was signed by the Governor on July 29, 2013 and is S.L. 2013 -364.  It is effective for taxable years beginning January 1, 2014.

HB 273, Charter School/LEA Accounting of Funds (Hardister, Malone, Brandon, Stam).  HB 273 seeks to amend NCGS §115C‑238.29H(b) to require a detailed accounting and timeline for funds transferred to charter schools, with a penalty of interest if the local school administrative unit does not comply.  The bill was approved by the House but never taken up in the Senate.

HB 287, Increase Dropout Age from 16 to 17 (Lambeth, Moffitt, Brandon, D. Ross).  HB 287 proposed raising the dropout age to 17.  The bill was never heard in committee.

HB 317, Improve Education for Children Who Are Deaf (Blackwell, Farmer-Butterfield, Holloway, Martin). HB 317 mandates assessment and consideration of language and communication needs of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; ensures that personnel who are highly qualified in the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing are available to meet the unique needs of each child, including interactions in the child's language and communication modality to meet academic and social goals; and directs DPI to develop and implement strategies to ensure that parents of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing know they are entitled to request that the child's IEP team consider placement of their child in a residential setting and, if such a request is made, that a representative from one of the two North Carolina residential/day program schools for the deaf shall be a member of the IEP team. HB 317 was signed into law on June 19 and is Session Law 2013-119.  It became effective when signed into law.

HB 452, 2013 School Safety Act (Holloway, Glazier, Faircloth, Lucas)/SB 589 (Stein).  HB 452 was filed in response to the Newtown school shooting and sets out a number of items intended to increase the safety of North Carolina's schools, including one-to-one matching grants for LEAs to hire additional school counselors, social workers and psychologists; two-to-one matching grants to hire SROs in elementary and middle schools; funds for panic alarms and a requirement for school districts to establish an anonymous tip line. The bill was also amended to allow for volunteer school safety resource officer programs to be established by the sheriff or police chief. The bill was approved by the House but never taken up in the Senate.  Portions of the bill were incorporated into the budget, with $7 mil for school resource officers and $2 mil for panic alarms. There is no additional funding for support staff or counseling. The special provisions also allow volunteers to serve as armed guards in public schools.

HB 587, Alternate ACT/Plan for Certain Students (Whitmire, Holloway, Blackwell, Glazier). HB 587 amends the state statute regarding the administration of the ACT to require the administration of an alternate to the ACT or an alternate to the PLAN precursor test to the ACT to a student who (i) exhibits severe and pervasive delays in all areas of conceptual, linguistic, and academic development and in adaptive behaviors, including communication, daily living skills, and self-care, (ii) is following the extended content standards of the Standard Course of Study , or is following a course of study that, upon completing high school, may not lead to admission into a college-level course of study resulting in a college degree, and (iii) has a written parental request for an alternate assessment. The State Board of Education shall ensure that parents of students enrolled in all public schools, including charter and regional schools, have the necessary information to make informed decisions regarding participation in the ACT and the PLAN precursor test to the ACT. Additionally, alternate assessment and ACT assessment results of students with disabilities shall be included in school accountability reports, including charter and regional schools, provided by the State Board of Education.  It was signed by the Governor on June 26, 2013 and is S.L. 2013-208.

HB 588, Public School Report/Flexibility (Whitmire, Langdon, Glazier, Martin).  HB 588 sought to simplify IEP reporting, directing the form for such reporting to limit the requirement for narrative reporting to essential components requiring personalized student information, and whenever practicable, to be in an electronic format.  It passed the House but was not taken up in the Senate.  It is eligible for the short session.

HB 750, Charter School Flexibility/Pilot (Lambeth, Glazier, Hanes).  HB 750 directs the State Board of Education to implement a 5 year pilot program that would provide local boards of education the opportunity to (i) act as the chartering entity of a charter school with the authority to approve and revoke a charter school's charter and (ii) approve the conversion of an existing public school to a charter school.  It was never heard in committee.

HB 838, Exceptional Children's Services/Study (Martin, Horn, Whitmire, Johnson).  HB 838 seeks to establish a commission that would include Disability Rights NC to study the delivery of EC services and oversight by DPI. It was approved by the full House but did not proceed in the Senate. It was incorporated into the Study Bill (SB 172) but that bill was never reported out of committee.

HB 840, Task Force on Deaf Education (Martin, Farmer-Butterfield, Blackwell, Horn).  As originally proposed, HB 840 would have directed a separate Division of Deaf Education within DPI.  However, it was amended in the House to direct a task force instead. The Task Force shall (i) serve as a resource for legislators and State agencies involved in the education of children who are deaf or hearing impaired and (ii) make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the necessary continuum of educational services, supports, and placements to ensure optimal educational outcomes of children who are deaf or hearing impaired.  It was approved by the full House but not taken up by the Senate.  It could proceed in the short session.

HB 868, Residential School Changes (Farmer-Butterfield, Blackwell, Martin, Tolson). HB 868 makes conforming changes to the state statutes regarding the residential schools.  It repeals unnecessary statutes, and clarifies the operation and oversight of the residential schools.  It was signed by the Governor on July 3, 2013 and is S.L. 2013-247.

HB 935, NC Pre-K Law Changes (Burr, Avila). HB 935 proposed lowering the eligibility standard for NC Pre-K to 130% of the Federal Poverty Line, as funds are available (current eligibility is ~200% of FPL). The bill was approved by the full House but did not proceed in the Senate. The final budget maintains the current NC PreK eligibility requirements.

HB 987, Emergency Stun Gun Use by School Personnel (Riddell, Saine). HB 987 would allow school personnel to carry stun guns on school property. It was never heard in committee.

SB 14, Increase Access to Career/Technical Ed (Tillman, Brown, Soucek).  SB 14 directs the State Board of Education to develop Career and College endorsements for high school Diplomas; increase access to career and technical education teachers; and to work with the State Board of Community Colleges to increase the number of students enrolling in career and technical education in high need employment areas.  It was signed by the Governor on February 18, 2013 and is S.L. 2013-1.

SB 278, Foster Children/Corporal Punishment Changes (Robinson, Barringer, Randleman).  SB 278 seeks to amend the corporal punishment law to exempt children in foster care (such children may not be subject to corporal punishment in their foster care placements).  It was never heard in committee.

SB 337, NC Charter School Advisory Board (Tillman, Soucek).  SB 337 creates the Charter School Advisory Board, which shall be located administratively within the Department of Public Instruction and shall report to the State Board of Education.  The Advisory Board will make recommendations to the State Board of Education on the adoption of rules regarding all aspects of charter school operation, including time lines, standards, and criteria for acceptance and approval of applications, monitoring of charter schools, and grounds for revocation of charters. It was signed into law on July 25, 2013 and is S.L. 2013-355.

SB 361, Excellent Public Schools Act of 2013 (Berger, Tillman, Soucek).  SB 361 is President Pro Tem Berger's education reform plan that would eliminate tenure for teachers, establish pay for performace, and assign another grading system for schools. While the bill itself was not heard in the House, parts of the Act were incorporated into the final budget.