Bill Summaries: S15 (2017-2018 Session)

Tracking:
  • Summary date: Jun 15 2018 - View summary

    House amendment to the 4th edition makes the following changes.

    Corrects the spelled out amount of the funds to be transferred to the Triangle Literacy Council.


  • Summary date: Jun 15 2018 - View summary

    House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 3rd edition.

    Deletes Part II of the act, which amended GS 14-234 to allow a local board of education to contract with the superintendent's spouse.

    Amends Section 5.3(e) of SL 2017-57, as amended, by adding that for fiscal year 2018-19, for the purposes of Section 5.3 concerning grants from the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund, a county is considered as a development tier one area if (1) it was so designated by the Department of Commerce in 2017 or 2018 and (2) the county filed a grant application under Section 5.3 in 2017. Effective July 1, 2018.

    Requires that of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for 2018-19, $740,000 in nonrecurring funds be provided to the Triangle Literacy Council (Council) for juvenile literacy centers serving court-involved or at-risk youth. Requires the Council, in consultation with DPI, to report by September 1 of each year following the fiscal year in which the Council spends State funds made available under this section, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division. Effective July 1, 2018.

    Makes conforming changes to the act's titles.


  • Summary date: Jun 14 2018 - View summary

    House committee substitute is to be summarized.


  • Summary date: Jun 5 2018 - View summary

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

    Deletes the previous provisions. Changes the act's long and short titles, and now provides the following. 

    Part I

    Amends GS 115C-75.5(5), which defines a qualifying school as it applies to Innovative School Districts (ISDs) as a low-performing school that meets one of two criteria. Modifies the first qualifying criteria, which requires the school having earned an overall school performance score in the lowest 5% of all schools in the prior school year and having met three additional requirements. Eliminates the third requirement from the first qualifying criteria, which required that one of the models established in GS 115C-105.37B for continually low-performing schools had not been adopted for that school for the immediate prior school year. 

    Amends GS 115C-75.7, providing that the limitation that the State Board of Education (State Board), upon recommendation of the ISD Superintendent, can select no more than five qualifying elementary schools to transfer to the IDS as innovative schools applies through the 2019-20 school year. Provides that, beginning with the 2021-22 school year, the ISD Superintendent can recommend up to two additional qualifying schools per school year for State Board approval so long as schools that have been in the ISD for three or more school years have earned a grade of C or higher under GS 115C-12(9)c1. Requires the State Board to select the prospective innovative schools no later than November 15 (was, December 15) pursuant to the selection process described in subsection (b). Requires a local board of education that chooses to close a school rather than transfer the school into the ISD, upon notification by the ISD Superintendent of selection by the State Board of the qualifying school as a prospective innovative school, to submit a plan to the State Board that outlines the impact of closure, including information addressing the reassignment of students and staff, school bus travel time, and alternative enrollment options for students. Requires the local board to adopt a resolution by December 15 (was, February 1) consenting to transfer of the selected qualifying school to the ISD or closing that school.

    Amends GS 115C-75.9, concerning facility and capital expenditures in the management of innovative schools. Establishes that the innovative school operator has first priority in use of the facility and capital expenditures at the school (was, has first priority in the use of the facility) for any purpose related to the operation of the innovative school. Adds to the definition of facility and capital expenditures any existing IT network, hardware, computers, instructional technology, phones, and related cabling. Further amends the statute, modifying subsection (f) to require the innovative school operator and the local board of education to finalize the authorized memorandum of understanding for alternate arrangements that address facility and capital expenditures, transportation services, or services for children with disabilities within 45 days (was, 30 days) of the initial request by the innovative school operator. Makes conforming change to direct the State Board to resolve any issues in dispute if the parties have not completed the memorandum of understanding within 45 days (was, 30 days). Adds new requirement to subsection (h), requiring the innovative operator to obtain input and approval of the ISD Superintendent in selecting and hiring the school principal for the innovative school. Adds a new provision permitting a teacher employed with career status under GS 115C-325 and assigned to a school transferred to the ISD who accepts employment at that ISD school to return to the local school administrative unit with career status upon the end of employment at the ISD school. 

    Amends GS 115C-75.13, permitting a low-performing school in an innovation zone to become an innovative school if that low-performing school does not exceed expected growth in the last two years of the five consecutive years in the innovation zone (currently, this is mandatory).

    Part II

    Amends GS 14-234, which prohibits public officers and employees from benefiting from public contracts, to except from the prohibition employment contracts between a local board of education and the spouse of the superintendent of a county administrative unit located in a county having a population of 65,000 or fewer according to the most recent official federal census or of a city local school administrative unit located in whole or in part in a city having a population of 15,000 or fewer according to the most recent official federal census.


  • Summary date: Apr 24 2017 - View summary

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

    Deletes Section 2 of the bill, which appropriated funds to the Department of Public Instruction to implement the act.


  • Summary date: Jan 26 2017 - View summary

    Identical to H 23, filed 1/26/17.

    Amends GS 115C-301 to direct the State Board of Education to allot additional teachers to K-12 schools that meet at least one of the following criteria for geographic isolation: (1) located in a school administrative unit (LEA) in which average daily membership is less than 1.5 per square mile or (2) located in an LEA for a county with more than 150,000 acres of federally owned National Forest managed by the US Forest Service under GS 104-5. Directs the SBE to allot teachers to geographically isolated schools on the basis of one classroom teacher per grade level and to allot teachers to the rest of the LEA using the regular teacher allotment formula.

    Appropriates $1,527,006 for 2017-18 and $1,527,006 for 2018-19 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction to implement the provisions of this act.

    Effective July 1, 2017.