GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 54

Short Title:  Academic Leave for Teachers.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Chapin; Bowen, Bowman, Brawley, Brown, Cooper, N. Crawford, Devane, Fletcher, Hege, S. Hunt, Isenhower, Lineberry, Mills, Nye, Perdue, Ramsey, Redwine, Rhyne, Rogers, R. Thompson, Walker, Warner, Warren, and Wicker.
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Referred to:  Education.
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January 23, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR AN ACADEMIC LEAVE PROGRAM FOR QUALIFIED PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Part 1 of Article 24C of Subchapter V of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C-363.21A.  Academic Leave Program for Qualified Public School Teachers.
(a)	The Office of Teacher Recruitment shall administer an Academic Leave Program for qualified public school teachers.  The program shall provide for qualified public school teachers to take a one-year, paid leave of absence from teaching duties to enroll in and successfully complete an approved course of study at a college, community college, or university in North Carolina.
(b)	The purpose of the academic leave program is to provide tenured teachers who have five or more years of teaching experience in the public schools with an opportunity to improve and enhance their teaching skills and professional credentials.
(c)	Application to qualify for the Academic Leave Program shall be made available in each of the eight education districts in the State, as set forth in Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.  Five applicants from each of the eight education districts shall be selected to receive one year of paid academic leave under the Academic Leave Program.  Paid academic leave shall mean that recipients of paid academic leave shall, during the one-year leave period, continue to be considered as State employees and shall receive full salary and retirement and health benefits as provided in Chapter 135 of the General Statutes.  Paid academic leave does not include payment of tuition or other related costs of enrolling in and completing the approved course of study.
(d)	Qualified applicants may apply for paid academic leave each year the program is offered; provided, however, that applicants who are granted and complete one year of academic leave may not apply again for one year of academic leave until six years after the recipient has completed the approved course of study.
(e)	In order to qualify for the Academic Leave Program, applicants must:
(1)	Have five consecutive years of teaching experience at a North Carolina public school or at a school operated by the United States government in North Carolina;
(2)	Have achieved tenured status in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 115C-325;
(3)	Agree to enter a college, community college, or university course of study full-time, which course of study shall be approved by the Office of Teacher Recruitment;
(4)	Agree to successfully complete the approved course of study within the one-year paid academic leave period;
(5)	Agree to teach in a North Carolina public school for a period of not less than five consecutive years beginning immediately upon the teacher's completion of the one-year academic leave period; provided, however, that the first year of the payback period shall be taught in the local school administrative unit which sponsored the recipient's one-year paid academic leave;
(f)	If a recipient of a one-year academic leave award does not successfully complete the approved course of study, the recipient shall fully reimburse the State for the salary and health and retirement benefits paid to the recipient for the one-year academic leave period.
(g)	If a recipient of a one-year academic leave award does not fully comply with the payback teaching requirements provided in subsection (e)(5) above, the recipient shall reimburse the State for the salary and health and retirement benefits paid to the recipient for the one-year academic leave period.  The amount to be reimbursed to the State for failure to fully comply with the payback teaching requirements shall be calculated pro rata based on the number of years taught in the public school system after completion of the one-year academic leave period.
(h)	If a recipient, due to a medically-related physical or mental condition, is unable to successfully complete the approved course of study or to fully comply with the payback teaching requirements within the period of time required by this section, the Office of Teacher Recruitment may adjust the previously approved course of study, or may grant the recipient a reasonable extension of time, to allow the recipient to comply with the completion and payback requirements.
(i)	If a recipient who is complying with the requirements of this section dies within the one-year leave period or within the payback teaching period, the obligation to reimburse the State for the teacher's salary and health and retirement benefits shall be cancelled.
(j)	In accordance with the provisions of the Set-Off Debt Collection Act, Chapter 105A of the General Statutes, the State may secure reimbursement from the recipient who fails to meet the completion and payback teaching requirements of this section."
Sec. 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction for the 1989-90 fiscal year the sum of one  million, three hundred thousand dollars ($1,300,000) and for the fiscal year 1990-91 the sum of one million, three hundred thousand dollars ($1,300,000).
Sec. 3.  G.S. 105A-2(1) reads as rewritten:
"§ 105A-2. Definitions.
As used in this Article:
(1)	‘Claimant agency' means and includes:
a.	The State Education Assistance Authority as enabled by Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes;
b.	The North Carolina Department of Human Resources when in the exercise of its authority to collect health profession student loans made pursuant to G.S. 131-121;
c.	The North Carolina Department of Human Resources when in the performance of its duties under the Medical Assistance Program enabled by Chapter 108A, Article 2, Part 6, and any county operating the same Program at the local level, when and only to the extent such a county is in the performance of Medical Assistance Program collection functions;
d.	The North Carolina Department of Human Resources when in the performance of its duties, under the Child Support Enforcement Program as enabled by Chapter 110, Article 9 and Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act to obtain indemnification for past paid public assistance or to collect child support arrearages owed to an individual receiving program services and any county operating the program at the local level, when and only to the extent that the county is engaged in the performance of those same duties.
e.	The University of North Carolina, including its constituent institutions as specified by G.S. 116-2(4);
f.	The North Carolina Memorial Hospital in the conduct of its financial affairs and operations pursuant to G.S. 116-37;
g.	The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Education through the College Scholarship Loan Committee when in the performance of its duties of administering the Scholarship Loan Fund for Prospective College Teachers enabled by Chapter 116, Article 5;
h.	The Office of the North Carolina Attorney General on behalf of any State agency when the claim has been reduced to a judgment;
i.	The State Board of Community Colleges through community colleges as enabled by Chapter 115D in the conduct of their financial affairs and operations;
j.	State facilities as listed in G.S. 122C-181(a), School for the Deaf at Morganton, North Carolina Sanatorium at McCain, Western Carolina Sanatorium at Black Mountain, Eastern North Carolina Sanatorium at Wilson, and Gravely  Sanatorium at Chapel Hill under Chapter 143, Article 7; Governor Morehead School under Chapter 115, Article 40; Central North Carolina School for the Deaf under Chapter 115, Article 41; Wright School for Treatment and Education of Emotionally Disturbed Children under Chapter 122, Article 12A; the Lenox Baker Children's Hospital under Chapter 131, Article 14; and these same institutions by any other names by which they may be known in the future;
k.	The North Carolina Department of Revenue;
l.	The Administrative Office of the Courts;
m.	The Division of Forest Resources of the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development;
n.	The Administrator of the Teachers' and State Employees' Comprehensive Major Medical Plan, established in Article 3 of General Statutes Chapter 135;
o.	The State Board of Education through the Superintendent of Public Instruction when in the performance of his duties of administering the Scholarship Loan Fund for Prospective Teachers enabled by Chapter 115C, Article 32A and the scholarship loan and grant programs enabled by Chapter 115C, Article 24C, Part 1.
p.	The Board of Trustees of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the Board of Trustees of the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System in the performance of their duties pursuant to Chapters 120, 128, 135 and 143 of the General Statutes.
q.	The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission in the performance of its duties pursuant to Chapter 115C, Article 24C, Part 2.
r.	The North Carolina Department of Human Resources when in the performance of its intentional program violation collection duties under the Food Stamp Program enabled by Chapter 108A, Article 2, Part 5, and any county operating the same Program at the local level, when and only to the extent such a county is in the performance of Food Stamp Program intentional program violation collection functions.
s.	The State Board of Education through the Superintendent of Public Instruction when in the performance of his duties administering the Paid Academic Leave for Teachers Program enabled by Chapter 115C, Article 24C."
Sec. 4.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.