GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S	1 

SENATE BILL 751

Short Title:  State Educational Equity Grants.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senator Martin of Guilford.
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Referred to:  Education.
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April 3, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH AND PROVIDE FUNDING FOR A STATE EDUCATIONAL EQUITY GRANT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF PRESCHOOL AND SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN WHO ARE FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS TO ASSIST SUCH CHILDREN WHO DEMONSTRATE OR ARE AT RISK OF DEMONSTRATING BELOW AVERAGE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THEIR SCHOOL YEARS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
“ARTICLE 9A.
"Educational Equity Grant Program.
"§ 115C-150.1. Educational Equity Grant Program established.
(a)	In furtherance of the State's efforts to provide equal educational opportunities to North Carolina's children, and recognizing that children from low-income families are often at greater risk of not achieving at the academic level of which they are capable or of not attaining an appropriate level of social and civic development during their public school years, there is established the State Educational Equity Grant Program. The State Educational Equity Grant Program shall provide grant funds to local school districts which serve high concentrations of preschool and school age children from families whose income is at or below the federal poverty level and who perform or are at risk of performing below the average academic and social development levels achieved by other children served by the same school district.  Grant funds shall be awarded for the development and implementation of programs designed to improve the academic performance and social development of children at risk who are enrolled in the public schools of North Carolina that are administered by the State Board of Education, Department of Public Instruction.
(b)	As used in this Article, low-income ‘children at risk' are children served by local school districts, who are between the ages of five and 17 and from families whose income is at or below the federal poverty level as determined by the most recent census data, and whose academic performance and emotional and social development are adversely affected or likely to be adversely affected by poverty status alone, or by poverty status in combination with other factors that are likely to cause or contribute to the child's below-average academic performance.  Such other factors include race, gender, teenage parenthood, teenage pregnancy, migrant status, or handicapping conditions.
"§ 115C-150.2. Program administration; criteria for grant awards.
(a)	The Educational Equity Grant Program shall be administered by the State Board of Education, which administration shall include establishing guidelines for the submission, receipt, evaluation, and approval of grant proposals from school districts, and for establishing methods for determining academic performance, social development and other factors related to the participation of children and schools in the Program. At the end of the first year of implementation of the Educational Equity Grants Program, and each year of implementation thereafter, the State Board of Education shall provide for a formal evaluation of the impact of the Program and shall report the results of its evaluation to the General Assembly.
(b)	As a prerequisite to receiving educational equity grant funds under this Article, school districts shall include with their grant application a utilization plan which shall include:
(1)	Specific goals to be achieved by each program or activity supported by grant funds;
(2)	A description of an outcome-oriented process to be used to measure progress being made by students, and for instituting corrective actions to enhance student progress; and
(3)	A description of an outcome-oriented process to be used to measure the extent to which program or activity goals have been achieved.
(c)	Grant funds allocated to local school districts under this Article shall be used for the development and implementation of:
(1)	Programs and activities designed to increase meaningful parental understanding of, and involvement in, the development of their children's academic, social, and civic abilities and skills;
(2)	Programs or activities designed to assist parents of three and four year old children at risk in providing the kinds of learning and developmental activities that will enhance their children's chances of average or better than average academic performance and social development during their years in school;
(3)	Computer-assisted remediation and advancement materials for children at risk;
(4)	Programs or activities designed to achieve communication skills, and mathematics mastery at or above grade level by children who are in grades three through eight who are performing at least one grade below the level at which he should be performing; the primary goals of such programs shall be (i) to improve mastery by at least 1.5 grade levels over the previous year, and (ii) to achieve at least grade level mastery upon completion of grades five and eight; and/or
(5)	Programs designed to significantly increase the academic performance of identifiable groups of students who, as a group, are performing below their capabilities and at lower than average academic levels than other children in their school district.
(d)	At the end of each grant recipient's grant period, the State Board of Education shall provide for an evaluation of the recipient school district's participation in the Program, which evaluation shall include (i) the degree to which the school district has implemented programs and utilized funds according to the district's approved utilization plans, and (ii) the extent to which the school district has achieved the goals set for the district and for individual schools.  The evaluation conducted by the State Board shall be considered by the Board in determining whether the school district shall be awarded subsequent grants under the Program.
(e)	The Department of Public Instruction and local school system grant recipients with approval from the Department, may contract with State institutions of higher education including those of the Department of Community Colleges, with private and independent colleges and universities, and with private nonprofit community organizations to plan, implement, or evaluate any part or parts of the State Educational Equity Grant Program that the State Board of Education deems appropriate.
(f)	Any school system receiving a grant under this Article shall be eligible to apply for funds to assist in establishing or expanding programs which provide for community volunteer activities which involve children and youth at risk.  The goals of community volunteer programs shall include (i) to encourage greater appreciation and awareness of the importance and benefit of volunteerism in the State; (ii) to foster a better understanding of and appreciation for the needs and problems of other persons; and (iii) to encourage participation in activities that are likely to achieve these goals. The Department of Public Instruction shall develop guidelines for establishing or expanding such programs, and for awarding grants under this subsection.  Participation in volunteer programs may not be limited to children and youth at risk; provided, however, that guidelines for awarding grants under this subsection shall be aimed at encouraging participation by children and youth at risk in proportion to the percentage of the student body in their school or school system that children and youth at risk compose. Guidelines for awarding grants under this subsection shall be designed to encourage participation by students in grades six through 12.
"§ 115C-150.3. Distribution formula for grant awards.
(a)	Grant funds shall be distributed by the Department of Public Instruction to school districts based on the following criteria:
(1)	Eligibility of school districts in a county to receive grant awards shall be based on a pro rata determination of the number of children in the county who are from families whose income is at or below the federal poverty level according to the most current census data, and who constitute at least 10% of the children aged five through 17 who live in the county.
(2)	Distribution of grant funds among the schools in a school district may be made based on the Superintendent of Public Instruction's estimate of the number or percentage of low-income students in each school.
(3)	Funds may be allocated to individual schools up to the maximum amount for which they are eligible, provided that the school has developed and the Department of Public Instruction has approved a plan for utilization of the funds to be allocated.
(b)	All Federal JTPA Title II-A 8% funds allocated to the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development for distribution to the Department of Public Instruction shall be used, consistent with federally mandated eligibility criteria, to benefit children at risk as defined in this Article.  To the extent possible, such funds shall be used to implement this Article."
Sec. 2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Education the sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) for the 1989-90 fiscal year, and the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for the 1990-91 fiscal year, to be used for the implementation of this act.  Of the funds appropriated under this act, not more than ten percent (10%) shall be allocated by the State Board of Education to the North Carolina Children and Youth Community Involvement Volunteer Program for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of G.S. 115C-150.2(f). 
Sec. 3. To the extent reasonably possible, the State Board of Education shall utilize funds that would otherwise be allocated for drop-out prevention and in-school suspension programs, to implement this act.
Sec. 4. Not more than ten percent (10%) of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Education under this act may be used for the administration of the Educational Equity Grants Program.
Sec. 5. This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.