GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 284*
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/19/93

Short Title:  School Administration Standards Board. 	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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February 25, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT A RECOMMENDATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP TASK FORCE AND THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT STANDARDS BOARD FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AND TO ALLOW THAT BOARD TO CHARGE EXAMINATION FEES.
Whereas, the Educational Leadership Task Force established by the 1991 General Assembly has completed its work and reported to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee of the General Assembly; and
Whereas, the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee approved the recommendations of the Educational Leadership Task Force for submission to the General Assembly; and
Whereas, the Educational Leadership Task Force recommended and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee found that the establishment of an independent professional standards board for school administrators will improve the practice of school administration; Now, therefore,
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 19A.
"Professional Standards Board for School Administrators.
"§ 115C-290.1.  Purpose.
As the profession of school administration significantly affects the lives of the people of this State, it is the purpose of this Article to protect the public by setting high standards for the qualification, training, and experience for those who seek to represent themselves to the public as qualified school administrators.
"§ 115C-290.2.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Board. – The North Carolina Standards Board for School Administration.
(2)	Exam. – The North Carolina School Administrator Exam.
(3)	School administrator. – Public school superintendents, deputy superintendents, associate superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and central office program directors.
"§ 115C-290.3.  Prohibitions.
Except as otherwise provided in this Article, it is unlawful for any person who is not qualified as a school administrator under this Article to represent himself or herself to be qualified under this Article or hold himself or herself out to the public by any title or description denoting that he or she is qualified under this Article.
"§ 115C-290.4.  North Carolina Standards Board for School Administration; appointments; terms; composition.
(a)	There is created the North Carolina Standards Board for School Administration which shall consist of seven members appointed by the Governor as follows:
(1)	Two local superintendents currently employed by a local school administrative unit;
(2)	Three principals currently employed by a local school administrative unit;
(3)	One dean of a school of education or a designee; and
(4)	One representative of the public at large.
Composition of the Board as to the race and sex of its members shall reflect the composition of the population of the State.  At all times, members of the Board shall be residents of the State, and with the exception of the public representative, shall be qualified by the Board under this Article and actively engaged in the practice of school administration or in the education and training of students in school administration.  Before their appointment to the Board, professional members of the Board must have been actively engaged in the practice of school administration or in the education and training of students in school administration for at least three years, of which at least two years occurred primarily in this State.
(b)	The Governor may only remove a member of the Board for neglect of duty, malfeasance, or conviction of a felony or other crime of moral turpitude.
(c)	Effective July 1, 1993, the Governor shall appoint one superintendent, two principals, and the dean of a school of education for terms of three years, and one superintendent, one principal, and the representative of the public for terms of two years.  Thereafter the terms shall be for three years.  Each term of service on the Board shall expire on the 30th day of June of the year in which the term expires. No member shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms.  As the term of a member expires, the Governor shall make the appointment for a full term, or, if a vacancy occurs for any other reason, for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(d)	Members of the Board shall receive compensation for their services and reimbursement for expenses incurred in the performance of duties required by this Article, at the rates prescribed in G.S. 93B-5.
(e)	The Board shall elect from its membership a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a secretary-treasurer, and adopt rules to govern its proceedings.  All members are voting members, and a majority of the membership constitutes a quorum.
(f)	The Board may employ, subject to Chapter 126 of the General Statutes, the necessary personnel for the performance of its functions, and fix their compensation within the limits of funds available to the Board.
(g)	Notwithstanding G.S. 93B-7, the Governor may provide office space to the Board.
"§ 115C-290.5.  Powers and duties of the Board; development of the North Carolina School Administrator Exam.
(a)	The Board shall:
(1)	Administer and enforce this Article.
(2)	Establish reasonable standards for school administrator qualifications.  However, the Board shall not have the power to withhold approval of study or training courses offered by a college or university having a school administrator program approved by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina.
(3)	Develop and implement a North Carolina School Administrator Exam, based on the professional standards established by the Board.
(4)	Examine and pass on the qualifications of all persons applying to sit for the exam.
(5)	Notify the State Board of Education of the names and addresses of all persons who are qualified to be certified as school administrators under G.S. 115C-290.7.
(6)	Establish and receive an application fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00), and an examination fee not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).
(7)	Maintain accounts of all its receipts, and make expenditures from Board receipts for any purpose which is reasonable and necessary for the proper performance of its duties under this Article.
(8)	Adopt, amend, or rescind rules and forms to carry out the purposes of this Article.
(9)	Submit an annual report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee of all its official actions during the preceding year, together with any recommendations and findings regarding improvement of the profession of school administration.
(b)	The Board may:
(1)	Adopt a seal which may be affixed to any documents issued by the Board.
(2)	Authorize expenditures considered necessary to carry out this Article from the fees which the Board collects, but in no event shall expenditures exceed the revenues of the Board during any fiscal year.
(c)	The  Board is subject to the administrative provisions of Chapter 93B of the General Statutes.
"§ 115C-290.6.  Application for qualification by the Board.
All individuals who desire to be qualified as a school administrator by the Board and subsequently certified by the State Board of Education, shall file a written application with the Board on forms provided by the Board, together with the required application fee established by the Board.
"§ 115C-290.7.  Qualification by the Board.
(a)	The Board shall qualify an individual who:
(1)	Pays the application fee established by the Board;
(2)	Pays the examination fee established by the Board;
(3)	Passes the exam administered by the Board; and
(4)	Submits evidence that he or she has successfully completed a program of school administration, and any other evidence considered necessary by the Board.
(b)	Upon its qualification of an individual as a school administrator, the Board shall notify the State Board of Education, which shall not certify the individual as a school administrator until it receives notice of qualification.
"§ 115C-290.8.  Exemption from Article.
(a)	School administrators who are engaged in the practice of school administration in a North Carolina public school or at a school operated by the United States government in North Carolina on and before January 1, 1997, are exempt from this Article.
(b)	Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, any individual who applies for qualification under this Article is subject to its provisions.
"§ 115C-290.9.  Disciplinary procedures.
The Board may, in accordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes, refuse to qualify for certification by the State Board of Education any person on the following grounds:
(1)	Conviction of a misdemeanor under this Article;
(2)	Conviction of a felony under the laws of the United States or of any state of the United States;
(3)	Gross unprofessional conduct, dishonest practice, or incompetence in the practice of school administration;
(4)	Procuring or attempting to procure qualification by fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation;
(5)	Any fraudulent or dishonest conduct in school administration;
(6)	Inability of the person to perform the functions for which he or she seeks to be qualified, or substantial impairment of abilities by reason of physical or mental disability; or
(7)	Violation of any of the provisions of this Article or of any rules of the Board.
"§ 115C-290.10.  Violation a misdemeanor.
Any person violating any provision of this Article is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction may be punishable for the first offense by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00), and for each subsequent offense by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), by imprisonment of not more than six months, or by both.
"§ 115C-290.11.  Injunction.
The Board may apply to superior court for an injunction to prevent violations of this Article or of any rules adopted by the Board, and the court may grant an injunction.  The Board shall not be required to post bond in connection with this application."
Sec. 2.  The North Carolina Standards Board for School Administration established in Section 1 of this act shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than March 1, 1994, and annually thereafter concerning its activities.
Sec. 3.  Notwithstanding Section 4 of this act, this act shall not become effective unless sufficient funds are appropriated for this purpose. Nothing in this act shall require the General Assembly to appropriate any funds to implement it.
Sec. 4.  G.S. 115C-290.3 and G.S. 115C-290.6 through G.S. 115C-290.11, as established in Section 1 of this act, become effective January 1, 1997.  The remaining provisions of Article 19A of Chapter 115C, as established in Section 1 of this act, and the remaining sections of this act are effective upon ratification.