GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 904*
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/6/93

Short Title:  Exc. Child Graduation Requirements.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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April 12, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO CONSIDER CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WHEN IT ADOPTS RULES SETTING GRADUATION STANDARDS, TO DIRECT THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA TO STUDY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION STANDARDS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, AND TO DIRECT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SUSPEND THE APPLICATION OF ITS RULE REQUIRING ALGEBRA I FOR A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA TO CHILDREN IDENTIFIED AS LEARNING DISABLED PENDING ITS REEVALUATION OF GRADUATION STANDARDS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 115C-81(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The Basic Education Program shall include course requirements and descriptions similar in format to materials previously contained in the standard course of study and it shall provide:
(1)	A core curriculum for all students that takes into account the special needs of children and includes appropriate modifications for the learning disabled, the academically gifted, and the students with discipline and emotional problems;
(2)	A set of competencies, by grade level, for each curriculum area;
(3)	A list of textbooks for use in providing the curriculum;
(4)	Standards for student performance and promotion based on the mastery of competencies, including standards for graduation, that take into account children with special needs and, in particular, include appropriate modifications;
(5)	A program of remedial education;
(6)	Required support programs;
(7)	A definition of the instructional day;
(8)	Class size recommendations and requirements;
(9)	Prescribed staffing allotment ratios;
(10)	Material and equipment allotment ratios;
(11)	Facilities standards; and
(12)	Any other information the Board considers appropriate and necessary."
Sec. 2.  The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall direct the Clinical Center for Study of Development and Learning in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study, and make recommendations concerning graduation standards for children with special needs with a particular focus on appropriate modifications of these standards for these children.  The study shall be conducted within existing resources of the Board of Governors and shall include a review and evaluation of other states' graduation standards and how they are modified for these children, the appropriateness of an alternative diploma for these children, the appropriateness of course substitutions or waivers for these children, the need for raised expectations for these children in conjunction with alternative teaching methods, the admissions policies at the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina as they apply to these students, and any other issue the Clinical Center for Study of Development and Learning considers appropriate.  The study shall be completed and a written report filed with the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education no later than December 15, 1993.  Upon its receipt of the report, the State Board of Education shall file a copy with the chair of the Commission on Children with Special Needs and the chairs of the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
Sec. 3.  The effective date of the rule adopted by the State Board of Education in 1991 that established Algebra I as a requirement for a high school diploma is hereby suspended in its application to any student who is identified as learning disabled and whose individualized education program states that the student's learning disability requires course substitutions or other modifications in the area of mathematics.  The State Board of Education may establish a new effective date after it completes its reevaluation required by Section 4 of this act.
Sec. 4.  Upon its receipt of the report authorized under Section 2 of this act, and based on its recommendations, the State Board of Education shall reevaluate its rule that established Algebra I as a requirement for a high school diploma.  The State Board of Education shall complete its reevaluation and establish any modifications to its rules on or before March 15, 1994.  Upon completion of this process, the State Board of Education shall file a written report with the chair of the Commission on Children with Special Needs and the chairs of the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than April 1, 1994.
Sec. 5.  This act is effective upon ratification.