GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 971

Short Title:  Local School Improvement Plans.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Fussell; Cummings      and Oldham.
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Referred to:  Education.
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April 15, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE MANNER IN WHICH LOCAL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS ARE ADOPTED AND IMPLEMENTED.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 115C-238.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-238.3.  Development of local plans; elements of local plans.
(a)	Development of systemwide plan by the local board of education. – The board of education of a local school administrative unit that elects to participate in the Program shall develop and submit a local school improvement plan for the entire local school administrative unit to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction before April 15 of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which participation is sought.
A systemwide improvement plan shall remain in effect for no more than three years.
(b)	Establishment of student performance goals by the local board of education for the systemwide plan. – The local board of education shall establish student performance goals for the local school administrative unit. The local board of education shall actively involve an advisory panel composed of a substantial number of teachers, school administrators, other school staff, and parents of children enrolled in the local school administrative unit, in developing the student performance goals for the local school improvement plan. It is the intent of the General Assembly that teachers have a major role in developing the student performance goals for the local school improvement plan; therefore, at least half of the members participating in this advisory panel shall be teachers. Every teacher in the local school administrative unit shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in a secret ballot election of teachers who are involved in the advisory panel.
The performance goals for the local school administrative unit shall address specific, measurable goals for all student performance indicators adopted by the State Board. Factors that determine gains in achievement vary from school to school; therefore, socioeconomic factors and previous student performance indicators shall be used as the basis of the local school improvement plan.
(b1)	Development by each school of strategies for attaining local student performance goals. – The principal of each school, representatives of the building-level staff, and parents of children enrolled in the school shall develop a building-level plan to address student performance goals appropriate to that school from those established by the local board of education. These strategies shall include a plan for the use of staff development funds made available to the school to implement the building-level plan.  These strategies may also include requests for waivers of State laws, regulations, or policies for that school. A request for a waiver shall (i) identify the State laws, regulations, or policies that inhibit the local unit's ability to reach its local accountability goals, (ii) set out with specificity the circumstances under which the waiver may be used, and (iii) explain how a waiver of those laws, regulations, or policies will permit the local unit to reach its local goals.
Support among affected staff members is essential to successful implementation of a building-level plan to address student performance goals appropriate to a school; therefore, the principal of the school shall present the proposed building-level plan to all of the staff assigned to the school building for their review and vote. The vote shall be by secret ballot. The principal may submit the building-level plan to the local board of education for inclusion in the systemwide plan only if the proposed building-level plan has the approval of a majority of the staff who voted on the plan.
The local board of education shall accept or reject the building-level plan.  The local board shall not make any substantive changes in any building-level plan that it accepts; the local board shall set out any building-level plan that it accepts in the systemwide plan. If the local board rejects a building-level plan, the local board shall state with specificity its reasons for rejecting the plan; the principal of the school for which the plan was rejected, representatives of the building-level staff, and parents of children enrolled in the school may then prepare another plan, present it to the building-level staff for a vote, and submit it to the local board for inclusion in the systemwide plan. If no building-level plan is accepted for a school before March 15 of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which participation is sought, the local board may develop a plan for the school for inclusion in the systemwide plan; the General Assembly urges the local board to utilize the proposed building-level plan to the maximum extent possible when developing such a plan.
(c)	Development by each school of a differentiated pay plan for that school; development by the local board of education of a differentiated pay plan for central office personnel. –
(1)	The local school administrative unit shall consider a plan for differentiated pay. The local plan shall include a plan for differentiated pay, in accordance with G.S. 115C-238.4, unless the local school administrative unit elects not to participate in any differentiated pay plan.
(2)	The principal of each school, representatives of the building-level staff, and parents of children enrolled in the school shall develop a building-level differentiated pay plan for the school when they develop their building-level plan to address student performance goals appropriate to the school. By October 1 of each year, the principal shall disclose to all affected personnel the total allocation of funds for differentiated pay.  At the end of the fiscal year, the principal shall make available to all affected personnel a report of all disbursement from the  building-level differentiated pay plan.
		Support among affected staff members is essential to successful implementation of a building-level differentiated pay plan; therefore, the principal of the school shall present the proposed building-level plan to all of the staff eligible to receive differentiated pay, in accordance with G.S. 115C-238.4(a), for their review and vote. The vote shall be by secret ballot. The principal may submit the building-level differentiated pay plan to the local board of education only if the proposed building-level differentiated pay plan has the approval of a majority of the staff who voted on the plan.
		The local board of education shall accept or reject the building-level differentiated pay plan.  The local board shall not make any substantive changes in any building-level plan that it accepts; the local board shall set out any building-level plan that it accepts in the systemwide differentiated pay plan. If the local board rejects a building-level plan, the local board shall state with specificity its reasons for rejecting the plan; the principal of the school for which the plan was rejected, representatives of the building-level staff, and parents of children enrolled in the school may then prepare another plan, present it to all of the staff eligible to receive differentiated pay, in accordance with G.S. 115C-238.4(a), for a vote, and submit it to the local board for inclusion in the systemwide plan. If no building-level plan is accepted for a school before April 15 of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which participation is sought, the local board may develop a plan for the school building for inclusion in the systemwide plan; the General Assembly urges the local board to utilize the proposed building-level plan to the maximum extent possible when developing such a plan.
(3)	The local board of education shall develop a plan for differentiated pay for all central office personnel eligible to receive differentiated pay, in accordance with G.S. 115C-238.4(a), and shall include the plan in the systemwide differentiated pay plan.
(4)	A systemwide differentiated pay plan shall remain in effect for no more than three years. At the end of three years, a plan to continue, discontinue, or modify that differentiated pay plan shall be developed in accordance with subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection.
(d)	Repealed by Session Laws 1991 (Regular Session, 1992), c. 900, s. 75.1(b), effective July 8, 1992."
Sec. 2.  Part 4 of Article 16 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C-238.8. Distribution of staff development funds.
The local board of education shall distribute funds appropriated by the State for staff development to implement the building-level plan to individual school buildings on the basis of average daily membership.
These funds shall be used in accordance with the building-level plan set out in the system-wide plan.
By October 1 of each year, the principal shall disclose to all affected personnel the total allocation of funds for staff development.  At the end of the fiscal year, the principal shall make available to all affected personnel a report of all disbursements from the building-level staff development funds."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification and applies to all school improvement plans in effect for school years beginning with the 1993-94 school year.