GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 6
SENATE BILL 16

AN ACT DIRECTING THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO RECOMMEND CHANGES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  The State Board of Education shall examine the structure and functions of the State public school system with a view to improving student performance, increasing local flexibility and control, and promoting economy and efficiency, and shall recommend changes in the public school system to the General Assembly.  In carrying out this examination, the State Board of Education shall consider ways to reorder priorities and place greater emphasis on the basics - reading, communication skills, and mathematics -  in the areas of staff development, the State testing program, the State accreditation program, the use of remediation funds, the instructional program, and other components of the State public school system.  The State Board of Education shall also consider the impact the changes it is considering will have on the mission of the Department of Public Instruction.
The State Board shall make a preliminary report to the General Assembly prior to May 1, 1995, and a final report prior to March 1, 1996, on the results of its examination of the State public school system.  The report shall include any proposed legislation necessary to implement the State Board's recommendations.
Sec. 2.  The State Board of Education shall also examine the administrative organization of the Department of Public Instruction with a view to (i) increasing local flexibility and local control of education, (ii) promoting economy and efficiency in government in the interest of producing cost savings that can be used to provide funds for textbooks, school supplies, and equipment, and for reducing class size, and (iii) improving student performance.  The State Board of Education, as a result of these examinations, shall propose necessary changes in the mission of the Department of Public Instruction and methods of implementing those changes.  The State Board of Education shall develop a plan for reducing, eliminating, and/or reorganizing the Department of Public Instruction.  A reorganization may include the assignment or reassignment of the Department's duties and functions among divisions and other units, division heads, officers, and employees.
The proposed reduction, elimination, and/or reorganization of the Department shall have a goal of resulting in a decrease of at least fifty percent (50%) in the number of employee positions assigned to the Department and a decrease of at least fifty percent (50%) in the Department's budget by January 1, 1996.
The State Board of Education shall make a preliminary report to the General Assembly prior to March 31, 1995, and a final report prior to May 1, 1995, on the reduction, elimination, and/or reorganization plan it develops.
Sec. 3. The State Board of Education shall fully inform and consult with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the chairs of the Education Committees and the Education Appropriation Subcommittees of the Senate and the House of Representatives on a regular basis as the Board carries out its duties under this act.
Sec. 4.  The Director of the Budget shall authorize the expenditure of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from existing funds by the State Board of Education to contract for outside consultants and assistance to assist the State Board in carrying out its duties under this act.  The Office of State Budget and Management, the State Auditor, and other appropriate State agencies shall also provide consultation as requested by the chairman of the State Board of Education as needed to develop the plans set out in this act.
Sec. 5.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9th day of March, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives