A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO MAKE TEXTBOOK SELECTION A LOCAL DECISION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑85 through G.S. 115C‑95 and G.S. 115C‑97 are repealed.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑96 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑96.  State funds for textbooks.
The children of the public elementary and secondary schools of the State shall be provided with free basic textbooks within the appropriation of the General Assembly for that purpose. To implement this directive, the State Board of Education shall evaluate annually the amount of money necessary to provide textbooks based on the actual cost and availability of textbooks and shall request sufficient appropriations from the General Assembly.

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SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑98 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑98.  Local boards of education to provide for local operation of the textbook program and for the selection and procurement of other instructional materials.
(a)	Local boards of education shall adopt rules concerning the selection and procurement of textbooks and other aspects of the textbook program. Local boards of education shall have sole authority to select and procure textbooks.
(b)	Local boards of education shall adopt written policies concerning the procedures to be followed in their local school administrative units for the selection and procurement of supplementary textbooks, library books, periodicals, audiovisual materials, and other supplementary instructional materials needed for instructional purposes in the public schools of their units. 
Local boards of education shall have sole authority to select and procure supplementary instructional materials, whether or not the materials contain commercial advertising, to determine if the materials are related to and within the limits of the prescribed curriculum, and to determine when the materials may be presented to students during the school day. Supplementary materials and contracts for supplementary materials are not subject to approval by the State Board of Education. Supplementary books and other instructional materials shall neither displace nor be used to the exclusion of basic textbooks.
(b1)	A local board of education may establish a community media advisory committee to investigate and evaluate challenges from parents, teachers, and members of the public to textbooks and supplementary instructional materials on the grounds that they are educationally unsuitable, pervasively vulgar, or inappropriate to the age, maturity, or grade level of the students. The local board, at all times, has sole authority and discretion to determine whether a challenge has merit and whether challenged material should be retained or removed.
(b2)			
All textbook contracts made under this section shall include a clause granting to the local board of education the license to produce Braille, large print, and audiocassette tape copies of the textbooks for use in the local school administrative unit.
(b3)	Local boards of education shall provide for the free use, with proper care and return, of textbooks. The title of textbooks shall be vested in the local board of education.
(c)	Funds allocated by the State Board of Education or appropriated in the current expense or capital outlay budgets of the local school administrative units, may be used for the above‑stated purposes."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 115C‑100 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑100.  Rental fees for textbooks prohibited; damage fees authorized.
No local board of education may charge any pupil a rental fee for the use of textbooks. A pupil's parents or legal guardians may be charged damage fees for abuse or loss of textbooks under rules adopted by the local board of education. "
SECTION 5.  G.S. 115C‑101 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑101.  Duties and authority of superintendents of local school administrative units.
The superintendent of each local school administrative unit shall administer the provisions of this Part. The superintendent of each local school administrative unit shall have authority to require the cooperation of principals and teachers so that the children may receive the best possible service, and so that all the books and moneys may be accounted for properly. If any principal or teacher fails to comply with the provisions of this section, his superintendent shall withhold his salary vouchers until the duties imposed by this section have been performed.
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SECTION 6.  G.S. 115C‑102 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑102.  Right to purchase; disposal of textbooks and materials.
(a)	Any parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis may purchase any instructional material needed for any child in the public schools of the State from the board of education of the local school administrative unit in which the child is enrolled.
(b)	Notwithstanding Article 3A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, G.S. 143‑49(4), or any other provision of law, local boards of education may dispose of discontinued textbooks and other instructional material."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 115C‑11(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Voting. – No voting by proxy shall be permitted. All voting shall be viva voce unless a record vote or secret ballot is demanded by any member, and a majority of those present and voting shall be necessary to carry a motion."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 115C‑11(e) is repealed.
SECTION 9.  G.S. 115C‑12(9) and (9a) read as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑12.  Powers and duties of the Board generally.
The general supervision and administration of the free public school system shall be vested in the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall establish policy for the system of free public schools, subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education are defined as follows:
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(9)	Miscellaneous Powers and Duties. – All the powers and duties exercised by the State Board of Education shall be in conformity with the Constitution and subject to such laws as may be enacted from time to time by the General Assembly. Among such duties are:
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(9a)	Power to Develop Content Standards. – The Board shall develop a comprehensive plan to revise content standards and the standard course of study in the core academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, geography, and civics. The Board shall involve and survey a representative sample of parents, teachers, and the public to help determine academic content standard priorities and usefulness of the content standards. A full review of available and relevant academic content standards that are rigorous, specific, sequenced, clear, focused, and measurable, whenever possible, shall be a part of the process of the development of content standards. The revised content standards developed in the core academic areas shall (i) reflect high expectations for students and an in‑depth mastery of the content; (ii) be clearly grounded in the content of each academic area; (iii) be defined grade‑by‑grade and course‑by‑course; (iv) be understandable to parents and teachers; (v) be developed in full recognition of the time available to teach the core academic areas at each grade level; and (vi) be measurable, whenever possible, in a reliable, valid, and efficient manner for accountability purposes.
		High school course content standards shall include the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce and also shall be aligned with the coursework required for admission to the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina. The Board shall develop and implement a plan for end‑of‑course tests for the minimum courses required for admission to the constituent institutions. All end‑of‑course tests shall be aligned with the content standards.
		The Board also shall develop and implement an ongoing process to align State programs and support materials with the revised academic content standards for each core academic area on a regular basis. Alignment shall include revising support materials, State tests, teacher and school administrator preparation, and ongoing professional development programs to be compatible with content standards. The Board shall develop and make available to teachers and parents support materials, including teacher and parent guides, for academic content standards. The State Board of Education shall work in collaboration with the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina to ensure that teacher and school administrator degree programs, ongoing professional development and other university activity in the State's public schools align with the State Board's priorities.
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SECTION 10.  G.S. 115C‑47(6) and (33a) read as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑47.  Powers and duties generally.
In addition to the powers and duties designated in G.S. 115C‑36, local boards of education shall have the power or duty:
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(6)	To Regulate Fees, Charges and Solicitations. – Local boards of education shall adopt rules and regulations governing solicitations of, sales to, and fund‑raising activities conducted by, the students and faculty members in schools under their jurisdiction, and no fees, charges, or costs shall be collected from students and school personnel without approval of the board of education as recorded in the minutes of said Board. All schedules of fees, charges and solicitations approved by local boards of education shall be reported to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
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(33a)	To Approve Textbooks. – Local boards of education shall have the authority to select, procure, and use textbooks.
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SECTION 11.  G.S. 115C‑81(b) and (e1)(2) read as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑81.  Basic Education Program.
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(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:
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(e1)	School Health Education Program to Be Developed and Administered.
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(2)	The State Board of Education shall supervise the development and operation of a statewide comprehensive school health education program including curriculum development, in‑service training provision and promotion of collegiate training, learning material review, and assessment and evaluation of local programs in the same manner as for other programs. The State Board of Education shall adopt objectives for the instruction of the subject areas listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection that are appropriate for each grade level. The State Board of Education, through the Department of Public Instruction, shall, on a regular basis, review materials related to these objectives, and distribute these reviews to local school administrative units for their information.
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SECTION 12.  G.S. 143A‑48 is repealed.
SECTION 13.  G.S. 66‑58(c)(11) reads as rewritten:
"§ 66‑58.  Sale of merchandise or services by governmental units.
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(c)	The provisions of subsection (a) shall not prohibit:
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(11)	The sale of textbooks, library books, forms, bulletins, and instructional supplies by local school authorities.
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SECTION 14.  This act is effective when it becomes law.