A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ensure that schools provide an appropriate education, in accordance with state and federal law, to STUDENTS WHO ARE SUSPENDED OR EXPELLED FROM PUBLIC SCHOOL.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑397.2.  Education of suspended students or expelled students.
(a)	If a child is recommended for long‑term suspension or expulsion, the principal shall immediately refer the matter to the superintendent for review.  The superintendent shall place the child in an appropriate educational program in accordance with Article 9, Chapter 115C of the General Statutes and rules adopted by the State Board of Education for Programs for Children with Special Needs as if the child were a child with special needs.  The State Board shall adopt specific rules regarding the placement of suspended or expelled children into appropriate educational environments.
(b)	The superintendent shall involve the child's parent or guardian in the planning process to determine the child's placement.  The parent or guardian may appeal any placement decision under rules and procedures for children with special needs."
SECTION 2.  The Department of Public Instruction, in collaboration with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, shall continue to study ways for schools to prevent the suspension of students.
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑47(32a) reads 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:
…
(32a)	To Establish Alternative Learning Programs and Develop Policies and Guidelines. – Each local board of education shall establish at least one alternative learning program and shall adopt guidelines for assigning students to alternative learning programs.  These guidelines shall include (i) a description of the programs and services to be provided, (ii) a process for ensuring that an assignment is appropriate for the student and that the student's parents are involved in the decision, and (iii) strategies for providing alternative learning programs, when feasible and appropriate, for students who are subject to long‑term suspension or expulsion. In developing these guidelines, local boards shall consider the State Board's policies and guidelines developed under G.S. 115C‑12(24).  Upon adoption of policies and guidelines under this subdivision, local boards are encouraged to incorporate them in their safe school plans developed under G.S. 115C‑105.47.
The General Assembly urges local boards to adopt policies that prohibit superintendents from assigning to any alternative learning program any professional public school employee who has received within the last three years a rating on a formal evaluation that is less than above standard.
Local boards shall assess on a regular basis whether the unit's alternative schools and alternative learning programs incorporate best practices for improving student academic performance and reducing disruptive behavior, are staffed with professional public school employees who are well trained and provided with appropriate staff development, are organized to provide coordinated services, and provide students with high quality and rigorous academic instruction.
All local school administrative units shall have quality alternative programs for middle school students by the beginning of the 2006‑2007 school year and for high school students by the beginning of the 2007‑2008 school year.  These schools shall meet standards for sound basic education as adopted by the State Board of Education."
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year and the sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year.  The Department of Public Instruction, in cooperation with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, shall make these funds available to local school administrative units and Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils for collaborative alternative programs.  Local school administrative units without alternative programs shall have first priority for these funds.
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2005.