A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish A task force to study whether the  COMPULSORY SCHOOL AGE should be raised AND to develop a comprehensive plan and time line to raise the age to eighteen and THE GRADUATION RATE TO one hundred percent.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Creation of the Task Force. – It is the intent of the General Assembly to consider whether the compulsory school age should be raised and to create the Task Force to Develop a Comprehensive Plan and Time Line to Implement Raising the Compulsory School Age to 18 and the Graduation Rate to one Hundred Percent (100%). The Task Force is established with the Department of Public Instruction to develop findings and recommendations to provide a road map and time line for successfully raising the age of compulsory attendance to 18, including plans to increase the educational attainment and graduation rates of all students involved.
SECTION 1.(b)  Membership. – The Task Force shall consist of 29 members:
(1)	Eleven ex officio members:
a.	The President of the North Carolina Community College System or a designee;
b.	The Superintendent of Public Instruction or a designee;
c.	The Chair of the State Board of Education or a designee;
d.	The Secretary of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention or a designee;
e.	The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts or a designee;
f.	The Secretary of Health and Human Services or a designee;
g.	The Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services or a designee;
h.	The Director of the North Carolina Human Relations Commission or a designee;
i.	The President of The University of North Carolina or a designee;
j.	The Director of the Division of Public Health or a designee; and
k.	The Director of the Division of Social Services or a designee.
(2)	Eighteen other members:
a.	One high school student, one local school superintendent, one member of a local board of education, and three at‑large members, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
b.	One high school student, one local school superintendent, one member of a local board of education, and three at‑large members, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
c.	One representative of the Governor's Crime Commission and one juvenile court counselor, appointed by the Governor; and
d.	Two high school teachers and two high school principals, appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Appointments shall be made by September 1, 2007. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall each designate one member to serve as cochair of the Task Force.
SECTION 1.(c)  Duties of the Task Force. – The Task Force shall study issues related to raising the compulsory school attendance age to 18 and shall analyze the legal and systemic impact of raising the compulsory school age and implementing that change sequentially over a four‑year period.  In particular, the Task Force shall:
(1)	Identify the costs to the State, local school administrative units, and counties of implementing this age change, including the use of community colleges, alternative schools, vocational, technical and career education, programs such as Opportunities Industrialization Centers, and home, private, and parochial schools;
(2)	Review State laws and regulations that should be conformed or amended and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding proposed amendments;
(3)	Develop proposals regarding alternative programs and services and collaborative programs to successfully handle this additional student population;
(4)	Identify the interconnections between the student and family populations affected and likely to be affected by this provision and the student and family populations likely to be involved in the juvenile justice system and develop a collaborative plan for all agencies, providers, and programs to jointly tailor and direct programs and services to this student cohort by proactively taking the services and programs to the students and families likely to be affected rather than responding to triggering violations or penalties;
(5)	Develop a model to have a per capita allocation per student follow the student into an alternative program or school, community college, or private or parochial school upon the award of a high school diploma or equivalent if such alternative program or entity is not a public school and if the student was determined not to be able to be accommodated in the public schools because of space, special needs, suspension/expulsion, or other eligibility issues;
(6)	Identify best practices to provide racial equity in opportunities to stay in and succeed in school and to eliminate the barriers of racism, classism, and sexism that can impact the 16‑18-year-olds targeted by this provision;
(7)	Develop a comprehensive plan and time line to implement the raising of the compulsory school age, including maximizing the use of community colleges, alternative schools and programs, and home, private, and parochial schools to minimize impact and costs to the public schools and the State and local governments and meet the implementation time frames; and
(8)	Develop a reliable method to count, measure, track, and monitor children to age 18 in all the environments they might be in, including mental health, juvenile justice, correction or alternative care institutions, community colleges, private, parochial, or home schools, and on the streets, and the ways and methods they might be provided the opportunity for a high school degree.
SECTION 1.(d)  Consultation. – The Task Force shall consult with the House Select Committee on High School Graduation and Drop Out Rates, and the Task Force for Juvenile Justice Administration, if established by the 2007 General Assembly, and appropriate State departments, agencies, and board representatives on issues related to high school education.
SECTION 1.(e)  Meetings. – The cochairs shall call the initial meeting of the Task Force on or before October 1, 2007.  Subsequent meetings shall be held upon notice and in a manner as the members of the Task Force determine.  A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.
SECTION 1.(f)  Contingent upon the availability of funds, members of the Task Force shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances in accordance with G.S. 120‑3.1, 138‑5, or 138‑6, as appropriate.
SECTION 1.(g)  Assistance to the Task Force. – The Department of Public Instruction shall provide professional and clerical staff and other services and supplies, including meeting space, as needed for the Task Force to carry out its duties in an effective manner.
All departments, agencies, institutions, and officers of the State and its political subdivisions shall provide facilities, data, and other assistance upon request of the Task Force.
SECTION 1.(h)  Funding. – The Task Force may apply for, receive, and accept grants of non‑State funds, or other contributions as appropriate to assist it in the performance of its duties.
SECTION 1.(i)  Report. – The Task Force shall submit an interim report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the 2008 Regular Session of the 2007 General Assembly.  The Task Force shall make a final report of its findings and recommendations, including legislative, administrative, and funding recommendations, by January 15, 2009, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the General Assembly, the Governor, and the citizens of the State.  The Task Force shall terminate upon filing its final report.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.