A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT appropriating funds to develop and implement a pilot program to provide classes in Critical foreign languages including those currently not taught and in the culture, geography, political, legal, and economic systems of countries where those languages are spoken.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year and the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to establish and implement a pilot program in six local school administrative units to offer classes in which instruction is provided (i) in critical foreign languages including those currently not taught in those local school administrative units, (ii) on the culture, geography, political, legal, and economic systems of the countries where those languages are spoken, and (iii) if feasible, through the North Carolina Virtual Public School in order to make these classes available to other local school administrative units.
The State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Department of Public Instruction, shall select pilot local school administrative units that are distributed geographically throughout the State. Up to two middle and high schools in each pilot unit shall implement the program. Classes shall begin in the first semester of the 2008‑2009 school year.
The State Board of Education shall approve the curriculum for the pilot program and for the North Carolina Virtual Public School courses on an expedited basis.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.