A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds for a pilot program that provides for smaller classes for first‑year teachers.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction five million five hundred thousand dollars ($5,500,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year.  The State Board of Education shall use these funds to establish a pilot program that provides for smaller classes for first‑year teachers.  The class loads of first-year teachers in the pilot units shall not exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the regular class loads of other teachers at the same grade level or in the same area of certification.
The State Board shall select three local school administrative units to participate in the pilot program.  At least one of the participating units shall be an urban unit, and at least one shall be a rural unit. No local school administrative unit shall be required to participate in the pilot program.
The State Board shall evaluate the pilot program at the end of the first and second years for its effect on teacher retention rates, student achievement rates, and faculty morale. The State Board shall report the results of its evaluation to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.