AN ACT to modify the requirements for participation in a community college lateral entry program.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑296(c1) reads as rewritten:
"(c1)	The State Board of Community Colleges may provide a program of study for lateral entry teachers to complete the coursework necessary to earn a teaching certificate. To this end, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Board of Community Colleges, shall establish a competency‑based program of study for lateral entry teachers to be implemented within the Community College System no later than May 1, 2006. This program must meet standards set by the State Board of Education.
The State Board of Community Colleges and the State Board of Education shall jointly identify the community college courses and the teacher education program courses that are necessary and appropriate for inclusion in the community college program of study for lateral entry teachers. To the extent possible, any courses that must be completed through an approved teacher education program shall be taught on a community college campus or shall be available through distance learning.
In order to participate in the community college program of study for lateral entry teachers, an individual 	must hold at least a bachelors degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher  education.		
An individual who successfully completes this program of study and meets all other requirements of certification set by the State Board of Education shall be recommended for a North Carolina teaching certificate."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 29th day of June, 2007.

	s/	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 11:04 a.m. this 4th day of July, 2007