A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide additional support to high‑need schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 
SECTION 1.(a)  The State Board of Education shall designate schools which meet two or more of the following criteria as high‑need schools: 
(1)	More than forty‑five percent (45%) of students perform at Level 1 or Level 2 on end‑of‑grade or end‑of‑course tests, 
(2)	Teacher turnover rate is greater than twenty‑five percent (25%), or
(3)	More than eighty percent (80%) of students qualify for free or reduced‑price lunches.
SECTION 1.(b)  Beginning with the 2007‑2008 school year, to ensure that the schools designated as high‑need schools by the State Board of Education have the high quality staff and the additional support they need, the following modifications to law, policy, or both shall apply:
(1)	National Board Certified Teachers who serve as mentors, literacy coaches, or in other non‑administrative instructional leadership positions at these schools may retain the twelve percent (12%) salary increment for NBPTS certification, notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑296.2.
(2)	National Board Certified Teachers, teachers of the year, and other categories of accomplished teachers designated by the State Board of Education shall be given the academic freedom at these schools to use research‑based practices in the classroom that go beyond the standard course of study.
SECTION 1.(c)  The State Board of Education shall consider the following strategies to ensure that the high‑need schools have the high quality staff and the additional support they need and shall report by January 15, 2008, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the cost of implementing for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year:
(1)	Adding additional teacher positions at these schools to reduce class size.
(2)	Providing incentives to attract National Board Certified Teachers to these schools.
(3)	Employing teachers at these schools for 11 months. These teachers shall use the extra month of employment for curriculum development, staff development, and planning for the next school year.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.