A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to reestablish the Committee on dropout prevention to award additional dropout Prevention grants, To appropriate funds for the grants, and to appropriate funds for a consultant to staff the Committee, as recommended by the joint legislative commission on dropout prevention and high school graduation.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Committee. – The Committee on Dropout Prevention, as established in S.L. 2007‑323, Section 7.32(c), is reestablished. The Committee shall be located administratively in the Department of Public Instruction but shall exercise its powers and duties independently of the Department of Public Instruction. The Department of Public Instruction shall provide for the administrative costs of the Committee.  The Department of Public Instruction shall contract with an independent consultant to serve as staff to the Committee, to provide technical assistance to the grant recipients for the length of the grant and to assist the Committee in evaluating the impact of the grants awarded.
The Committee shall determine which local school administrative units, schools, agencies, and nonprofits shall receive dropout prevention grants under Section 2 of this act, the amount of each grant, and eligible uses of the grant funding. The Committee shall consist of the following 15 members:
(1)	The Governor shall appoint five members, of whom one is a superintendent of schools, one is a representative of a nonprofit, and one is a school social worker;
(2)	The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint five members, of whom one is a principal, one is a representative of a school of education, and one is a school counselor; and
(3)	The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint five members, of whom one is a teacher, one is a member of the business community, and one is a representative of the juvenile justice system.
The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each designate a cochair of the Committee. The members of the Committee shall assure they are in compliance with laws and rules governing conflicts of interest. The Committee shall meet on the call of the cochairs provided that the Committee shall meet at least once every three months.
SECTION 2.  Dropout Prevention Grants. – The Committee shall select grant recipients from applications received in the process outlined in Section 7.32(d) of S.L. 2007‑323.  Using the existing grant reviews, the Committee shall establish a cutoff score and award grants to applicants that both meet the cutoff score and did not previously receive funding under S.L. 2007‑323.
The following criteria apply to dropout prevention grants approved by the Committee established under Section 1 of this act.
(1)	Grants shall be issued in varying amounts up to a maximum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000).
(2)	These grants shall be provided to innovative programs and initiatives that target students at risk of dropping out of school and that demonstrate the potential to (i) be developed into effective, sustainable, and coordinated dropout prevention and reentry programs in middle schools and high schools, and (ii) serve as effective models for other programs.
(3)	Priority shall be given to new programs and initiatives or to those that have begun within the last five school years.
(4)	Grants shall be distributed geographically throughout the State.
(5)	Grants may be made to local school administrative units, schools, local agencies, or nonprofit organizations.
(6)	Grants shall be to programs and initiatives that hold all students to high academic and personal standards.
(7)	Grant applications shall state (i) how grant funds will be used, (ii) what, if any, other resources will be used in conjunction with the grant funds, (iii) how the program or initiative will be coordinated to enhance the effectiveness of existing programs, initiatives, or services in the community, and (iv) a process for evaluating the success of the program or initiative.
(8)	Programs and initiatives that receive grants under this subsection shall be based on best practices for preventing students from dropping out of school or for increasing the high school completion rate for those students who already have dropped out of school.
(9)	Priority for grants shall be given to proposals that demonstrate input from the local community and coordination with other available programs or resources.
(10)	Grantees shall assure their compliance with applicable laws and rules regulating conflicts of interest.
(11)	Priority for grants shall be given to programs that would serve students in local school administrative units that have a four‑year cohort graduation rate of less than sixty‑five percent (65%).
(12)	Grants shall be made no later than November 1, 2008.
The Committee shall report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the grants awarded under this act by March 1, 2009.  
SECTION 3.  Evaluation. – The Committee shall evaluate the impact of the dropout prevention grants awarded under S.L. 2007‑323 and under Section 2 of this act.  In evaluating the impact of the grants, the Committee shall consider:
(1)	How grant funds were used, including the services provided for teen pregnancy prevention and for pregnant and parenting teens;
(2)	What, if any, other resources were used in conjunction with the grant funds;
(3)	How the program or initiative was coordinated to enhance the effectiveness of existing programs, initiatives, or services in the community;
(4)	The success of the program or initiative, as indicated by the evaluation process stated in its grant application;
(5)	The sustainability of the program;
(6)	The number, gender, ethnicity, and grade level of students being served as well as whether the student left school due to pregnancy or parenting responsibilities.
(7)	For those grant recipients using money for health education programs, whether those programs include comprehensive sexuality education and medically accurate information about contraceptives, including abstinence.
(8)	The potential for the program to serve as a model; and
(9)	Other indicators of the impact of the grant on dropout prevention.
The recipients of the dropout prevention grants awarded under S.L. 2007‑323 shall report to the Committee on Dropout Prevention by January 31, 2009, and by September 30, 2009. The Committee shall make an interim report of the results of its evaluation of the grants awarded under S.L. 2007‑323 by March 31, 2009, to the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation and to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. The Committee shall make a final report of the results of its evaluation of the grants awarded under S.L. 2007‑323 by November 15, 2009, to the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation and to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. 
The recipients of the dropout prevention grants awarded under Section 2 of this act shall report to the Committee on Dropout Prevention by January 31, 2010, and by September 30, 2010. The Committee shall make an interim report of the results of its evaluation of the grants awarded under Section 2 of this bill by March 31, 2010, to the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation and to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. The Committee shall make a final report of the results of its evaluation of the grants awarded under Section 2 of this act by November 15, 2010, to the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation and to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction, Committee on Dropout Prevention, the sum of five million five hundred thousand dollars ($5,500,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to provide for 40 additional dropout prevention grants to be awarded in accordance with Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 5.  Funds appropriated for the dropout prevention grants for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year shall not revert on December 31, 2008, but shall remain available for expenditure until August 31, 2009.  Funds appropriated for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year shall not revert on June 30, 2009, but shall remain available for expenditure until August 31, 2010.
SECTION 6.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction, Committee on Dropout Prevention, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to issue a request for proposals from qualified vendors on a competitive basis to contract with a consultant to staff the Committee, assist with the evaluation, and provide technical assistance.  The factors to be considered in awarding the contract shall be identified in the request for proposals.
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2008.