A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to streamline public school planning responsibilities.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑12(19) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑12.  Powers and duties of the Board generally.
The general supervision and administration of the free public school system shall be vested in the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall establish policy for the system of free public schools, subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education are defined as follows:
…
(19)	Duty to Identify Required Reports and to Eliminate Unnecessary Reports and Paperwork. – Prior to the beginning of each school year, the State Board of Education shall identify all reports that are required at the State level for the school year.
The State Board of Education shall adopt policies to ensure that local school administrative units are not required by the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent, or the Department of Public Instruction staff to (i) provide information that is already available on the student information management system or housed within the Department of Public Instruction; (ii) provide the same written information more than once during a school year unless the information has changed during the ensuing period; or (iii) complete forms, for children with disabilities, that are not necessary to ensure compliance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the State Board may require information available on its student information management system or require the same information twice if the State Board can demonstrate a compelling need and can demonstrate there is not a more expeditious manner of getting the information.
The State Board of Education shall consolidate all plans that affect the school community, including school safety plans, school technology plans, plans for academically or intellectually gifted students, and others.The State Board shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by November 15 of each year on the plans it has consolidated and the reports it has eliminated for the upcoming school year."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2011‑2012 school year.