A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to implement various education reforms.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

teacher preparation
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑296(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	It is the policy of the State of North Carolina to maintain the highest quality teacher education programs and school administrator programs in order to enhance the competence of professional personnel certified in North Carolina. To the end that teacher preparation programs are upgraded to reflect a more rigorous course of study, the State Board of Education, as lead agency in coordination and cooperation with the University Board of Governors, the Board of Community Colleges and such other public and private agencies as are necessary, shall continue to refine the several certification requirements, standards for approval of institutions of teacher education, standards for institution‑based innovative and experimental programs, standards for implementing consortium‑based teacher education, and standards for improved efficiencies in the administration of the approved programs. The certification program shall provide for initial certification after completion of preservice training, continuing certification after three years of teaching experience, and certificate renewal every five years thereafter, until the retirement of the teacher. The last certificate renewal received prior to retirement shall remain in effect for five years after retirement. The certification program shall also provide for lifetime certification after 50 years of teaching.
The State Board of Education, as lead agency in coordination with the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, and any other public and private agencies as necessary, shall continue to raise standards for entry into teacher education programs.
To further ensure that teacher preparation programs remain current and reflect a rigorous course of study that is aligned to State and national standards, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, shall (i) ensure students preparing to teach in elementary schools have adequate coursework in the teaching of reading and mathematics and are assessed prior to certification to determine that they possess the requisite knowledge in scientifically based reading and mathematics instruction that is aligned with the State Board's expectations and (ii) ensure that all students continue to receive preparation in applying formative and summative assessments within the school and classroom setting through technology‑based assessment systems available in North Carolina schools that measure and predict expected student improvement.
The State Board of Education, in consultation with local boards of education and the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, shall evaluate and modify, as necessary, the academic requirements for students preparing to teach science in middle and high schools to ensure that there is adequate preparation in issues related to science laboratory safety.
The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, shall evaluate and develop enhanced requirements for continuing certification. The new requirements shall reflect more rigorous standards for continuing certification and to the extent possible shall be aligned with quality professional development programs that reflect State priorities for improving student achievement.
The State Board of Education, in consultation with local boards of education and the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, shall reevaluate and enhance the requirements for renewal of teacher certificates. The State Board shall consider modifications in the certificate renewal achievement and to make it a mechanism for teachers to renew continually their knowledge and professional skills. The State Board shall adopt new standards for the renewal of teacher certificates by May 15, 1998.
The standards for approval of institutions of teacher education shall require that teacher education programs for all students include demonstrated competencies in (i) the identification and education of children with disabilities and (ii) positive management of student behavior and effective communication techniques for defusing and deescalating disruptive or dangerous behavior. The State Board of Education shall incorporate the criteria developed in accordance with G.S. 116‑74.21 for assessing proposals under the School Administrator Training Program into its school administrator program approval standards.
All North Carolina institutions of higher education that offer teacher education programs, masters degree programs in education, or masters degree programs in school administration shall provide performance reports to the State Board of Education. The performance reports shall follow a common format, shall be submitted according to a plan developed by the State Board, and shall include the information required under the plan developed by the State Board."

enhance use of evaas
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑105.27(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	In order to improve student performance, each school shall develop a school improvement plan that takes into consideration the annual performance goal for that school that is set by the State Board under G.S. 115C‑105.35 and the goals set out in the mission statement for the public schools adopted by the State Board of Education. The principal of each school, representatives of the assistant principals, instructional personnel, instructional support personnel, and teacher assistants assigned to the school building, and parents of children enrolled in the school shall constitute a school improvement team to develop a school improvement plan to improve student performance. Representatives of the assistant principals, instructional personnel, instructional support personnel, and teacher assistants shall be elected by their respective groups by secret ballot. Unless the local board of education has adopted an election policy, parents shall be elected by parents of children enrolled in the school in an election conducted by the parent and teacher organization of the school or, if none exists, by the largest organization of parents formed for this purpose. Parents serving on school improvement teams shall reflect the racial and socioeconomic composition of the students enrolled in that school and shall not be members of the building‑level staff. Parental involvement is a critical component of school success and positive student achievement; therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly that parents, along with teachers, have a substantial role in developing school improvement plans. To this end, school improvement team meetings shall be held at a convenient time to assure substantial parent participation.
All school improvement plans shall be, to the greatest extent possible, data‑driven. School improvement teams shall use the Education Value Added Assessment System (EVAAS) or a compatible and comparable system approved by the State Board of Education, to analyze student data to identify root causes for problems, to determine actions to address them, and to appropriately place students in courses such as Algebra I. School improvement plans shall contain clear, unambiguous targets, explicit indicators and actual measures, and expeditious time frames for meeting the measurement standards."

preschool programs for at‑risk children
SECTION 3.  It is a goal of the General Assembly to provide preschool programs to all at‑risk children.

transition teams for at‑risk children
SECTION 4.  G.S. 115C‑105.41 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑105.41.  Students who have been placed at risk of academic failure; personal education plans; transition teams and transition plans.
(a)	Local school administrative units shall identify students who are at risk for academic failure and who are not successfully progressing toward grade promotion and graduation, beginning no later than the fourth grade. Identification shall occur as early as can reasonably be done and can be based on grades, observations, State assessments, and other factors, including reading on grade level, that impact student performance that teachers and administrators consider appropriate, without having to await the results of end‑of‑grade or end‑of‑course tests. No later than the end of the first quarter, or after a teacher has had up to nine weeks of instructional time with a student, a personal education plan for academic improvement with focused intervention and performance benchmarks shall be developed or updated for any student at risk of academic failure who is not performing at least at grade level, as identified by the State end‑of‑grade test and other factors noted above. Focused intervention and accelerated activities should include research‑based best practices that meet the needs of students and may include coaching, mentoring, tutoring, summer school, Saturday school, and extended days. Local school administrative units shall provide these activities free of charge to students. Local school administrative units shall also provide transportation free of charge to all students for whom transportation is necessary for participation in these activities.
Local school administrative units shall give notice of the personal education plan and a copy of the personal education plan to the student's parent or guardian. Parents should be included in the implementation and ongoing review of personal education plans.
Local school administrative units shall certify that they have complied with this section annually to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall periodically review data on the progress of identified students and report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
No cause of action for monetary damages shall arise from the failure to provide or implement a personal education plan under this section.
(b)	Local boards of education shall adopt and implement plans for the creation of transition teams and transition plans for students at risk, as defined by the State Board of Education, to assist them in making a successful transition between the elementary school and middle school years and between the middle school and high school years."

Lengthening the school day and school year in certain schools
Whereas, other nations demonstrating higher levels of student achievement have longer school days and years; Now, therefore,
SECTION 5.(a)  It is the goal of the General Assembly, available funds permitting, to phase in longer school days and longer school years in the 25 high schools identified by the State Board of Education as having the highest dropout rates in North Carolina and in the elementary and middle schools whose students move into those high schools.  In identifying those high schools, the State Board of Education shall not consider charter schools or alternative schools because students move into those schools from, at a minimum, an entire local school administrative unit.
SECTION 5.(b)  For the 2013‑2014 school year, it is the intent of the General Assembly to extend the length of school days in the 25 identified high schools and in the elementary and middle schools whose students move into those high schools.
SECTION 5.(c)  For the 2014‑2015 school year, it is the intent of the General Assembly to further extend the length of the school days in the 25 identified high schools and in the elementary and middle schools whose students move into those high schools and to add two instructional days to the school year in those schools.
SECTION  5.(d)  It is the goal of the General Assembly, available funds permitting, to have a school year of at least 190 days for all students. 
SECTION 5.(e)  The State Board of Education shall report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2012, on its recommendation on how long the school day and school year should be extended.

study graduation requirements for students who do not plan to continue education beyond high school
SECTION 6.  The State Board of Education shall reconsider the high school graduation requirements for students who do not plan to continue education beyond high school.  For some of these students, a five‑year program might be needed in order for them to meet graduation requirements.  For other students, a reassessment of existing requirements might be in order to determine what, at a minimum, is needed for a sound, basic education and whether the current graduation requirements are reasonable for students not planning to continue education beyond high school.
The State Board of Education shall report the results of this study to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by March 15, 2012.

effective date
SECTION 7.  This act is effective when it becomes law.