A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to APPROPRIATE funds for programs and services provided by communities in schools of north carolina to support the public schools of this state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of three million seven hundred thirty‑one thousand nine hundred twenty‑seven dollars ($3,731,927) for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year in recurring funds to support and expand the intervention programs and services provided by Communities In Schools of North Carolina, Inc. (CISNC), as part of its public and private partnership with local school administrative units to address the needs of public school students at risk of grade level retention and dropout from school.
SECTION 1.(b)  CISNC shall use the funds made available to it in accordance with subsection (a) of this section to do at least the following:
(1)	Leverage additional funding and resources in support of local CISNC programs throughout the State.
(2)	Support and supplement the Read to Achieve program by assisting local school administrative units with compliance and student support services.
(3)	Place no fewer than 50 student support specialists in high poverty elementary and secondary schools across North Carolina, to potentially serve 27,500 additional students. CISNC shall give priority to schools that have demonstrated the greatest need for student support specialists through one or more of the following:
a.	The school has a student population with fifty percent (50%) or more of the students not displaying reading proficiency.
b.	The school was awarded a letter grade of a D or F on its annual report card in the prior school year by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1.
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to CISNC, a nonprofit organization, the sum of one million thirty‑five thousand dollars ($1,035,000) for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year in nonrecurring funds to provide planning and support to open three schools across the State during the next three years by doing one or more of the following:
(1)	Opening additional Performance Learning centers (PLCs).
(2)	Jointly establishing cooperative innovative high schools as an education partner in accordance with Part 9 of Article 16 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.
SECTION 3.  The Department of Public Instruction and CISNC shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by October 15, 2015, and annually thereafter, on the use of funds appropriated in accordance with this act, including the status of CISNC's leveraging of additional resources, the activities of student support specialists in high poverty schools, and CISNC's progress toward the development of additional PLCs or cooperative innovative high schools.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2014.