A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for a Dropout prevention and recovery pilot program for local boards of education and charter schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  S.L. 2011‑259 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 1.  The State Board of Education shall implement a Dropout Prevention and Recovery Pilot Program in New Hanover County Schools and three other local school administrative units selected by the State Board of Education. The State Board shall also select four charter schools approved by the State Board under G.S.115C‑238.29D, at least one of which shall be located in Mecklenburg County, to establish Dropout Prevention and Recovery Pilot Programs. The purpose of the pilot program is to reengage students and increase the graduation rates in North Carolina through an educational program that provides flexible scheduling and a blended learning environment with individualized and self‑paced learning options.
"SECTION 2.  Under the pilot program, the educational services and programming shall be provided by an education partner that is a nonprofit or for‑profit entity approved by the State Board of Education. The local school administrative units and charter schools shall be responsible for reporting enrollment to the Department of Public Instruction, working with the education partner to align graduation requirements, and issuing diplomas to those students in the program who complete the necessary graduation requirements. The participating schools shall be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as an indicator of quality instructional programming.
"SECTION 3.  The pilot program shall provide at least the following:
(1)	Facilities that are easily accessible to the students being served.
(2)	Flexible scheduling, including at least two different program schedules.
(3)	Differentiated instruction that shall include individualized, group, and online instructional components.
(4)	The capacity for assessing, recording, and responding to the students' academic progress on a daily basis using assessments that are aligned with State and local standards and requirements.
(5)	A focus on serving a defined population of at‑risk students who have dropped out or are likely to drop out of school in the foreseeable future without some type of intervention.
(6)	Support services, including social workers and crisis intervention professionals who are trained to assist students in removing barriers to attending school and graduating.
(7)	Instructional models that are self‑paced and mastery‑based.
(8)	Individualized graduation plans to guide students to graduation with a standard high school diploma.
"SECTION 4.  Before the State Board of Education approves an applicant as an education partner, the applicant must demonstrate the following:
(1)	A history providing dropout recovery services to high school students in charter or noncharter public schools.
(2)	At least two years of relevant experience operating and providing services to brick‑and‑mortar public schools.
(3)	At least two years of relevant experience providing comprehensive online learning programs.
(4)	Relevant experience serving diverse student populations, including socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
(5)	An explanation of the steps taken by the applicant to ensure that its proposed instructional content is aligned with State standards.
(6)	A plan for the recruitment and hiring of State‑certified teachers, including hiring criteria.
(7)	A plan for the recruitment and hiring of qualified administrators, including hiring criteria.
(8)	A detailed description of the applicant's plan to work with the participating local school administrative units, charter schools, and the State Board of Education to identify students who need to be served, to reengage those students, and to provide alternative education options for students at risk of dropping out. Students at risk of dropping out from their current schools may be transferred into the pilot program.
(9)	An operational plan that includes the following:
a.	The number and physical location of proposed sites and a list of the equipment required.
b.	A proposed program calendar and daily schedule and an explanation of how the calendar and schedule meet the needs of prospective students. The schedule must include at least four hours per school day of on‑site learning at a physical location.
c.	The student‑to‑teacher ratio.
d.	A description of each of the instructional methods to be used and number of hours per day for each method.
e.	A plan for differentiated instruction that must include individualized, group, and online instructional components.
f.	Capacity for assessing, recording, and responding to students' academic progress on a daily basis using standards‑aligned assessments.
g.	A detailed one‑year budget.
h.	A system of competency‑based credit.
i.	A plan for aggregation and reporting of student performance data and reporting of financial activity.
"
"SECTION 5A.  Data to inform student performance evaluation shall be gathered and analyzed by the pilot program provider according to State Board of Education policies on the accountability model provided for alternative learning programs. This data shall be used by the State Board of Education to (i) report on the success of the pilot program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and (ii) make continuation funding decisions about the pilot program.
"SECTION 6.  A student attending the pilot program shall be enrolled as a student of the resident local school administrative unit or charter school. The student shall be included in the ADM of that unit or charter school. The resident local school administrative unit or charter schools shall retain five percent (5%) of the total per pupil funding for the student to cover administrative costs and shall remit payment to the education partner of the remaining ninety‑five percent (95%) within 15 days of receiving payment from the Department of Public Instruction.
The State Board shall provide from funds available in the ADM Contingency Reserve an additional per pupil funding allotment to local school administrative units to transfer schools participating in the pilot program, or to charter schools participating in the program that demonstrate that the average daily membership is at least thirty percent (30%) higher than the average daily membership of the first month of the school year. The additional allotment shall be made on a nondiscretionary basis and shall be based on December average daily membership.
If the State Board does not have sufficient resources in the ADM Contingency Reserve line item to make all allotment adjustments in accordance with this section, the State Board of Education may use funds appropriated to the State Aid for Public Schools for this purpose.
"SECTION 7.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State Board of Education shall authorize participating local school administrative units and charter schools to implement flexible attendance requirements for students participating in the pilot program due to the flexible scheduling and online portions of the pilot program.
"SECTION 8.  The pilot program shall be operated through the State Board of Education, a charter school authorized by the State Board, or as a program of the contracting local school administrative unit.  The pilot program may be an alternative school within the local school administrative unit.
"SECTION 9.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2013."
SECTION 2.  The State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the implementation and success of the pilot programs on or before March 15, 2014.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Board of Education the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in recurring funds to provide additional funds for the ADM Contingency Reserve.
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to schools selected by the State Board of Education on or after July 1, 2013.