A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase successful participation in career and technical education coursework leading to industry certifications and credentials to enhance the employability of high school students by implementing a bonus program available to local school administrative units.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(41)	To Establish Career and Technical Education Incentives. – The State Board of Education shall establish, implement, and determine the impact of a career and technical education incentive program as provided under G.S. 115C‑156.2."
SECTION 1.(b)  Article 10 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑156.2.  Industry certifications and credentials program; Bonus Funds Program.
It is the intent of the State to encourage students to enroll in and successfully complete rigorous coursework and credentialing processes in career and technical education to enable success in the workplace. To attain this goal, to the extent funds are made available for this purpose, students shall be supported to earn approved industry certifications and credentials and local school administrative units shall receive bonuses for each student who earns an approved industry certification or credential. 
(1)	Students enrolled in public schools and in career and technical education courses shall be exempt from paying any fees for one administration of examinations leading to industry certifications and credentials pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
(2)	Bonus funds shall be awarded to local school administrative units in amounts provided under subdivision (4) of this section, pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of Education under this section. Each school year the State Board of Education shall make an award to those local school administrative units who have at least one student in one school having earned an industry‑recognized certification or credential that has been identified by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Commerce, as an occupation in high need of additional skilled employees at the time the student enrolled in a career and technical education course that leads to an industry certification or credential.
(3)	Bonus funds shall be used by local school administrative units to (i) collaborate with local industries and employers to meet workforce needs and (ii) award bonuses to teachers of students earning approved industry certifications or credentials. No teacher shall be awarded a bonus pursuant to this subdivision that exceeds two thousand dollars ($2,000) in any given school year. Direct instruction personnel bonuses shall be distributed as follows:
a.	A bonus in the amount of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) for each student taught by a teacher who provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of an industry certification with a two hundred fifty dollar ($250.00) value ranking.
b.	A bonus in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each student taught by a teacher who provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of an industry certification with a five hundred dollar ($500.00) value ranking.
(4)	The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Commerce, shall rank each industry certification based on academic rigor and employment value, and award five hundred dollars ($500.00) or two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) to the local school administrative unit per student completing the industry certification based upon ranking. If funds appropriated from the General Assembly for this purpose are insufficient to provide bonuses for each industry certification that has been achieved, then the State Board of Education shall prorate the bonus award amounts. Fifty percent (50%) of the ranking shall be based on academic rigor and the remaining fifty percent (50%) on employment value. Academic rigor and employment value shall be based on the following elements:
a.	Academic rigor shall be based on the number of instructional hours, including work experience or internship hours, required to earn the industry certification or credential, with a bonus given for coursework that also provides community college credit.
b.	Employment value shall be based on the entry wage, growth rate in employment for each occupational category, and average annual openings for the primary occupation linked with the industry certification or credential.
(5)	Each school year, at such time as agreed to by the Department of Commerce and the State Board of Education, the Department of Commerce shall provide the State Board of Education with a list of those occupations in high need of additional skilled employees. If the occupations identified in such list are not substantially the same as those occupations identified in the list from the prior year, reasonable notice of such changes shall be provided to local school administrative units.
(6)	Local school administrative units shall consult with their local industries, employers, and workforce development boards to identify industry certification and credentials that the local school administrative unit may offer to best meet State and local workforce needs."
SECTION 1.(c)  The State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by September 1 of each year beginning in 2014 on the number of students in career and technical education courses who earned (i) community college credit and (ii) related industry certifications and credentials. In 2015, the report shall also include the names of local school administrative units receiving bonus funds and the amount of bonus funds received by each local school administrative unit.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2013, and applies beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective only if the General Assembly appropriates funds to implement it in the amounts set out in Section 2 of this act for the 2013‑2015 fiscal biennium. If such funds are appropriated, this act becomes effective July 1, 2013, and applies beginning with the 2013‑2014 school year.