A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to broaden successful participation by students in advanced courses to help eliminate ACHIEVEMENT and access gaps and to create performance incentives for schools and teachers for student excellence in advanced courses.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑12(9)c1. reads as rewritten:
"c1.	To issue an annual "report card" for the State and for each local school administrative unit, assessing each unit's efforts to improve student performance based on the growth in performance of the students in each school and taking into account progress over the previous years' level of performance and the State's performance in comparison with other states. This assessment shall take into account factors that have been shown to affect student performance and that the State Board considers relevant to assess the State's efforts to improve student performance. As a part of the annual "report card" for each local school administrative unit, the State Board shall award an overall numerical school performance score on a scale of zero to 100 and a corresponding letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F earned by each school within the local school administrative unit. The school performance score and grade shall reflect student performance on annual subject‑specific assessments, college and workplace readiness measures, and graduation rates. For schools serving students in any grade from kindergarten to eighth grade, separate performance scores and grades shall also be awarded based on the school performance in reading and mathematics respectively. The annual "report card" for schools serving students in third grade also shall include the number and percentage of third grade students who (i) take and pass the alternative assessment of reading comprehension; (ii) were retained in third grade for not demonstrating reading proficiency as indicated in G.S. 115C‑83.7(a); and (iii) were exempt from mandatory third grade retention by category of exemption as listed in G.S. 115C‑83.7(b). The annual "report card" shall also include measures of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme participation and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examination participation and performance."
SECTION 2.  Article 8 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑83.4A.  Advanced courses.
(a)	It is the intent of the State to enhance accessibility and encourage students to enroll in and successfully complete more rigorous advanced courses to enable success in postsecondary education for all students. For the purpose of this section, an advanced course is an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme course. To attain this goal, to the extent funds are made available for this purpose, the following shall be provided:
(1)	Students enrolled in public schools shall be exempt from paying any fees for administration of examinations for advanced courses and registration fees in which the student is enrolled regardless of the score the student achieves on an examination.
(2)	Bonuses shall be awarded to teachers of Advanced Placement courses for students who earn scores of three or higher on Advanced Placement examinations and for teachers of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses who score four or higher on International Baccalaureate examinations.
(b)	Eligible secondary students shall be encouraged to enroll in advanced courses to expose them to more rigorous coursework while still in secondary school. Successfully completing advanced courses will increase the quality and level of students' preparation for postsecondary career paths and their pursuit of higher education.
(c)	The results of student diagnostic tests administered pursuant to G.S. 115C‑174.18 and G.S. 115C‑174.22, such as the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) and ACT, shall be used to identify students who are prepared or who need additional work to be prepared to enroll and be successful in advanced courses.
(d)	Local boards of education shall provide information to students and parents on available opportunities and the enrollment process for students to take advanced courses. The information shall explain the value of advanced courses in preparing students for postsecondary level coursework, enabling students to gain access to postsecondary opportunities, and qualifying for scholarships and other financial aid opportunities.
(e)	Local boards of education shall ensure that all high school students have access to advanced courses in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Such access may be provided through enrollment in courses offered through or approved by the North Carolina Virtual Public School.
(f)	The State Board of Education shall ensure that professional development is made available to enable teachers of advanced courses to have the necessary content knowledge and instructional skills to prepare students for success on an advanced course examination and mastery of postsecondary course content.
(g)	The State Board of Education shall seek partners, such as the College Board, to form the North Carolina Advanced Course Partnership to assist in improving college readiness of secondary students and to assist secondary schools to ensure that all students have access to high‑quality, rigorous academics with a focus on access to advanced courses. The Partnership shall do the following:
(1)	Provide professional development to enable teachers of advanced courses to have the necessary content knowledge, instructional skills, and materials to prepare students for success on advanced courses and examinations and mastery of postsecondary course content.
(2)	Provide administrators, including principals and counselors, with professional development that will enable them to create strong and effective advanced course programs in their schools.
(3)	Provide teachers of students in grades seven through 12 with preadvanced course professional development and materials that prepare students for success in advanced courses.
(4)	Provide consulting expertise and technical assistance to support implementation.
(5)	Prioritize assistance to schools designated as low‑performing by the State Board of Education."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑174.18 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑174.18.  Opportunity to take Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Every student in the eighth through tenth grades who has completed Algebra I or who is in the last month of Algebra I shall be given an opportunity to take a version of the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) one time at State expense."
SECTION 4.(a)  For the purposes of this section, the term "advanced courses" means an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme course. The State Board of Education shall use funds appropriated in this act to do the following:
(1)	Provide incentive funding to local school administrative units to be distributed to teachers of advanced courses as follows:
a.	A bonus in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each student taught by an advanced course teacher in each advanced course who receives the following score:
1.	For Advanced Placement courses, a score of three or higher on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination.
2.	For International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses, a score of four or higher on the International Baccalaureate course examination.
b.	An additional bonus of five hundred dollars ($500.00) to each advanced course teacher who teaches in a school identified as low‑performing under G.S. 115C‑105.37 by the State Board of Education and who is eligible to receive a bonus under sub‑subdivision a. of this section. The teacher shall be eligible to receive the additional bonus regardless of the number of classes taught or the number of students receiving scores which make the teacher eligible to receive a bonus under sub‑subdivision a. of this section.
c.	No teacher shall be awarded a bonus pursuant to this subdivision that exceeds two thousand dollars ($2,000) in any given school year. The bonus awarded to a teacher pursuant to this subdivision shall be in addition to any regular wage or other bonus the teacher receives or is scheduled to receive.
(2)	Provide funds to local school administrative units to pay testing fees for advanced courses for all students.
(3)	Provide funds to North Carolina Advanced Course Partnership for professional development for teachers of advanced courses.
SECTION 4.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of fourteen million seven hundred sixty thousand six hundred nine dollars ($14,760,609) for the 2013‑2014 fiscal year and the sum of fifteen million eight hundred two thousand eight hundred dollars ($15,802,800) for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year. Of the amount appropriated, ten million forty‑six thousand one hundred thirty dollars ($10,046,130) for the 2013‑2014 fiscal year and the sum of ten million eight hundred thirty‑one thousand one hundred eighty‑four dollars ($10,831,184) for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year shall be used each year to fund fees for testing in advanced courses, three million two hundred fourteen thousand four hundred seventy‑nine dollars ($3,214,479) for the 2013‑2014 fiscal year and the sum of three million four hundred seventy‑one thousand six hundred sixteen dollars ($3,471,616) for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year shall be used for teacher bonuses, and one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) for each fiscal year shall be used by the North Carolina Advanced Course Partnership for professional development for teachers of advanced courses. Funding appropriated for professional development may be used by the State Board of Education to contract with an independent evaluator to assess the implementation and impact of advanced course programs in North Carolina.
SECTION 5.  For the purposes of this section, the term "advanced courses" means an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme course. The State Board of Education shall report annually beginning July 1, 2014, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on advanced courses in North Carolina. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following information:
(1)	Number of students enrolled in advanced courses and participating in advanced course examinations, including demographic information by gender, race, and free and reduced lunch status.
(2)	Student performance on advanced course examinations, including information by course, local school administrative unit, and school.
(3)	Number of students participating in 10th grade PSAT/NMSQT testing.
(4)	Number of teachers attending summer institutes offered by the North Carolina Advanced Course Partnership.
(5)	Number and distribution of teachers awarded bonuses for student advanced course examination performance.
(6)	Distribution of funding appropriated for advanced course testing fees, bonuses, and professional development by local school administrative unit and school.
(7)	Status and efforts of the North Carolina Advanced Course Partnership.
(8)	Other trends in advanced courses and examinations.
SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2013, and applies beginning with the 2013‑2014 school year.