A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish the special education charter school pilot program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The State Board of Education shall establish a three‑year Special Education Charter School Pilot Program (Pilot Program). The State Board of Education shall select one charter school located within Wake County that has been approved by the State Board under G.S. 115C‑218.5 for the enrollment of students beginning with the 2014‑2015 school year to provide the educational services and programming for the Pilot Program. The purpose of the Pilot Program is to provide additional options for students with disabilities to access effective instructional programs and individualized learning opportunities designed to enable all students to succeed.
SECTION 2.  To be eligible to participate in the Pilot Program, the charter school's enrollment shall include eighty percent (80%) or more of students with disabilities. The charter school, its affiliated charter management organization, or its education management organization must be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as an indicator of quality instructional programming. All teachers employed by the charter school participating in the Pilot Program shall be licensed teachers under G.S. 115C‑296.
SECTION 3.  The charter school participating in the Pilot Program shall develop and implement an alternative accountability model that meets the guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education for alternative learning programs under G.S. 115C‑12(24).
SECTION 4.  For the charter school participating in the Pilot Program, the allotments and adjustments shall be made as provided in G.S. 115C‑218.105. In addition, after the first 60 days of the school year, the charter school shall receive two thousand dollars ($2,000) per student for up to 100 students enrolled in the charter school.
SECTION 5.  Existing charter schools meeting the criteria as provided in this act may apply to participate in the Pilot Program starting with the 2015‑2016 school year no later than July 1, 2015. The State Board of Education shall select by August 1, 2015, the participant for the Pilot Program for the 2015‑2016 through 2017‑2018 school years.
SECTION 6.  The State Board of Education and the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board shall jointly submit an interim report by March 15, 2016, and a final report by November 15, 2018, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the outcomes of the Pilot Program, including the number of students with disabilities enrolled in the school and the results of the alternative accountability model. The report shall also include any recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and the efficiency of the Pilot Program funding and accountability models.
SECTION 7.  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall provide an interim report to the 2016 Regular Session of the 2015 General Assembly on necessary legislation to transition the Pilot Program into alternative charter schools serving students with disabilities. The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall make a final report on recommendations regarding the Pilot Program and its outcomes to the 2019 General Assembly.
SECTION 8.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for the 2015‑2016 fiscal year and the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year to provide additional funding for students under the Pilot Program established by this act.
SECTION 9.  Section 8 of this act is effective July 1, 2015. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. The Pilot Program shall begin with the 2015‑2016 school year and shall conclude at the end of the 2017‑2018 school year.