A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to transform educator preparation in this state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Purpose. – The purpose of this act is to create a positive transformational force for the quality of education that students receive in North Carolina public schools by recruiting, preparing, and supporting at least 1,000 extraordinary teachers every year for the State's hardest‑to‑staff schools and classrooms. Based upon research demonstrating the pivotal importance of highly effective teachers in preparing every North Carolina student for success in college and careers, the General Assembly recognizes that enrollment in the State's traditional and nontraditional teacher preparation programs has declined significantly in recent years, and that local school administrative units struggle in particular schools and subject areas to recruit the top talent students need, particularly in low‑wealth areas and in science, math, and special education. A crucial piece of providing an excellent educator for every student is a program dedicated to aggressive recruitment of top educator candidates, rigorous preparation, and incentives for teachers to serve in hard‑to‑staff schools and positions. The General Assembly firmly believes that one of the best ways to elevate educators and make the teaching profession more attractive to highly talented individuals is to significantly raise the bar on qualifications, including cognitive and noncognitive traits, required to enter educator preparation programs.
Further, the General Assembly supports the commitment by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina to improve the quality of Schools of Education within its constituent institutions, and is committed to furthering that work by targeting the State's financial support to top‑performing programs. To support these commitments, this act provides funds and guidelines to establish a recruitment and scholarship program for talented North Carolina high school students, college students, and working professionals to pursue rigorous training for service as teacher leaders in high‑need positions and schools in North Carolina.
SECTION 2.  Definitions. – For the purposes of this act, the following definitions apply:
(1)	Approved preparation program. – An educator preparation program at a community college as defined in G.S. 115D‑2(2), a constituent institution as defined in G.S. 116‑4, or an independent nonprofit educator preparation program that meets eligibility criteria developed by the State Education Assistance Authority (Authority), including evidence of success in preparing highly effective teachers for hard‑to‑staff schools and positions in North Carolina.
(2)	Eligible individual. – A senior enrolled in a North Carolina high school; a second‑year student enrolled in a community college as defined in G.S. 115D‑2(2) or a constituent institution as defined in G.S. 116‑4; or a working professional who is committed to teaching in North Carolina public schools.
(3)	Hard‑to‑staff school. – A public school, including a charter school, in North Carolina that appears on the State Board of Education's list of "hard‑to‑staff" schools developed in accordance with Section 5 of this act.
(4)	Hard‑to‑staff position. – Any grade level or subject area in North Carolina public schools that appears on the State Board of Education's list of "hard‑to‑staff" positions developed in accordance with Section 5 of this act.
SECTION 3.  Program Authorized. – The State Education Assistance Authority (Authority) shall recruit and award scholarship loans to eligible individuals who wish to enroll in an approved preparation program for demanding preparation to teach in a hard‑to‑staff school or position in a North Carolina public school. The program shall provide for multiple routes to enter teaching in North Carolina, such as traditional four‑year educator preparation programs, Masters of Arts in Teaching program, and alternative fast‑track preparation programs with a record of success in preparing highly effective teachers. Graduates of approved preparation programs under this act shall be eligible for North Carolina teaching licenses, alternative or traditional, pursuant to G.S. 115C‑296. The Authority shall focus on the following groups of individuals in recruiting participants for the program:
(1)	North Carolina high school seniors who wish to enroll in a traditional educator preparation program.
(2)	Students enrolled in a community college, as defined in G.S. 115D‑2(2), or a constituent institution, as defined in G.S. 116‑4, who are pursuing a degree in a hard‑to‑staff field.
(3)	Working professionals with expertise in hard‑to‑staff subject areas in North Carolina.
SECTION 4.  Eligibility Criteria. – The Authority shall establish eligibility criteria for the program as follows:
(1)	For eligible individuals. – Rigorous standards for awarding scholarship loans to eligible individuals within each group described in subdivisions (1) through (3) of Section 3 of this act, including scores on relevant career‑ and college‑readiness assessments, course Grade Point Averages (GPAs), experience, and accomplishments, as well as individual mindset, beliefs, and competencies positively correlated with future success helping all students succeed academically.
(2)	For approved preparation programs. – Rigorous standards for approved preparation programs to enroll scholarship recipients, including, but not limited to, the program's rating on the UNC Teacher Quality Dashboard, the impact that graduates of each teacher preparation program have on Pre‑K and K‑12 student learning, measures associated with national accreditation such as the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the strength of the program's residency component, and the program's prior success in preparing highly effective teachers for hard‑to‑staff schools and positions.
SECTION 5.  State Board of Education Identification of "Hard‑to‑Staff" Schools and Positions. – The State Board of Education shall on an annual basis identify "hard‑to‑staff schools" and "hard‑to‑staff positions" that shall govern eligible courses of study and placements for all scholarship recipients. In making those determinations, the State Board shall consider the following:
(1)	For "hard‑to‑staff schools," considerations shall include, at a minimum, the school's letter grade or grades on the North Carolina School Report Card, including the percentage of students at the school scoring below grade level on State standardized assessments and the percentage of students failing to meet expected academic growth; annual rates of teacher turnover; and the percentage of teachers at the school with provisional or temporary licenses.
(2)	For "hard‑to‑staff positions," considerations shall include, at a minimum, the number of available positions in a grade or subject relative to the number of anticipated teachers licensed in that grade or subject.
SECTION 6.  Application Process and List of Approved Preparation Programs. – The Authority shall establish an application process for scholarship loans no later than December 31, 2015, and shall determine the schedule for applications and scholarship awards on at least an annual basis thereafter. The Authority shall establish an initial list of approved preparation programs no later than December 31, 2015, and shall update the list on an annual basis thereafter.
SECTION 7.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2015‑2016 fiscal year and the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year to allocate to the Authority to implement the provisions of this act. The Authority may supplement State funds appropriated under this act with donations from foundations, corporations, individuals, or other sources. All funds appropriated to or otherwise received by the Authority for scholarships from sources other than State funds, all funds received as repayment of scholarship loans, and all interest earned on these funds, shall be deposited in the North Carolina Education Endowment Fund established pursuant to G.S. 115C‑472.16. Of the funds allocated to the Authority under this act, the Authority shall prioritize the use of funds as follows:
(1)	Recruitment. – The Authority shall develop and implement a proactive, aggressive and strategic recruitment plan for talented high school students, students enrolled in institutions of higher education, and working professionals across North Carolina that includes the following:
a.	Active engagement of educators, business leaders, senior human resources experts from North Carolina businesses, elected officials, and other community leaders in multiple regions of the State in the recruitment and selection process.
b.	Focus on attracting candidates who are working or pursuing a degree in a hard‑to‑staff field, such as science, technology, engineering and math, as well as candidates from minority backgrounds.
(2)	Scholarship loans. – The Authority shall award scholarship loans in the amount of eight thousand five hundred dollars ($8,500) per year for each year the recipient is enrolled in an approved preparation program.
(3)	Administration of the program. – The Authority may use up to two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) each fiscal year for administration of the program.
SECTION 8.  Loan Forgiveness. – The Authority shall forgive a scholarship loan if, within seven years after graduation, the recipient enters the teaching profession in a hard‑to‑staff school or position in North Carolina and remains in a hard‑to‑staff school or position for at least four years. However, the Authority shall not recall the loan if the hard‑to‑staff school or position no longer appears on the State Board of Education's list of "hard‑to‑staff" schools or "hard‑to‑staff" positions as provided for by Section 5 of this act after the recipient accepts that position. The Authority shall also forgive the loan if it finds that it is impossible for the recipient to teach for four years, within seven years after graduation, at a North Carolina public school because of the death or permanent disability of the recipient.
SECTION 9.  Reporting Requirements. – By August 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, the Authority shall submit a report to the General Assembly regarding the results of the scholarship program. In preparation of its report, the Authority shall work with scholarship recipients and eligible preparation programs as needed to enable the collection, analysis, and evaluation of at least the following relevant data, within necessary privacy constraints:
(1)	The percentage of scholarship recipients who are placed as teachers in hard‑to‑staff schools and positions in the State within two years.
(2)	The percentage of scholarship recipients who receive a rating of effective or above on the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation instrument.
(3)	Teacher turnover in general and in hard‑to‑staff positions and schools among scholarship recipients, by preparation program.
(4)	Student achievement growth and proficiency in classrooms taught by scholarship recipients.
SECTION 10.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2015.