A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require that students who complete high school are career‑ and college‑ready.
Whereas, a study by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University found that students who enter college underprepared and requiring remediation are much less likely to graduate than those who test at college‑ready levels and that students who enter college underprepared and requiring remediation frequently do not enroll in classes of any kind; and
Whereas, of those students in 2013 who graduated from high school and immediately enrolled in a North Carolina community college, 52% were required to take one or more remedial courses at the community college, including 41% who were required to take a remedial mathematics course and 36% who were required to take a remedial reading and English course; and
Whereas, reducing the need for remediation reduces the impact that being underprepared has on students who are dependent on financial aid and helps remove barriers to completion of college programs; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  The State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall develop a program for implementation in the 2016‑2017 school year that introduces the college developmental mathematics and developmental reading and English curriculums in the high school senior year and provide opportunities for college remediation for students prior to high school graduation through cooperation with community college partners. Students who are enrolled in the Occupational Course of Study to receive their high school diplomas shall not be required to participate in the program or be required to take mandatory remedial courses as provided for in this section, unless a parent specifically requests through the individualized education program (IEP) process that the student participates. The program shall require the following:
(1)	Establishment by the State Board of Community Colleges of measures for determining student readiness and preparation for college coursework by using ACT scores, student grade point averages, or other measures currently used by the State Board of Community Colleges to determine college readiness for entering students.
(2)	Changes in curriculum, policy, and rules as needed by the State Board of Community Colleges and State Board of Education to make remedial courses mandatory for students who do not meet readiness indicators by their junior year to ensure college readiness prior to high school graduation. These changes shall include the flexibility for students to fulfill senior mathematics and English graduation requirements through enrollment in mandatory remedial courses or to enroll in those courses as electives.
(3)	High schools to use curriculum approved by the State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the State Board of Education.
(4)	Determinations by the State Board of Community Colleges on the following:
a.	Appropriate measures of successful completion of the remedial courses to ensure students are prepared for coursework at a North Carolina community college without need for further remediation in mathematics or reading and English.
b.	The length of time following high school graduation in which a student who successfully completed high school remedial courses will not be required to enroll in developmental courses at a North Carolina community college.
(5)	Delivery of remedial courses by high school faculty consistent with policies adopted by the State Board of Community Colleges and the State Board of Education. The policies shall include, at a minimum, the following requirements:
a.	High school faculty teaching the approved remedial courses must successfully complete training requirements as determined by the State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the State Board of Education.
b.	The North Carolina Community College System shall provide oversight of the remedial courses to ensure appropriate instructional delivery.
SECTION 1.(b)  The State Board of Community Colleges and the State Board of Education shall report on progress of implementation of the program statewide, including the requirements in subsection (a) of this section, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than January 15, 2016.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.