A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize Local alternative teacher Preparation Programs.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. LOCAL ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS
SECTION 1.1.(a)  Purpose. – The State Board of Education shall establish a request for proposal (RFP) for up to five local alternative teacher preparation programs (LATP programs) administered by local boards of education to prepare, support, and recommend initially licensed lateral entry teachers for continuing licensure. 
SECTION 1.1.(b)  Request for Proposals. – By September 15, 2016, the State Board of Education shall issue a request for proposal (RFP) to local boards of education. The RFP shall include the following criteria:
(1)	Program of study requirements. – At a minimum, the LATP program shall provide 150 contact hours of appropriate pedagogy and content for continued licensure in the initially licensed teacher's area of licensure that is comparable to the quality of instruction required for a traditional teacher preparation program, as provided in G.S. 115C‑296.10. Local boards of education shall include evidence of relevant partnerships with institutions of higher education, including community colleges, private two‑year colleges, and public or private colleges or universities.
(2)	Mentoring and support requirements. – At a minimum, the LATP program shall provide 150 contact hours with mentor teachers, classroom coaching, and periodic evaluations with timely feedback to each individual in the program over the initially licensed teacher's first year of employment.
(3)	Minimum program size. – The LATP program shall be administrated by a local board of education with a minimum student population of 20,000 or higher, or by a coalition of local boards of education that together have a minimum student population of 20,000 or higher.
Local boards of education shall submit their proposals by January 6, 2017. Proposals may be submitted by individual local boards of education or by coalitions of multiple local boards of education. Proposals shall contained detailed information on the estimated costs, including a cost per teacher participant and anticipated funding sources for operation of the program.
SECTION 1.1.(c)  Selection by State Board of Education. – By March 15, 2017, the State Board of Education shall review the proposals submitted by local boards of education and shall select up to five proposals for approval based on program quality, viability, and use of evidence‑based principles in program design.
SECTION 1.1.(d)  Program Implementation. – The selected LAPT programs shall be implemented beginning with the 2017‑2018 school year and ending with the 2021‑2022 school year. The local board or boards of education for each selected LAPT program shall provide any requested information and access to the independent research organization selected by the State Board of Education to evaluate the programs.
SECTION 1.1.(e)  Program Continuation. – The selected LAPT programs shall meet the following annual benchmark standards:
(1)	A program shall have a completion rate of no less than seventy percent (70%) of initial enrollees.
(2)	A program shall provide the minimum contact hour requirements and other program elements contained in the proposal approved by the State Board of Education.
(3)	A program shall demonstrate an increase in retention of lateral entry teachers over the previous year's retention rate.
(4)	A program shall be fully financed by the local board of education, based on the per teacher cost estimate contained in the proposal approved by the State Board of Education. Funding may be through public or private funds, as available.
A program that fails to meet any of the benchmark standards shall be terminated and shall not be continued in the following school year.
SECTION 1.1.(f)  LAPT Program Evaluation. – The State Board of Education shall contract with an independent research organization to evaluate how the LAPT programs have accomplished, at a minimum, the following:
(1)	Recruitment of lateral entry teachers into the classroom.
(2)	Retention rates for lateral entry teachers beyond initial licensure.
(3)	Quality of classroom instruction by lateral entry teachers prepared through the LAPT program as compared to those prepared by traditional teacher education programs.
The independent research organization shall also evaluate the following:
(4)	Teacher vacancy rates in local school administrative units participating in the LAPT program as compared to similarly situated local school administrative units.
(5)	Funding mechanisms used to support the LAPT program, including sources and stability of funding.
(6)	Recommendations regarding the continuation, expansion, or elimination of LAPT programs.
The independent research organization shall report annually beginning October 15, 2017, on progress of the LAPT programs. The independent research organization shall submit an initial report no later than October 15, 2020, to the State Board of Education on the implementation and evaluation of the LAPT program, and shall submit a final report no later than October 15, 2022, to the State Board of Education on all aspects of the implementation and evaluation of the LAPT program. The State Board of Education shall provide the report by December 15 annually to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee until 2022.
SECTION 1.2.  The Department of Public Instruction shall issue a license to all individuals who (i) successfully complete LAPT programs; (ii) are recommended by the local board of education; and (iii) otherwise meet licensure requirements.
SECTION 1.3.  If an initially licensed lateral entry teacher leaves a local board of education with a LAPT program before completing the program and is hired to teach by another local board of education in the State, that teacher shall receive credit for any work successfully completed as part of the program.
SECTION 1.4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year for administration of the LAPT program and evaluation by an independent research organization.
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.