A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the constitution OF NORTH CAROLINA to simplify the management of public PRIMARY and secondary education by providing for a secretary of education to replace the current system of a superintendent of public instruction and a state board of education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Section 4 of Article IX of the Constitution of North Carolina is repealed.
SECTION 1.(b)  Section 5 of Article IX of the Constitution of North Carolina reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 5. Powers and duties of Department of Education.
There is established within the Executive Branch a Department of Education which shall supervise and administer the free public school system and the educational funds provided for its support, except the funds mentioned in Section 7 of this Article, and shall make all needed rules and regulations in relation thereto, subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly. The head of the Department of Education shall be appointed by the Governor in accordance with law subject to confirmation by joint resolution of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the filling of temporary vacancies in that position."
SECTION 1.(c)  Section 7(1) of Article III of the Constitution of North Carolina reads as rewritten:
"(1)	Officers. A Secretary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer an Attorney General, a Commissioner of Agriculture, a Commissioner of Labor, and a Commissioner of Insurance shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State in 1972 and every four years thereafter, at the same time and places as members of the General Assembly are elected. Their term of office shall be four years and shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified."
SECTION 2.(a)  The amendments set out in Section 1 of this act shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at a statewide election to be held at the time of the 2016 North Carolina presidential preference primary, as provided in G.S. 163‑213.2, which election shall be conducted under the laws then governing elections in the State. Ballots, voting systems, or both may be used in accordance with Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.

The question to be used in the voting systems and ballots shall be:
"[ ] FOR	[ ] AGAINST
Constitutional amendment providing for a more efficient system of management of public education by providing for a Department of Education, which shall be headed by a person appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, and by abolishing the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction."
SECTION 2.(b)  If a majority of the votes cast on the question are in favor of the amendments set out in Section 1 of this act, the State Board of Elections shall certify the amendments to the Secretary of State, who shall enroll the amendments so certified among the permanent records of that office.
SECTION 2.(c)  If the amendments are approved by the qualified voters as provided in this section:
(1)	Section 1 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2017.
(2)	The terms of all members of the State Board of Education that would expire between certification of the amendment and December 31, 2016, are extended until January 1, 2017.
(3)	No general election for Superintendent of Public Instruction shall take place in 2016.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.