A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for procedures to decrease the burden on military spouses in obtaining nc teacher licenses.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑296 is amended by adding new subsections to read:
"(a4)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a1) of this section, an out‑of‑state applicant who holds a teacher license from another state shall be exempt from testing requirements established by the State Board of Education for an initial bachelor's degree license or graduate degree license if the out‑of‑state applicant meets all other requirements for licensure in North Carolina and demonstrates that the teacher has at least three years of teaching experience in the five years prior to submitting the application and has received satisfactory performance evaluations and met expectations of student growth in the field of licensure in the three most recent years of teaching.
(a5)	The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to expedite the processing of licensure applications submitted by military spouses who meet the requirements of G.S. 93B‑15.1, including prioritizing those applications over other applications submitted for licensure. Notwithstanding G.S. 93B‑15.1(f), a military spouse who holds a teacher license in another jurisdiction whose licensure requirements are not substantially equivalent or exceeding the licensure requirements of North Carolina but otherwise meets the requirements of G.S. 93B‑15.1(b) shall be eligible for a temporary license of two years while the applicant satisfies the requirements for a North Carolina teacher license."
SECTION 2.(a)  By October 15, 2017, the State Board of Education shall develop procedures for Regional Alternative Licensing Centers (RALCs) and approved educator preparation programs to efficiently evaluate and advise military spouses applying for a lateral entry teaching license, including expediting the evaluation process and addressing obstacles to licensure for military spouses. To assist a military spouse applicant in meeting the requirements for a North Carolina teaching license, the State Board shall require any RALC or educator preparation program evaluating a military spouse who was granted a three‑year initial teaching license under G.S. 115C‑296.12, but was not employed continuously for the three‑year licensure period due to a deployment or reassignment of the applicant's spouse, to contact any other RALCs or educator preparation programs that previously evaluated the military spouse to obtain relevant documentation or information for licensure.
SECTION 2.(b)  By November 15, 2017, the State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the procedures developed for RALCs and educator preparation programs in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to applications for teacher licensure submitted on or after that date.