A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to codify the north carolina center for safer schools, TO require the establishment of threat assessment teams in public schools, to require peer to peer student COUNSELING programs for students, and to provide grants for peer to peer student counseling programs, as recommended by the house select committee on school safety.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑5 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(11)	The term "public school unit" means any of the following:
a.	Local school administrative unit.
b.	Charter school.
c.	Regional school.
d.	A school or schools providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by one of the following:
1.	Department of Public Instruction.
2.	The University of North Carolina.
3.	Department of Health and Human Services.
4.	Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety."
SECTION 2.  Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑105.75.  North Carolina Center for Safer Schools.
(a)	There is established the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools located within the Department of Public Instruction, referred to as the Center in this Article.
(b)	The Center shall be responsible for the following:
(1)	Serve as a resource and referral center for public schools by conducting research, sponsoring workshops, and providing information regarding current school safety concerns.
(2)	Provide training for public school personnel.
(3)	Maintain and disseminate information to public schools on effective school safety initiatives in North Carolina and across the nation.
(4)	Collect, analyze, and disseminate various North Carolina school safety data.
(5)	Encourage the development of partnerships between the public and private sectors to promote school safety in North Carolina.
(6)	Provide technical assistance to North Carolina public schools in the development and implementation of initiatives promoting school safety.
(7)	Develop model policies for threat assessment teams for public schools, including procedures for the assessment of and intervention with students whose behavior poses a threat to the safety of school staff or students. The Center shall consult with and involve the Task Force for Safer Schools and relevant State government agencies in development of the model policies.
(c)	The Center shall receive guidance and advice from the Task Force for Safer Schools.
(d)	The Center shall coordinate, collaborate, and seek information as necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities from State and local government agencies, who shall provide information upon request to the Center. These agencies include the following:
(1)	Department of Public Safety.
(2)	Department of Health and Human Services.
(3)	Department of Public Instruction.
(4)	North Carolina Justice Academy.
(5)	Governor's Crime Commission.
(6)	Local boards of education.
(7)	Local law enforcement agencies."
SECTION 3.  Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑105.76.  Threat assessment teams.
(a)	The local board of education of a local school administrative unit and the governing body of each public school unit shall adopt policies for the establishment of threat assessment teams, including the assessment of and intervention with students whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students consistent with the model policies developed by the Center in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.75. Such policies shall include procedures for referrals to health care providers for evaluation or treatment, when appropriate.
(b)	The superintendent may establish a committee charged with oversight of the threat assessment teams operating within the unit, which may be an existing committee established by the unit. The committee shall include individuals with expertise in human resources, education, school administration, mental health, and law enforcement.
(c)	Each superintendent shall establish, for each school, a threat assessment team that shall include persons with expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and law enforcement. Threat assessment teams may be established to serve one or more schools as determined by the superintendent. Each team shall do the following:
(1)	Provide guidance to students, faculty, and staff regarding recognition of threatening or aberrant behavior that may represent a threat to the community, school, or self.
(2)	Identify members of the school community to whom threatening behavior should be reported.
(3)	Implement policies adopted by the governing body pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(d)	Upon a preliminary determination that a student poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others, a threat assessment team shall immediately report its determination to the superintendent or the superintendent's designee. The superintendent or designee shall immediately attempt to notify the student's parent or legal guardian. The superintendent may delegate the responsibility for notification to the principal of the school and require notice to also be made directly to the principal. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude public school personnel from acting immediately to address an imminent threat.
(e)	Each threat assessment team established pursuant to this section shall report quantitative data on its activities to the Center for Safer Schools according to guidance developed by the Center.
(f)	Upon a preliminary determination by the threat assessment team that a student poses a threat of violence to self or others or exhibits significantly disruptive behavior or need for assistance, a threat assessment team may obtain criminal history record information and health records, subject to confidentiality, privacy, and other laws to ensure compliance. No member of a threat assessment team shall redisclose any criminal history record information or health information obtained pursuant to this section or otherwise use any record of an individual beyond the purpose for which such disclosure was made to the threat assessment team.
(g)	For purposes of this section, the term "superintendent" shall mean the superintendent of a local school administrative unit or the staff member with the highest decision-making authority for all other public school units."
SECTION 4.(a)  G.S. 115C‑47 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(64)	Peer to peer student counseling programs. – Local boards of education shall require peer to peer student mentoring, counseling, and support programs be established at all schools with grades six and higher and are encouraged to implement peer to peer mentoring, counseling, and support programs as appropriate in other grades."
SECTION 4.(b)  G.S. 115C‑316.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑316.1.  Duties of school counselors.
(a)	School counselors shall implement a comprehensive developmental school counseling program in their schools. Counselors shall spend at least eighty percent (80%) of their work time providing direct services to students. Direct services do not include the coordination of standardized testing. Direct services shall consist of:
(1)	Delivering the school guidance curriculum through large group guidance, interdisciplinary curriculum development, group activities, and parent workshops.
(2)	Guiding individual student planning through individual or small group assistance and individual or small group advisement.
(3)	Providing responsive services through consultation with students, families, and staff; individual and small group counseling; crisis counseling; referrals; and peer facilitation.
(4)	Performing other student services listed in the Department of Public Instruction school counselor job description that has been approved by the State Board of Education.
(b)	School counseling program support activities do not include the coordination of standardized testing. During the remainder of their work time, school counselors may assist other staff with the coordination of standardized testing.
(c)	School counselors, as part of the direct services provided in subsection (a) of this section, shall coordinate and provide training for students in peer to peer student mentoring, counseling, and support programs that address areas such as mental health, general health and wellness, and mentoring."
SECTION 5.  There is appropriated one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the Department of Public Instruction for one‑time grants to local school administrative units for training and materials for peer to peer student mentoring, counseling, and support programs in schools serving students in grades six and higher to be administered as follows:
(1)	The State Board of Education shall award grants to local school administrative units in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per school to be used for training and materials to implement or expand a peer to peer student mentoring, counseling, or support program that has been identified by the Center for Safer Schools as an evidence‑based peer to peer student program that addresses issues of mental health, general health and wellness, and mentoring. The Center for Safer Schools shall consult with the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Public Safety, as appropriate, in identifying the programs.
(2)	The State Board of Education shall award grants to applicants based on the following criteria in the order in which they are received.
a.	An initial grant may be for no more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) total per local school administrative unit. If funds remain after initial grants have been awarded, the State Board of Education may award a second round of grants using the same criteria as for the initial grants.
b.	Applications for grants from local school administrative units in Tier 1 counties shall be given priority in award of initial grants.
SECTION 6.  Section 5 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2018. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2018‑2019 school year.