A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to create the north carolina collaborative school improvement pilot program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Purpose. – The Department of Public Instruction (Department) shall establish the North Carolina Collaborative School Improvement Pilot Program (pilot) as a three‑year pilot program that leverages independent school turnaround experts (turnaround experts) in a pay‑for‑performance model to provide direct support for low‑performing schools. The turnaround experts will focus on building capacity of existing school personnel to ensure that change is sustainable.
SECTION 2.  School selection. – By October 1, 2019, the Department shall select 10 schools identified as low‑performing under G.S. 115C‑105.37 (pilot schools) to participate in the pilot. The following shall apply to the selection of pilot schools:
(1)	Pilot schools shall include at least one elementary, middle, and high school.
(2)	Pilot schools shall be from diverse geographic areas around the State.
(3)	Pilot schools selected under this section shall operate with the same exemptions from statutes and rules as a charter school authorized under Article 14A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.
(4)	Pilot schools operated under this section remain under the control of the local board of education, and employees assigned to the school are employees of the local school administrative unit with the protections provided by Part 3 of Article 22 of this Chapter.
SECTION 3.  Responsibilities of local board of education. – A local board of education of a pilot school shall do the following:
a.	Prioritize funding and resources to the pilot school.
b.	Grant the school streamlined authority over staff, schedule, policies, budget, and academic programs to implement the school turnaround plan.
SECTION 4.  Selection of approved turnaround experts by Department of Public Instruction. – By October 2, 2019, the Department shall identify at least two turnaround experts from which a pilot school shall choose under Section 6 of this act. The Department shall identify experts that meet the following criteria:
(1)	Have a credible track record of improving student academic achievement in public schools with various demographic characteristics, such as low socioeconomic status, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency, as measured by statewide assessments.
(2)	Have experience designing, implementing, and evaluating data‑driven instructional systems in public schools.
(3)	Have experience coaching public school administrators and teachers on designing and implementing data‑driven school improvement plans.
(4)	Have experience collaborating with the various education entities that govern public schools.
(5)	Have experience delivering high‑quality professional development and coaching in instructional effectiveness to public school administrators and teachers.
(6)	Are willing to be compensated for professional services based on performance as described in subdivision (2) of Section 7 of this act.
(7)	Are willing to partner with any pilot school in the State, regardless of location.
SECTION 5.  School turnaround committee. – On or before December 1, 2019, the local board of education of a pilot school shall establish a school turnaround committee composed of the following members:
(1)	A member of the local board of education.
(2)	The school principal.
(3)	Three parents of students enrolled in the school appointed by the principal.
(4)	Two teachers at the school appointed by the principal.
(5)	Two teachers at the school appointed by the superintendent of the pilot school's local school administrative unit.
SECTION 6.  Selection of turnaround expert for a pilot school. – On or before February 1, 2020, a local board of education of a pilot school shall partner with the school turnaround committee to select a turnaround expert from the experts identified by the Department under Section 4 of this act. A local board of education shall not select a turnaround expert that is one of the following:
(1)	The local school administrative unit.
(2)	An employee of the local school administrative unit.
SECTION 7.  Turnaround expert contract. – When awarding a contract to a turnaround expert selected by a local board of education under Section 6 of this act, the Department shall ensure the following:
(1)	The Department shall develop specific criteria that pilot schools must meet in order to successfully exit the pilot program.
(2)	The contract shall require the following:
a.	The Department shall pay a turnaround expert no more than fifty percent (50%) of the expert's professional fees at the beginning of the turnaround expert's work for the pilot school.
b.	The Department shall pay the remainder of the turnaround expert's professional fees upon the turnaround expert successfully helping a pilot school meet exit criteria established by the Department under subdivision (1) of this section by the later of the following:
1.	June 30, 2022.
2.	An extension deadline granted under subdivision (3) of this section.
c.	The Department shall pay a range of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) to six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) per pilot school for the entirety of the pilot program.
(3)	The Department may extend the contract of a turnaround expert of a pilot school, provided that the following criteria are met:
a.	No additional compensation is provided beyond the terms of the initial contract.
b.	The pilot school petitions the Department for an extension to continue school improvement efforts.
c.	The extension is no more than two years.
d.	The pilot school has demonstrated at least fifty percent (50%) of the improvement necessary to exit the turnaround process.
(4)	The Department shall offer to the turnaround expert the following:
a.	Differentiated professional fees based on student enrollment.
b.	Higher professional fees for schools that are in the lowest performing one percent (1%) of schools statewide according to the school performance grades required by G.S. 115C‑83.15.
SECTION 8.  Duties of the turnaround expert. – A turnaround expert selected by a pilot school shall be responsible for the following:
(1)	Collecting and analyzing data on the school's student achievement, personnel, culture, curriculum, assessments, instructional practices, governance, leadership, finances, and policies.
(2)	Recommending changes to the school's culture, curriculum, assessments, instructional practices, governance, finances, policies, or other areas based on data collected under subdivision (1) of this section.
(3)	Developing and implementing, in partnership with the school turnaround committee, a school turnaround plan that meets the criteria described in Section 8 of this act.
(4)	Monitoring the effectiveness of a school turnaround plan through reliable means of evaluation, including on‑site visits, observations, surveys, analysis of student achievement data, and interviews.
(5)	Providing ongoing implementation support and project management for a school turnaround plan.
(6)	Providing high‑quality professional development and coaching personalized for school staff that is designed to build the:
a.	Leadership capacity of the school principal.
b.	Instructional capacity of school staff.
c.	Collaborative practices of teacher and leadership teams.
(7)	Providing job‑embedded professional learning and coaching for all instructional staff on a weekly basis at minimum.
(8)	Providing job‑embedded professional learning and coaching for the school principal at least twice monthly, focused on proven strategies to turn around schools in need of intervention that are aligned with the North Carolina Standards for School Executives.
(9)	Leveraging support from community partners to coordinate an efficient delivery of supports to students both inside and outside the classroom.
(10)	Providing quarterly progress reports to the Department of Public Instruction.
SECTION 9.  School turnaround plan. – The school turnaround committee, in consultation with the turnaround expert selected under Section 6 of this act, shall develop and implement a school turnaround plan, subject to the following requirements:
(1)	The school turnaround plan shall include the following:
a.	The findings of the analysis conducted by the turnaround expert described in subdivision (1) of Section 8 of this act.
b.	Recommendations regarding changes to the school's personnel, culture, curriculum, assessments, instructional practices, governance, leadership, finances, policies, or other areas that may be necessary to implement the school turnaround plan.
c.	Measurable student achievement goals and objectives.
d.	A professional development plan that identifies a strategy to address problems of instructional practice.
e.	A leadership development plan focused on proven strategies to turn around schools in need of intervention that align with the North Carolina Standards for School Executives.
f.	A detailed budget specifying how the school turnaround plan will be funded.
g.	A plan to assess and monitor progress.
h.	A plan to communicate and report data on progress to stakeholders.
i.	A timeline for implementation.
(2)	On or before June 15, 2020, a school turnaround committee shall submit the school turnaround plan to the local board of education for approval. If the local board of education does not approve the school turnaround plan submitted under this section, the school turnaround committee may appeal the disapproval in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education under subdivision (4) of this section.
(3)	On or before July 15, 2020, a local board of education of a pilot school shall submit the school turnaround plan to the Department for approval. If the Department does not approve the school turnaround plan submitted under this section, the local board of education may appeal the disapproval in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education under subdivision (4) of this section. The Department shall:
a.	Review a school turnaround plan submitted for approval under this subdivision within 30 days of submission.
b.	Approve a school turnaround plan that:
1.	Is timely.
2.	Is well‑developed.
3.	Meets the criteria described in subdivision (1) of this section.
(4)	The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to establish an appeals process for the following:
a.	A pilot school that is not granted approval from the school's local board of education under subdivision (2) of this section. The appeal must be resolved on or before July 15, 2020.
b.	A local board of education that is not granted approval from the Department under subdivision (3) of this section. The appeal must be resolved on or before August 15, 2020.
SECTION 10.  Consequences for failing to improve a pilot school. – The State Board of Education shall adopt rules that provide consequences for a pilot school that does not meet the exit criteria set by the Department under subdivision (1) of Section 7 of this act by the later of the following:
(1)	June 30, 2022.
(2)	The end of the school year in which the pilot school is granted an extension, if the pilot school has been granted an extension under subdivision (3) of Section 7 of this act.
SECTION 11.  Reporting requirements. –
(1)	Reporting requirements for the Department of Public Instruction. – Beginning on November 30, 2020, and annually thereafter until November 30, 2022, the Department shall report on the implementation of the pilot program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. At a minimum, the annual report shall include the following, when available:
a.	Information on implementation, administration, and funding for the pilot program.
b.	Student performance and accountability data for the most recent five years for each pilot school.
c.	Specific targets toward meeting exit criteria established under subdivision (3) of Section 7 of this act for each pilot school.
d.	Information on implementation of each pilot school's turnaround plan to date, including school personnel and turnaround expert actions.
(2)	Independent report. – The Department shall select an independent research organization to conduct a report on the longitudinal outcomes of the pilot program. The independent research organization shall issue an interim report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the results of its research by November 30, 2022, and a final report by November 30, 2025. At a minimum, the final report shall include the following:
a.	Analysis of student performance and accountability data before, during, and after completion of the pilot program.
b.	Identification of factors that influenced student performance and accountability data, and an analysis of the relative effect of each.
SECTION 12.  This act becomes effective only if funds are appropriated in the 2019‑2020 or 2020‑2021 fiscal years for the North Carolina Collaborative School Improvement Pilot Program established under this act.
SECTION 13.  This act is effective when it becomes law.