A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify eligibility for extended teacher contracts.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑325.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑325.3.  Teacher contracts.
(a)	Length of Contract. – A contract between the local board of education and a teacher who has been employed by the local board of education for less than three years shall be for a term of one school year. A new contract or renewal of contract between the local board of education and a teacher who has been employed by the local board of education as a teacher for three years or more shall be for a term of one, two, or four school years. A local board of education may require by policy that the three years of employment be consecutive.
(a1)	Determination of Years of Employment. –
(1)	For purposes of determining whether a teacher has been employed for three years by a local board of education under this section, a year shall not be less than 120 workdays performed as a teacher in a full‑time permanent position.
(2)	If a local board of education requires by policy that the three years of employment be consecutive, the local board policy shall state that if the teacher in a full‑time permanent position did not work for at least 120 workdays as a teacher in a year because the teacher was on approved or legally entitled leave, that year shall not be (i) deemed to constitute a year of employment for the teacher nor (ii) be considered a break in the continuity of consecutive years of employment for the teacher. A suspension shall not constitute approved or legally entitled leave for the purposes of this section. Teachers may have additional rights to the extent required by the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 34 U.S.C. § 4301, et seq.
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SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to contracts executed on or after that date.