A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to provide additional professional development COURSES for teachers.
Whereas, teacher effectiveness is the most important factor in delivering positive student outcomes; and
Whereas, the State of North Carolina is committed to reaching as many teachers as possible with high‑quality and cost‑effective professional development to increase teacher effectiveness; and
Whereas, online learning allows resources to stretch further through the ability to scale. Online learning reaches a large number of teachers and results in travel savings, reduced substitute teacher pay, and other benefits. Online learning allows teachers to stay in their classrooms while they learn new skills to improve student achievement; and
Whereas, strategically and systematically designed online professional development courses can offer unique benefits to teachers, including flexibility and convenience, broad access to information and learning opportunities, and the opportunity to interact with peers across the State; and
Whereas, the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) is nationally recognized and the second‑largest state‑led virtual school in the nation. NCVPS delivers supplements to middle and high school course catalogs and serves the professional development needs of North Carolina's teachers; and
Whereas, the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) focuses on providing North Carolina's teachers with high‑quality professional development to serve teachers in all 115 local school administrative units; and
Whereas, NCVPS and NCCAT, in partnership, provide North Carolina teachers with a rich suite of professional development options. NCVPS has the infrastructure and the skill set to design and deploy online courses in a variety of formats. NCCAT understands the learning needs of North Carolina's teachers and provides high‑quality content targeted at those needs; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(47)	Professional Development Courses. – The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission, shall offer at least five professional development courses for teachers in local school administrative units. Each course shall be based on at least one of the following three instructional models:
a.	Online, instructor‑led learning. – An online, instructor‑led course taken and accessed at a predetermined pace. The instructor shall provide individualized feedback, and enrollment shall be limited to between 25 and 35 teachers.
b.	Blended course. – A course taken and accessed at a predetermined pace that is delivered partially online and partially in person.
c.	Self‑paced course. – An online, instructor‑led course that is taken and accessed at the pace of the participant."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the following amounts in the following years to develop and implement the professional development courses required by this act, including costs for on‑site equipment and personnel, registrations, technical support, and hosting fees:
Appropriation	Fiscal Year
$150,620 in recurring funds	2019‑2020
$86,000 in nonrecurring funds	

$274,930 in total recurring funds	2020‑2021
$90,000 in nonrecurring funds.	
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.