GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2025

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 615

 

 

Short Title:      Enrollment Stability for Military Students.

(Public)

Sponsors:

Representatives Loftis, Potts, Lambeth, and Willis (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Referred to:

Homeland Security and Military and Veterans Affairs, if favorable, Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

April 1, 2025

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to provide military families additional time to provide proof of residency for public school enrollment.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑366(a9) reads as rewritten:

"(a9)    A student who is not a domiciliary of a local school administrative unit that resides with a parent or legal guardian that is on active military duty shall be permitted to register to enroll in the public schools of that unit by remote means, including electronic means, prior to commencement of the student's residency in the local school administrative unit if all of the following apply:subject to the following conditions:

(1)        To be eligible to register to enroll prior to becoming a domiciliary, all of the following conditions must be met:

a.         A parent or legal guardian is on active military duty and (i) is transferred or pending transfer pursuant to an official military order to a military installation or reservation in the State.State or (ii) is separating from active duty service within the next 12 months and intends to establish residency in the State.

(2)b.     Upon request by the local school administrative unit where the student seeks to register to enroll, a parent or legal guardian provides (i) a copy of the official military order transferring to a military installation or reservation located in the State.State or (ii) an official military document showing an anticipated date of separation. Each local school administrative unit may determine the document or documents sufficient to establish an anticipated date of separation so long as the document required is easily accessible by the parent or legal guardian.

(3)c.     A parent or legal guardian completes and submits the local school administrative unit's required enrollment forms and documentation, except that proof of residency and documentation related to disciplinary actions pursuant to G.S. 115C‑366(a4) shall not be required until the student transfers into the local school administrative unit, at which time they shall be required prior to commencing attendance.

(2)        Once registered to be enrolled, the following apply:

a.         A local school administrative unit shall make available to a student who registers to enroll pursuant to this subsection the same opportunities available to a student enrolled contemporaneously with domicilia, such as requesting or applying for school assignment, registering for courses, and applying for any other programs that require additional request or application.

b.         A student enrolled pursuant to this subsection may not attend school in the local school administrative unit until proof of residency is provided in accordance with the requirements of the local school administrative unit.the later of (i) one year from the parent or legal guardian's reporting‑for‑duty or separation date or (ii) the end of the school year in which the student began attending the school. The parent or legal guardian shall provide proof of residency before the expiration of the allotted period of attendance provided in this sub‑subdivision.

c.         If a student begins attending a school pursuant to this subsection in grade 11 or 12, the local school administrative unit shall extend the period of attendance allowed under sub‑subdivision b. of this subdivision to allow the student to attend the school through high school graduation.

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to curtail a local school administrative unit's authority pursuant to G.S. 115C‑366(a5)."

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2025‑2026 school year.