NCSBA Legislative Update – June 21, 2019

NCSBA Legislative Update – June 21, 2019

This Week at the Legislature

NCSBA is still working hard to combat a Senate budget provision (Section 7.48, pg. 56) that would allow county commissioners to take away the voice of local school boards in budget negotiations. The following video illustrates and describes the negative effects that this budget provision would have on the students that you serve.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Please share this video with your contacts and encourage them to reach out to your legislators about this pressing issue.

Click here to see House representation by county.

Click her to see Senate representation by county.

Click here to read an article that further explains the Senate budget provision.

State budget negotiations are in their waning days. The Education K-12 portion is one the last pieces of the puzzle to get resolved. Unresolved issues are now being negotiated between House Speaker Tim Moore and President Pro Tem Phil Berger. Speaker Moore told House members on Thursday that they can expect to vote on the compromise budget next week, before many members disperse for July 4th vacation. To see other key budget provisions that NCSBA is discussing with negotiators click here.

Education K-12 bills are still making their way through committees and floor votes. Below we have outlined the progress of many bills mentioned in last week’s update, as well as other bills that have resurfaced.

 

Movement of K-12 Education Bills

Bills Sent to the Governor

HB 57: Create Term for Public Schools & Codify NCVPS

  • Presented to the Governor on Friday, June 21
  • Primary Sponsors: Representatives Elmore, R-Wilkes; Johnson, R-Cabarrus; Horn, R-Union
  • Defines a public school unit as a local school administrative unit, a charter school, a regional school, or a school providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by the State Board of Education, such as innovative schools and schools for students with visual and hearing impairments, or the University of North Carolina, such as the NC School of the Arts high school, NC School of Science and Mathematics, and UNC Laboratory Schools
  • Codifies the NC Virtual Public School

 

Bills with House Action

HB 37: Child Sex Abuse/Extend Statute of Limitations

  • Passed the House 104-10 and referred to the Senate Rules committee
  • Primary Sponsors: Representatives Riddell, R-Alamance; White, R-Johnston; Torbett, R-Gaston; B. Turner, D-Buncombe
  • Requires two hours of training in even numbered years beginning in 2020 on child sex abuse and sex trafficking for teachers, instructional support personnel, principals, assistant principals, and other school personnel who work directly with students
  • Extends the statute of limitations for a civil action for child sexual abuse so that a plaintiff has until age 38 to commence an action

 

SB 219: Modify Teacher Licensing Requirements

Addresses the statewide teacher shortage by making it easier to recruit and retain full-time teachers.

  • Conference report adopted by the House 107-1 and awaiting an up or down vote in the Senate
  • Primary Sponsors: Senators McInnis, R-Richmond; Tillman, R-Randolph; Johnson, R-Union
  • The conference report combines SB 219 with HB 521: Transitional License/Teacher from Other State, which is sponsored by Representatives Clemmons, D-Guilford; Horn, R-Union; Riddell, R-Alamance; Gailliard, D-Nash.
  • Creates a three-year nonrenewable “limited license” for:
    • Individuals who were issued an initial professional license (IPL) but have not yet qualified for a continuing professional license (CPL)
    • Out-of-state applicants that do not have an IPL or a CPL, but have a current teacher license in good standing and at least three years of teaching experience
    • A military spouse who holds a current teaching license in another state
    • (An individual’s limited license can only be used in the LEA that requested it)
  • Provides a one-year IPL extension for elementary and special education teachers
  • Extends the timeframe to pass testing requirements for a CPL from two years to three years
  • Authorizes LEAs to determine experience credit for teachers from other states to pay them at the commensurate level on the State salary schedule during the first year of the license
  • Reduces the number of years required to get a lifetime teaching license from 50 years to 30 years
  • Authorizes emergency rulemaking by the State Board of Education to implement the requirements of the bill in accordance with its timeline (many teachers’ licenses are expiring on June 30, 2019)
  • Click here to read a News & Observer article that explains the effect that this bill has on teachers with expiring licenses

 

SB 227: TP3/Principal Fellows Consolidation

  • Passed the House 107-0 and returned to the Senate for concurrence
  • Primary Sponsor: Senator Tillman, R-Randolph
  • Maintains the existing administration of the Transforming Principal Preparation Program (TP3) for current grant recipients until 2021 (previously, the TP3 program was to be transferred to the control of the Principal Fellows Commission on July 1, 2019)
  • Merges the TP3 and the Principal Fellows Program on July 1, 2021 to become the North Carolina Principal Fellows and TP3 Commission
  • Click here to read a summary of the bill by the NC Association of School Administrators

 

SB 366: 10th Grade/College Transfer Pathways

  • Passed the House 108-0 and returned to the Senate for concurrence
  • Primary Sponsors: Senators McInnis, R-Richmond; B. Jackson, R-Sampson
  • Expands the career and technical education pathway for high school freshmen and sophomores to include business technologies courses (current law provides career and technical education pathways for high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors)
  • Modifies the college transfer pathway to include certain sophomores (the previous edition of the bill included freshmen – current law already includes juniors and seniors)
  • Requires that those sophomores receive academic advising on entering early college and get parental consent before participating in the pathway
  • Requires the SBE to include certain individuals as qualified to contract as adjunct instructors with LEAs for career and technical education programs

 

SB 391: Expand Youth Internship Opportunities

  • Approved by the House Education K-12 committee and referred to the House Commerce committee
  • Primary Sponsors: Senators Ballard, R-Watauga; Gunn, R-Alamance; Newton, R-Cabarrus
  • Provides a limited exception to the prohibition of 16-18-year-old students participating in supervised, practice experiences with employers in occupations declared by the Commissioner of Labor to be detrimental to the health and well-being of youth
  • The House Education K-12 committee approved changes that clarifiy that the Commissioner of Labor must make the required findings that would allow an eligible student to qualify for the exception

 

SB 392: Various Charter School Changes

  • Approved by the House Education K-12 committee and referred to the House Rules committee
  • Primary Sponsors: Senators Ballard, R-Watauga; Brown, R-Onslow; Newton, R-Cabarrus
  • Designates the Superintendent of Public Instruction as an applicable elected representative who may approve bonds to finance or refinance a charter school facility
  • The House Education K-12 committee approved changes that merged the bill with SB 522: Various Changes to Charter School Laws, which clarifies charter school renewal standards, requires background checks for charter boards of directors, and increases the cap on enrollment growth of virtual charter schools participating in the pilot program

 

SB 399: Rehire High-Need Teachers

  • Approved by the House Pensions and Retirement committee and referred to the House Rules committee
  • Primary Sponsors: Senators Horner, R-Nash; Berger, R-Rockingham; Chaudhuri, D-Wake
  • Allows teachers who retired on or before February 1, 2019 to return to work in high-need schools (Title I schools or schools with an overall school performance grade of D or F) without adversely impacting the retired teachers’ benefits
  • The House Pensions and Retirement committee approved changes to the bill that add language from Section 38.25(f)-(i) in the Senate version of the budget (HB966), which requires the following:
    • If the IRS determines that the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) would be jeopardized by allowing retired teachers to return to work in high-need schools while receiving retirement benefits, this act would be repealed 30 days from receipt of that determination
    • The State Treasurer would notify all LEAs of the repeal (and LEAs would notify all high-need retired teachers) and publicly post the information on the Department of the State Treasurer website
    • Any beneficiary employed by a LEA to teach as a high-need retired teacher would not be eligible to elect into a position that would lead him or her to be able to accrue any additional TSERS benefits

 

Bills with Senate Action

HB 362: 15-Point Scale for School Performance Grades

  • Will be heard in the Senate Education/Higher Education committee on Wednesday, June 26
  • Primary Sponsors: Representatives Horn, R-Union; Harris, D-Mecklenburg; Elmore, R-Wilkes; Autry, D-Mecklenburg
  • Makes the 15-point scale for school performance grades permanent

 

HB 411: Modify School Quality/Student Success Indicator

  • Approved by the Senate Rules committee and sent to the Senate floor
  • Primary Sponsors: Representatives Horn, R-Union; Corbin, R-Macon; Elmore, R-Wilkes; Johnson, R-Cabarrus
  • Combines the career and college readiness indicators used for school performance grades and for the purpose of compliance with federal law
  • The Senate Education/Higher Education committee changed the bill to include a requirement that the SBE include additional career and college readiness information on annual report cards – This additional information includes the percentage of high school students who achieved the minimum score required for admission into a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina on a nationally normed test of college readiness and the percentage of high school students enrolled in Career and Technical Education courses who score at Silver, Gold, or Platinum levels on a nationally normed test of workplace readiness

 

HB 924: Teacher Contract Changes

  • Passed the Senate 42-3 and placed on the House calendar for a concurrence vote on Monday, June 24
  • Primary Sponsors: Representatives D. Hall, R-Caldwell; Horn, R-Union
  • Clarifies eligibility for extended teacher contracts by defining a year of employment as not less than the standard 120 workdays performed as a teacher in a full-time permanent position (which had previously been the standard for career status)
  • The Senate amended the bill to include contents of SB 134: Economics & Financial Literacy Act, which establishes completion of an economics and personal finance course as a public high school graduation requirement – If the bill is sent to conference, it would be concerning this change
  • The following two News & Observer articles describe the potential impact that the financial literacy aspect of this bill could have on current high school courses

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article228987929.html

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article231478103.html

 

SB 500: Modify Advanced Math Course Enrollment

  • Senate voted not to concur with House changes to the bill and a conference committee was appointed (click here for conferee list)
  • Primary Sponsors: Senators Smith, D-Northampton; Tillman, R-Randolph; Chaudhuri, D-Wake
  • Makes the following modifications to the implementation of advanced math courses and opportunities for grades three and higher:
    • When practicable, LEAs must offer advanced learning opportunities in math in grades three through five
    • Any student in grades three through five who scores at the highest level on the EOG must be provided advanced learning opportunities in math approved for that student’s grade level
    • Before a parent or guardian can provide written consent for their student to be excluded or removed from an advanced learning opportunity for students in grades three through five or from an advanced math course for students in grades six and higher, it is required that the parent or guardian be informed that the student’s placement was determined by the student’s achievement at the highest level on the previous EOG or EOC
  • The House changed the bill to say that schools that did not offer Math I to eighth graders during the 2018-19 school year are not required to offer it for the 2019-20 school year, but are required to develop and submit an implementation plan by January 15, 2020

 

June 24-28 Legislative Meeting Calendar

Monday, June 24

3:00 pm – House: Rules – Legislative Building, rm 1228/1327 (audio)

Wednesday, June 26

11:00 am – Senate: Education/Higher Education – Legislative Building, rm 1027/1128 (audio)

 

 

Leanne E. Winner
Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6686

Bruce Mildwurf
Associate Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6692

Richard Bostic
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6677

Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6688

North Carolina School Boards AssociationNCSBA Legislative Update – June 21, 2019