GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 815

 

 

Short Title:      Nondiscrim. & Account./Certain Private Schs.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Brockman, Morey, and Butler (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to:	Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

April 13, 2017

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT TO BROADEN NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS AND IMPROVE TESTING TRANSPARENCY FOR CERTAIN NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

PART I. SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS

SECTION 1.  Part 1H of Article 9 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding two new sections to read:

"§ 115C‑112.10.  Nondiscrimination requirement.

A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall not discriminate with respect to color, disability, national origin, race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

"§ 115C‑112.11.  Report testing results.

A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall report to the Department of Public Instruction the results of all tests required pursuant to Article 39 of this Chapter. The Department shall publish this information on its Web site in an aggregated and easy‑to‑understand manner."

 

PART II. CHARTER SCHOOLS

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 115C‑218.45(e) reads as rewritten:

"(e)      Except as otherwise provided by law or the mission of the school as set out in the charter, the school shall not limit admission to students on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, or disability. A charter school shall not limit admission to students on the basis of race, creed, national origin, religion, or ancestry.ancestry, or sexual orientation. A charter school whose mission is single‑sex education may limit admission on the basis of sex.gender identity. Within one year after the charter school begins operation, the charter school shall make efforts for the population of the school to reasonably reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population residing within the local school administrative unit in which the school is located or the racial and ethnic composition of the special population that the school seeks to serve residing within the local school administrative unit in which the school is located. The school shall be subject to any court‑ordered desegregation plan in effect for the local school administrative unit."

SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 115C‑218.55 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑218.55.  Nondiscrimination in charter schools.

A charter school shall not discriminate against any student on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability."

 

PART III. OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS

SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 115C‑562.5(c1) reads as rewritten:

"(c1)    A nonpublic school shall not discriminate with respect to the categories listed in 42 U.S.C. § 2000d, as that statute read on January 1, 2014.color, disability, national origin, race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation."

SECTION 3.(b)  Part 2A of Article 39 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 115C‑562.8.  Report testing results.

A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall report to the Department of Public Instruction the results of all tests required pursuant to Article 39 of this Chapter. The Department shall publish this information on its Web site in an aggregated and easy‑to‑understand manner."

 

PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2017‑2018 school year.