Bill Text: NC S516 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Public School Regulatory Reform
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-06-19 - Re-ref Com On Finance [S516 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2013-S516-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
S 1
SENATE BILL 516
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Short Title: Public School Regulatory Reform. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Senators Tillman (Primary Sponsor); Cook, Hise, and Meredith. |
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Referred to: |
Education/Higher Education. |
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March 28, 2013
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to streamline reporting requirements for Public schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
PART I. CLASS‑SIZE FLEXIBILITY
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C‑301 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑301. Allocation of teachers; class size.
(a) Request for Funds. – The State Board of Education, based upon the reports of local boards of education and such other information as the State Board may require from local boards, shall determine for each local school administrative unit the number of teachers and other instructional personnel to be included in the State budget request.
(b) Allocation of Positions. – The State Board of Education is authorized to adopt rules to allot instructional personnel and teachers, within funds appropriated.
(c) Maximum Class Size. – Local
school administrative units shall have the maximum flexibility to use allotted
teacher positions to maximize student achievement.The average class size
for each grade span in a local school administrative unit shall at no time
exceed the funded allotment ratio of teachers to students. At the end of the
second school month and for the remainder of the school year, the size of an
individual class shall not exceed the allotment ratio by more than three
students. At no time may the General Assembly appropriate funds for higher unit‑wide
class averages than those for which State funds were provided during the 1984‑85
school year.
(d) Maximum Teaching Load. – Students shall
be assigned to classes so that from the 15th day of the school year through the
end of the school year the number of students for whom teachers in grades 7
through 12 are assigned teaching responsibilities during the course of the day
is no more than 150 students, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section.
(e) Alternative Maximum Class Sizes. – The
State Board of Education, in its discretion, may set higher maximum class sizes
and daily teaching loads for classes in music, physical education, and other
similar subjects, so long as the effectiveness of the instructional programs in
those areas is not thereby impaired.
(f) Second Month Reports. – At the end of the second
month of each school year, each local board of education, through the
superintendent, shall file a report for each school within the school unit with
the State Board of Education. The report shall be filed in a format prescribed
by the State Board of Education and shall include the organization for each
school, the duties of each teacher, the size of each class, the teaching load
of each teacher, and such other information as the State Board may require. As
of February 1 each year, local boards of education, through the superintendent,
shall report all exceptions to individual class size and daily teaching load
maximums significant increases in class size that occur at that
time.
(g) Waivers and Allotment Adjustments. – Local
boards of education shall report exceptions to the State Board of Education
as provided in G.S. 115C‑47(10), and shall request may
request allotment adjustments or waivers from the standards set out
above. for significant increases in class size. Within 45 days of
receipt of reports, requests, the State Board of Education,
within funds available, may allot additional positions or grant waivers for
the excess class size or daily load.if a significant increase in class
size resulted from exceptional circumstances, emergencies, acts of God, large
changes in student population, organizational problems caused by remote
geographic location, or classes organized for a solitary curricular area, and
the local board cannot organizationally correct the exception.
(1) If the exception resulted from (i)
exceptional circumstances, emergencies, or acts of God, (ii) large changes in
student population, (iii) organizational problems caused by remote geographic
location, or (iv) classes organized for a solitary curricular area, and
(2) If the local board cannot
organizationally correct the exception.
(h) State Board Rules. – The State Board of Education
shall adopt rules necessary for the implementation of class size and
teaching load provisions.this section.
(i) Penalty for Noncompliance. – If the
State Board of Education determines that a local superintendent has willfully
failed to comply with the requirements of this section, no State funds shall be
allocated to pay the superintendent's salary for the period of time the
superintendent is in noncompliance."
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C‑47(10) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑47. Powers and duties generally.
In addition to the powers and duties designated in G.S. 115C‑36, local boards of education shall have the power or duty:
…
(10) To Assure Appropriate Class Size. – It shall be the
responsibility of local boards of education to assure that the teacher
positions allotted by the State are used to maximize student achievement.class
size and teaching load requirements set forth in G.S. 115C‑301 are
met. Any teacher who believes that the requirements of G.S. 115C‑301
have not been met shall make a report to the principal and superintendent, and
the superintendent shall immediately determine whether the requirements have in
fact not been met. If the superintendent determines the requirements have not
been met, he shall make a report to the next local board of education meeting.
The local board of education shall take action to meet the requirements of the
statute. If the local board cannot organizationally correct the exception and
if any of the conditions set out in G.S. 115C‑301(g)(1) exist, it
shall immediately apply to the State Board of Education for additional
personnel or a waiver of the class size requirements, as provided in G.S. 115C‑301(g).
Upon notification from the State Board of
Education that the reported exception does not qualify for an allotment
adjustment or a waiver under provisions of G.S. 115C‑301, the local
board, within 30 days, shall take action necessary to correct the exception.
At the end of the second month of each
school year, the local board of education, through the superintendent, shall
file a report with the State Board of Education, in a format prescribed by the
State Board of Education, describing the organization of each school, the
duties of each teacher, the size of each class, and the teaching load of each
teacher. As of February 1 each year, local boards of education, through the
superintendent, shall report all exceptions to individual class size and daily
teaching load maximums that exist at that time.
In addition to
assuring that the requirements of G.S. 115C‑301 are met, addition,
each local board of education shall also have the duty to provide an
adequate number of classrooms to meet the requirements of that statute.classrooms."
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 115C‑276(k) reads as rewritten:
"(k) To Submit Organization Reports and Other
Information to the State Board. – Each year the superintendent of each local
school administrative unit shall submit to the State Board of Education
statistical reports, certified by the chairman of the board of education,
showing the organization of the schools in his unit and any additional
information the State Board may require. At the end of the second month of
school each year, local boards of education, through the superintendent, shall
report school organization, employees' duties, class sizes, and teaching loads
to the State Board of Education as provided in G.S. 115C‑47(10). Education.
As of February 1 each year, local boards of education, through the
superintendent, shall report all exceptions to individual class size and
daily teaching load maximums significant increases in class size that
occur at that time."
PART II. ELIMINATE ESC REPORTING
SECTION 2. G.S. 96‑33 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a1) Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to local school administrative units."
PART III. CHARTER TRANSPORTATION FLEXIBILITY
SECTION 3. The State Board of Education shall revise its policy on the rules and regulations for local school administrative units related to charter transportation for school‑related events and activities to remove the requirements that (i) each local school administrative unit maintain a list of companies or individuals that provide transportation services for school‑related activities that are approved by the State Board of Education and (ii) the local school administrative unit must limit its ability to contract for those services to an approved list of companies or individuals.
PART IV. DISADVANTAGED STUDENT REPORT
SECTION 4. To the extent allowed by federal law, the State Board of Education shall consolidate and limit reports to the State Board by local school administrative units on data related to economically disadvantaged students, including household size and income information, to one report each school year.
PART V. IIS REPORTING
SECTION 5. G.S. 115C‑12(18) reads as rewritten:
"(18) Duty to Develop and Implement a Uniform Education Reporting System, Which Shall Include Standards and Procedures for Collecting Fiscal and Personnel Information. –
a. The State Board of Education shall adopt standards
and procedures for local school administrative units to provide timely,
accurate, and complete fiscal and personnel information, including payroll
information, on all school personnel. All local school administrative units
shall comply with these standards and procedures by the beginning of the 1987‑88
school year.
b. The State Board of Education shall develop and
implement a Uniform Education Reporting System that shall include requirements
for collecting, processing, and reporting fiscal, personnel, and student data,
by means of electronic transfer of data files from local computers to the State
Computer Center through the State Communications Network. All local school
administrative units shall comply with the requirements of the Uniform
Education Reporting System by the beginning of the 1989‑90 school year.
c. The State Board of Education shall comply with the provisions of G.S. 116‑11(10a) to plan and implement an exchange of information between the public schools and the institutions of higher education in the State. The State Board of Education shall require local boards of education to provide to the parents of children at a school all information except for confidential information received about that school from institutions of higher education pursuant to G.S. 116‑11(10a) and to make that information available to the general public.
d. The State Board of Education shall modify the
Uniform Education Reporting System to provide clear, accurate, and standard
information on the use of funds at the unit and school level. The plan shall
provide information that will enable the General Assembly to determine State,
local, and federal expenditures for personnel at the unit and school level. The
plan also shall allow the tracking of expenditures for textbooks, educational
supplies and equipment, capital outlay, at‑risk students, and other
purposes. The revised Uniform Education Reporting System shall be
implemented beginning with the 1999‑2000 school year.
e. When practicable, reporting requirements developed by the State Board of Education as part of the Uniform Education Reporting System under this subdivision shall be incorporated into the Instructional Improvement System to minimize duplicative reporting by local school administrative units."
PART VI. COMMISSION TO STUDY EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN'S SERVICES
SECTION 6.(a) Establishment. – There is established a Commission to Study the Provision of Exceptional Children's Services in the North Carolina Public Schools (Commission).
SECTION 6.(b) Membership. – The Commission shall be composed of 12 members, as follows:
(1) Eight members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows:
a. Four persons who are members of the House of Representatives at the time of appointment.
b. A representative of the Department of Public Instruction.
c. A school principal, as recommended by the North Carolina Association of School Administrators.
(2) Eight members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate as follows:
a. Four persons who are members of the Senate at the time of appointment.
b. A school system superintendent, as recommended by the North Carolina Association of School Administrators.
c. A local school board member, as recommended by the North Carolina School Boards Association.
The Commission shall have two cochairs, one designated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and one designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from among their appointees. The Commission shall meet upon the call of the cochairs. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority. A quorum of the Commission shall be a majority of the members.
SECTION 6.(c) Duties. – The Commission shall review all aspects of the exceptional children's services delivered by local school administrative units in North Carolina and oversight of those services by the Department of Public Instruction. The Commission shall recommend ways to limit reporting requirements and compliance measures for local school administrative units and individual schools by identifying areas in which State requirements exceed federal law requirements. In developing these recommendations, the Commission shall examine at least all of the following:
(1) Forms and paperwork required by the Department of Public Instruction, Division of Exceptional Children (Division), to be submitted by Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams.
(2) The alignment of requirements imposed on the local school administrative units by the Division's Continuous Improvement Performance Plan (CIPP) with the federal requirements of the State Performance Plan and the Annual Performance Report.
(3) Student performance assessments and alternative assessments required by the State Board of Education.
(4) Class size and caseload requirements for children with disabilities.
(5) Unfunded fiscal impacts of reporting and compliance measures imposed on local school administrative units.
SECTION 6.(d) Compensation; Administration. – Members of the Commission shall receive subsistence and travel allowances at the rates set forth in G.S. 120‑3.1, 138‑5, or 138‑6, as appropriate. With the prior approval of the Legislative Services Task Force, the Legislative Services Officer shall assign professional and clerical staff to assist in the work of the Commission. With the prior approval of the Legislative Services Commission, the Commission may hold its meetings in the State Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building. The Commission may also meet at various locations around the State in order to promote greater public participation in its deliberations. The Commission, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all the powers provided under the provisions of G.S. 120‑19 and G.S. 120‑19.1 through G.S. 120‑19.4, including the power to request all officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the State to provide any information, data, or documents within their possession, ascertainable from their records, or otherwise available to them and the power to subpoena witnesses.
SECTION 6.(e) Report. – The Commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than March 15, 2014. The Commission shall terminate upon the filing of its final report.
PART VII. ELIMINATE PERSONAL EDUCATION PLANS
SECTION 7.(a) G.S. 115C‑105.41 is repealed.
SECTION 7.(b) G.S. 115C‑83.9(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) Parents or guardians shall be notified in
writing, and in a timely manner, that the student shall be retained, unless he
or she is exempt from mandatory retention for good cause, if the student is not
demonstrating reading proficiency by the end of third grade. Parents or
guardians shall receive this notice when a kindergarten, first, second, or
third grade student (i) is demonstrating difficulty with reading development; or
(ii) is not reading at grade level; or (iii) has a personal education
plan under G.S. 115C‑105.41.level."
PART VIII. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 8. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2013‑2014 school year.
