GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1018*
     

 
Short Title:	High Priority School Assistance & Account. Act.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Yongue, Arnold, Rogers, Warner, Bonner;  Barefoot and Wainwright.	
Referred to:	Appropriations.	
April 9, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enact the north carolina high priority school assistance and accountability act of 2001.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
PART I. TITLE OF ACT.
SECTION 1.  This act shall be known as the "North Carolina High Priority School Assistance and Accountability Act of 2001".
PART II. IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE TO THE HIGHEST PRIORITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to State Aid to Local School Administrative Units the sum of twelve million two hundred forty‑six thousand eight hundred seventy‑eight dollars ($12,246,878) for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of fifteen million nine hundred thirty thousand two hundred eighty‑five dollars ($15,930,285) for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year to provide the State's lowest‑performing elementary schools with the tools needed to dramatically improve student achievement.  These funds shall be used for the 38 elementary schools at which, for the 1999‑2000 school year, over eighty percent (80%) of the students qualified for free or reduced‑price lunches and no more than fifty-five percent (55%) of the students performed at or above grade level.  Of these funds:
(1)	The sum of $7,672,471 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $7,672,471 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to reduce class size at each of these schools to ensure that no class in kindergarten through third grade has more than 17 students;
(2)	The sum of $3,085,216 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year shall be used to extend teachers' contracts at these schools by 18 days for the 2001‑2002 school year and the sum of $6,170,432 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to extend teachers' contracts for an additional 18 days for the 2002‑2003 school year;
(3)	The sum of $745,691 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year shall be used to cover the costs, other than the cost of teacher salaries, of adding at least 10 instructional days to the calendar at these schools during the 2001‑2002 school year and the sum of $1,491,382 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to cover the costs, other than the cost of teacher salaries, of adding an additional 10 instructional days to the calendar during the 2002‑2003 school year;
(4)	The sum of $456,000 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $456,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to provide recruiting and retention incentives, including signing bonuses and housing subsidies, for three teachers at each of these 38 elementary schools for each year; and
(5)	The sum of $287,500 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $140,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to provide State‑identified leadership teams for a period of no less than four years to the first five schools requesting leadership teams.
PART III. IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO ADDRESS TEACHER SHORTAGES.
‑‑‑‑‑FUNDS TO ATTRACT TEACHERS AND TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to State Aid to Local School Administrative Units the sum of five million five hundred twenty‑one thousand dollars ($5,521,000) for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of five million three hundred seventy‑one thousand dollars ($5,371,000) for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year to expand the pool of qualified teachers and to provide recruitment and retention incentives to attract and retain high‑quality teachers to low‑performing schools and schools with shortages of teachers in certain areas of certification.  Of these funds:
(1)	The sum of $1,544,000 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $1,544,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to provide recruitment and retention incentives, including signing bonuses and housing subsidies, to attract teachers to low‑performing schools and to schools with shortages of teachers in certain areas of certification to schools not receiving such assistance pursuant to Section 2 of this act;
(2)	The sum of $2,577,000 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $2,577,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to provide full medical and proportional retirement benefits to up to 1000, certified teachers who are not currently teaching as an incentive for them to return to teaching one‑half time;
(3)	The sum of $1,250,000 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $1,250,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to pay the salary and educational expenses of up to 500 teacher assistants and noncertified school employees to enable them to complete the coursework necessary for teacher certification, if they can do so in two years or less; and
(4)	The sum of $150,000 for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year and the sum of $150,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to establish a legislative study commission to study wage comparability for teachers, especially teachers who are certified in areas in which there is a shortage of teachers, such as math, science, and special education.
‑‑‑‑‑FLEXIBILITY TO PROVIDE ON‑SITE DAY CARE FOR TEACHERS.
SECTION 3.1. G.S. 115C‑105.25(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(b)	Subject to the following limitations, local boards of education may transfer and may approve transfers of funds between funding allotment categories:
…
(1a)	In accordance with a school improvement plan accepted under G.S. 115C-105.27, up to fifteen percent (15%) of the State funds allocated for teacher assistants may be used for personnel to staff day care centers for teachers' children.
.…"
PART IV. COMPREHENSIVE ASSISTANCE TO CONTINUALLY LOW‑PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
‑‑‑‑‑STATE BOARD ASSISTANCE TO CONTINUALLY LOW‑PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
SECTION 4.  Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C-105.37A. Continually low-performing schools; definition; assistance and intervention; reassignment of students.
(a)	Definition of Continually Low-Performing Schools. – A continually low-performing school is a school that has received State-mandated assistance and has been designated by the State Board as low performing for at least two consecutive years or for at least two of three consecutive years. If the State Board identifies a school as continually low performing, the school improvement team at that school shall review its school improvement plan to ensure consistency with the plan adopted pursuant to 115C-105.38(3).
(b)	Assistance to Schools That Are Low Performing for Two Years. – If a school that has received State-mandated assistance is designated by the State Board as low performing for two consecutive years or for two of three consecutive years, the State Board shall provide a series of progressive assistance and intervention strategies to that school. These strategies shall be designed to improve student achievement and to maintain student achievement at appropriate levels and may include, to the extent that funds are available for this purpose, assistance such as reductions in class size, extension of teacher and assistant principal contracts, extension of the instructional year, and grant-based assistance.(c)	Intervention in Schools That Are Low Performing for Three or More Years. – The State Board of Education shall develop and implement a series of actions for providing assistance and intervention to schools that have previously received State-mandated assistance and have been designated by the State Board as low performing for three or more consecutive years or for at least three out of four years. These actions shall be the least intrusive actions that are consistent with the need to improve student achievement at each such school and shall be adapted to the unique characteristics of each such school and the effectiveness of other actions developed or implemented to improve student achievement at each such school."‑‑‑‑‑ADDITIONS TO THE LOCAL SUPERINTENDENT'S PLAN TO IMPROVE THE SCHOOL.
SECTION 4.1.  G.S. 115C‑105.37(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	By July 10 of each year, each local school administrative unit shall do a preliminary analysis of test results to determine which of its schools the State Board may identify as low‑performing under this section. The superintendent then shall proceed under G.S. 115C‑105.39. In addition, within 30 days of the initial identification of a school as low‑performing by the local school administrative unit or the State Board, whichever occurs first, the superintendent shall submit to the local board a preliminary plan for addressing the needs of that school, including how the superintendent and other central office administrators will work with the school and monitor the school’s progress. Within 30 days of its receipt of this plan, the local board shall vote to approve, modify, or reject this plan. Before the board makes this vote, it shall make the plan available to the public, including the personnel assigned to that school and the parents and guardians of the students who are assigned to the school, and shall allow for written comments. The board shall submit the plan to the State Board within five days of the board's vote. The State Board shall review the plan expeditiously and, if appropriate, may offer recommendations to modify the plan. The local board shall consider any recommendations made by the State Board."
‑‑‑‑‑ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE AWARDS AT CONTINUALLY LOW‑PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
SECTION 4.2.  The State Board of Education may adopt policies providing for larger incentive awards for employees in continually low‑performing schools than for employees at other schools.  Teachers and certified personnel in continually low‑performing schools that achieve higher than expected improvements may receive incentive awards of up to three thousand dollars ($3,000). Teachers and certified personnel in continually low‑performing schools that meet the expected improvements may receive incentive awards of up to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
‑‑‑‑‑APPROPRIATIONS FOR CONTINUALLY LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS, BEGINNING WITH THE 2002‑2003 FISCAL YEAR.
SECTION 4.3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Board of Education the sum of four million five hundred seventy-three one hundred ninety-six dollars ($4,573,196) for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year.  These funds shall be used to implement any of the following strategies at the school that have not previously been implemented with State funds:
(1)	The sum of $3,062,520 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to reduce class size at a continually low‑performing school to ensure that the maximum number of students in a class at kindergarten through the third-grade level is 17 and that the maximum number of students in a class at the fourth through the twelfth-grade level is 20;
(2)	The sum of $1,024,844 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to extend the contracts of teachers to 11 months in continually low‑performing schools;
(3)	The sum of $435,832 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to cover the costs, other than teacher salaries, necessary to extend the instructional year to 190 days in continually low‑performing schools; and
(4)	The sum of $50,000 for the 2002‑2003 fiscal year shall be used to provide signing bonuses for principals who commit to work for three years in a continually low‑performing school. The bonus shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and shall be paid in the following installments: thirty-three percent (33%) up front, seventeen percent (17%) after the first year, seventeen percent (17%) after the second year, and thirty-three percent (33%) after the third year.
PART V.  EFFECTIVE DATE.
SECTION 5.  Sections 2, 3, and 4.3 of this act become effective July 1, 2001. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.