GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1289*
     

 
Short Title:	The Student Citizen Act of 2001.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Rogers, Warner, Boyd-McIntyre, Bonner (Primary Sponsors), Yongue;  Allen, Barefoot, Bell, Church, Cole, J. Crawford, Dedmon, Earle, Fox, Hall, Hill, Hurley, Jarrell, McLawhorn, Morris, Saunders, Tolson, and Wainwright.	
Referred to:	Education.	
April 12, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enact the student citizen act of 2001.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  This act shall be known as the "Student Citizenship Act of 2001".
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑81 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑81.  Basic Education Program.
…
(g1)	Modifications to the social studies curriculum to instruct students on participation in the democratic process and to give them hands-on experience in participating in the democratic process:
(1)	The State Board of Education shall modify the high school social studies curriculum to include instruction in civic and citizenship education. Local boards of education may offer this instruction in a one-week unit covering the subject or by inserting key points on the subject throughout the school year. The State Board of Education is strongly encouraged to include, at a minimum, the following components in the high school civic and citizenship education curriculum:
a.	A requirement that students write to a local, State, or federal elected official about an issue that is important to them;
b.	Instruction on the importance of voting and otherwise participating in the democratic process;
c.	Information about current events and governmental structure; and
d.	Information about the democratic process and how laws are made.
(2)	The State Board of Education shall modify the middle school social studies curriculum to include instruction in civic and citizenship education. The State Board of Education is strongly encouraged to include, at a minimum, the following components in the middle school civic and citizenship education curriculum:
a.	A tour of representative local government facilities such as the local jail, the courthouse, or a town hall, to help students understand the way their community is governed;
b.	A requirement that students choose and analyze a community problem and offer public policy recommendations on the problem to local officials; and
c.	Information about getting involved in community groups.
(h)	Character Education. –Each local board of education shall develop and implement a character education curriculum. The curriculum should address the following traits and responsibilities:
(1)	Courage. – Having the determination to do the right thing even when others don't and the strength to follow your conscience rather than the crowd; and attempting difficult things that are worthwhile.
(2)	Good judgment. – Choosing worthy goals and setting proper priorities; thinking through the consequences of your actions; and basing decisions on practical wisdom and good sense.
(3)	Integrity. – Having the inner strength to be truthful, trustworthy, and honest in all things; acting justly and honorably.
(4)	Kindness. – Being considerate, courteous, helpful, and understanding of others; showing care, compassion, friendship, and generosity; and treating others as you would like to be treated.
(5)	Perseverance. – Being persistent in the pursuit of worthy objectives in spite of difficulty, opposition, or discouragement; and exhibiting patience and having the fortitude to try again when confronted with delays, mistakes, or failures.
(6)	Respect. – Showing high regard for authority, for other people, for self, for property, and for country; and understanding that all people have value as human beings. In the school environment, respect includes holding teachers, school administrators, and all school personnel in high esteem and demonstrating in words and deeds that all school personnel deserve to be treated with courtesy and proper deference.
(7)	Responsibility. – Being dependable in carrying out obligations and duties; showing reliability and consistency in words and conduct; being accountable for your own actions; and being committed to active involvement in your community.
(8)	Self‑Discipline. – Demonstrating hard work and commitment to purpose; regulating yourself for improvement and restraining from inappropriate behaviors; being in proper control of your words, actions, impulses, and desires; choosing abstinence from premarital sex, drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances and behaviors; and doing your best in all situations.
(9)	Responsibility for school safety. – Helping to create a harmonious school atmosphere that is free from threats, weapons, and violent or disruptive behavior; cultivate an orderly learning environment in which students and school personnel feel safe and secure; and encourage the resolution of conflicts and disagreements through peaceful means including peer mediation.
(10)	Service to others. – Engaging in meaningful service to their schools and their communities. Schools may teach service-learning by (i) incorporating it into their standard curriculum, (ii) making community service a graduation requirement, or (iii) involving a classroom of students or some other group of students in one or more hands-on community-service projects.
(11)	Good citizenship. – Obeying the laws of the nation and this State; abiding by school rules; and understanding the rights and responsibilities of the member of a democracy."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑391(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Local boards of education shall adopt policies not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina, governing the conduct of students and establishing procedures to be followed by school officials in suspending or expelling any student, or in disciplining any student if the offensive behavior could result in suspension, expulsion, or the administration of corporal punishment. Local boards of education shall include a reasonable dress code in these policies. 
The policies that shall be adopted for the administration of corporal punishment shall include at a minimum the following conditions:
(1)	Corporal punishment shall not be administered in a classroom with other children present;
(2)	The student body shall be informed beforehand what general types of misconduct could result in corporal punishment;
(3)	Only a teacher, substitute teacher, principal, or assistant principal may administer corporal punishment and may do so only in the presence of a principal, assistant principal, teacher, substitute teacher, teacher assistant, or student teacher, who shall be informed beforehand and in the student's presence of the reason for the punishment; and
(4)	An appropriate school official shall provide the child's parent or guardian with notification that corporal punishment has been administered, and upon request, the official who administered the corporal punishment shall provide the child's parent or guardian a written explanation of the reasons and the name of the second school official who was present.
Each local board shall publish all the policies mandated by this subsection and make them available to each student and his parent or guardian at the beginning of each school year.
Notwithstanding any policy adopted pursuant to this section, school personnel may use reasonable force, including corporal punishment, to control behavior or to remove a person from the scene in those situations when necessary:
(1)	To quell a disturbance threatening injury to others;
(2)	To obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects on the person, or within the control, of a student;
(3)	For self-defense;
(4)	For the protection of persons or property; or
(5)	To maintain order on school property, in the classroom, or at a school-related activity on or off school property."
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2001, except that:
(1)	The State Board of Education shall complete the modifications to the social studies curriculum required by G.S. 115C‑81(g1), as enacted in Section 2 of this act, prior to October 1, 2001. The modified curriculum shall be implemented beginning with the 2002‑2003 school year.
(2)	Local boards of education shall develop character education curriculums in accordance with G.S. 115C‑81(h), as rewritten by Section 2 of this act, prior to October 1, 2001. Local boards shall implement these plans beginning with the 2002‑2003 school year.
(3)	Section 3 of this act applies beginning with the 2001‑2002 school year.