GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	1
SENATE BILL 947

 
 
Short Title:	School Speech Pathologists May Serve as Mentors.	()	
Sponsors:	Senators Dannelly;  Albertson, Carter, Clodfelter, Dalton, Garwood, Hagan, Harris, Horton, Lee, Lucas, Martin of Guilford, and Rand.	
Referred to:	Education/Higher Education.	
April 5, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize speech and language pathologists in the public schools to participate in the mentor program in the same manner as teachers.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C‑296(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	The State Board of Education shall develop a mentor program to provide ongoing support for teachers entering the profession. In developing the mentor program, the State Board shall conduct a comprehensive study of the needs of new teachers and how those needs can be met through an orientation and mentor support program. For the purpose of helping local boards to support new teachers, the State Board shall develop and distribute guidelines which address optimum teaching load, extracurricular duties, student assignment, and other working condition considerations. These guidelines shall provide that initially certified teachers not be assigned extracurricular activities unless they request the assignments in writing and that other noninstructional duties of these teachers be minimized. The State Board shall develop and coordinate a mentor teacher training program. The State Board shall develop criteria for selecting excellent, experienced, and qualified teachers to be participants in the mentor teacher training program.
Speech and language pathologists who are licensed to practice under G.S. 90-293 and are permanently licensed by the Board of Education as speech and language specialists may serve as mentors for speech and language pathologists or classroom teachers under the mentor program."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2001.