A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to reenact and clarify the statute authorizing intellectually gifted students under the age of sixteen to attend community college.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Section 4 of S.L. 2001‑312, as rewritten by Section 2 of S.L. 2005‑77, reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 4. Section 2 of this act is effective when it becomes law, and shall apply beginning with the 2001‑2002 academic year. Section 2 of this act expires September 1, 2008, and is reenacted effective March 1, 2009. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115D‑1.1, as enacted by Section 2 of S.L. 2001‑312, rewritten by Section 76 of S.L. 2001‑487 and by Section 2 of S.L. 2005‑77, and reenacted by Section 1 of this act, reads as rewritten:
"§ 115D‑1.1. Discretion in admissions.
(a)	Notwithstanding G.S. 115D‑1, a 14‑ or 15‑year‑old student may enroll in a community college if the following conditions are met:
(1)	The president of the community college or the president's designee finds, based on criteria established by the State Board of Community Colleges, that the student is intellectually gifted and that the student has the maturity to justify admission to the community college; and
(2)	One of the following persons approves the student's enrollment in a community college:
a.	The local board of education, or the board's designee, for the local school administrative unit in which the student is domiciled or is enrolled.
b.	The administrator, or the administrator's designee, of the nonpublic school in which the student is enrolled.
c.	The person who provides the academic instruction in the home school in which the student is enrolled.
d.	The designee of the board of directors of the charter school in which the student is enrolled.
e.	The administrator of the college or university where the student is enrolled.
(a1)	Notwithstanding G.S. 115D‑1.2, a student under the age of 14 may enroll in a Learn and Earn Online course through a community college for college credit if one of the persons set out in sub‑subdivisions a. through d. of subdivision (a)(2) of this section approves the student's enrollment.
(b)	The State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction, shall adopt rules to implement this section."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.