A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require each county to pay the cost of community college remediation for students who graduated from a high school in that county within the past two years.
Whereas, a percentage of North Carolina high school graduates are not adequately prepared to do college‑level coursework; and
Whereas, State taxpayers are paying a second time for remediation of these students at the community college level; and
Whereas, the cost to State taxpayers of remediation at the community college level was approximately twenty‑four million dollars ($24,000,000) for the 2013‑2014 fiscal year for students who graduated within the past two years from a North Carolina high school; and
Whereas, taxpayers in communities in which these students were not adequately prepared for college should bear the cost of this remediation; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 115D of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115D‑32.1.  Providing local funds for high school graduates needing remediation.
The cost of providing remediation at a community college for a person who graduated from a North Carolina public high school within the prior two years shall be paid by the county in which the school that granted the high school diploma is located. No State funds shall be used for this purpose.
The State Board of Community Colleges shall adopt rules for the computation of the amount owed and for other issues related to implementation of this section."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to remediation expenses incurred for courses beginning on or after January 1, 2016.