A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE North carolina career and technical Education FOUNDATION TO collaborate in ADMINISTERing CERTAIN GRANTS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑64.15 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑64.15.  North Carolina Education and Workforce Innovation Commission.
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(d)	The Commission shall develop and administer the Education and Workforce Innovation Program, as established under G.S. 115C‑64.16, in collaboration with the North Carolina Career and Technical Education Foundation, Inc., and make awards of grants under the Program.
(d1)	The Commission shall develop and administer, in coordination with the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and in collaboration with North Carolina Career and Technical Education Foundation, Inc., the Career and Technical Education Grade Expansion Program, as established under G.S. 115C‑64.17, and shall make awards of grants under the Program.
(d2)	The North Carolina Career and Technical Education Foundation, Inc., shall serve as a grant administrator by providing assistance and support to grantees for initiating, expanding, improving, and promoting career and technical education initiatives.
(e)	The Commission, in consultation with the North Carolina Career and Technical Education Foundation, Inc., shall publish a report on the Education and Workforce Innovation Program and the Career and Technical Education Grade Expansion Program on or before April 30 of each year. The report shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the State Board of Education, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina. The report shall include at least all of the following information:
(1)	An accounting of how funds and personnel resources were utilized for each program and their impact on student achievement, retention, and employability.
(2)	Recommended statutory and policy changes.
(3)	Recommendations for improvement of each program.
(4)	For the Career and Technical Education Grade Expansion Program, recommendations on increasing availability of grants after the first two years of the program to include additional local school administrative units or providing additional grants to prior recipients."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑64.17(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Selection of Recipients. – For the 2017‑2018 fiscal year, the Commission shall accept applications for a grant until November 30, 2017. For subsequent fiscal years that funds are made available for the Program, the Commission shall accept applications for a grant until August 1 of each year. The Commission shall consult with the North Carolina Career and Technical Education Foundation, Inc., to select recipients in a manner that considers diversity among the pool of applicants, including geographic location, location of industries in the area in which a local school administrative unit is located, and the size of the student population served by the unit, in order to award funds to the extent possible to grant recipients that represent different regions and characteristics of the State. The Commission shall recommend recipients of the grants to the State Board of Education. The State Board, upon consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall approve the recipients of grant awards."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to the administration of grant programs on or after that date.