GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2007
H 3
HOUSE BILL 359
Committee Substitute
Favorable 3/29/07
Third Edition Engrossed 4/4/07
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Short Title: Restore Flexibility to the School Calendar. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
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Referred to: |
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February 26, 2007
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the definition of educational purpose in the school calendar law to provide for three systemwide waivers: (i) to align the calendar with that of a community college or university in the geographic area, (ii) to adjust the examination schedule to benefit students or to accommodate Advanced Placement and International baccalaureate examinations, and (III) to accommodate implementation of block schedules; and to allow any waivers granted by the state board of education for an educational purpose to be effective so long as the educational purpose exists.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C‑84.2(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for year‑round schools, the opening date for students shall not be before August 25, and the closing date for students shall not be after June 10.
On a showing of good cause, the State Board of Education may
waive this requirement the opening and closing dates set forth in
this subsection to the extent that school calendars are able to provide
sufficient days to accommodate anticipated makeup days due to school closings.
A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if necessary in order to
comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or instructional
time. For purposes of this subsection, the term "good cause" means
that schools in any local school administrative unit in a county have been
closed eight days per year during any four of the last 10 years because of
severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergency
situations.
The State Board also may waive this requirementthe
opening and closing dates set forth in this subsection for an educational
purpose. The term "educational purpose" means a local school
administrative unit establishes a need to adopt a different calendar for (i)
for a specific school to reasonably accommodate a special academic
program offered generally to the student body of that school, (ii) for a
school that primarily serves a special population of students, or (iii) for
a defined academic program within a school.school, (iv) on
a systemwide basis to align the calendar with that of a community college or
university in the geographic area, (v) on a systemwide basis to adjust the
examination schedule to benefit students or to accommodate Advanced Placement
and International Baccalaureate examinations, or (vi) on a systemwide basis to reasonably
accommodate implementation of block schedules. The State Board may grant
the waiver for an educational purpose for that specific school or defined
program or on a systemwide basis to the extent that the State Board
finds that the educational purpose is reasonable, the accommodation is
necessary to accomplish the educational purpose, and the request is not an
attempt to circumvent the opening and closing dates set forth in this
subsection. The waiver requests for educational purposes shall not be used
to accommodate system‑wide class scheduling preferences. A waiver
granted for an educational purpose under this subsection shall remain in effect
so long as the educational purpose for which that waiver was granted continues
to exist.
The required opening and closing dates under this subsection shall not apply to any school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003‑2004 school year or to any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003‑2004 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar."
SECTION 2. G.S. 115C-84.2 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(d1) School Calendar Advisory Committee. – Each local board of education shall appoint an advisory committee to assist it in developing a school calendar. At least one member of the advisory committee shall be a county commissioner."
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2007‑2008 school year.