GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

H                                                                                                                                                   D

HOUSE DRH80097-LE-128  (2/18)

Short Title:        Modify Requirements for School Admission.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Folwell, Crawford, Sager, and Hurley (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to modify the requirements for school admission in north carolina.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑364(c) reads as rewritten:

"(c)       The initial point of entry into the public school system shall be at the kindergarten level. If the principal of a school finds as fact subsequent to initial entry that a child, by reason of maturity can be more appropriately served in the first grade rather than in kindergarten, the principal may act under G.S. 115C‑288 to implement this educational decision without regard to chronological age. The principal of any public school may shall require the parent or guardian of any child presented for admission for the first time to that school to furnish (i) a certified copy of the child's birth certificate, which shall be furnished by the register of deeds of the county having on file the record of the birth of the child, or other satisfactory evidence of date of birthbirth, as provided in Article 4 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes and (ii) a certificate of immunization as required by G.S. 130A‑155."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 130A‑109 reads as rewritten:

"§ 130A‑109.  Birth certificate as evidence.

Certified copies of birth certificates shall be accepted by public school authorities in this State as prima facie evidence of the age of children registering for school attendance, and no other proof shall be required. In addition, certified copies of birth certificates shall be required by all factory inspectors and employers of youthful labor, as prima facie proof of age, and no other proof shall be required. However, when it is not possible to secure a certified copy of a birth certificate, school authorities, factory inspectors and employers may accept as secondary proof of age any competent evidence by which the age of persons is usually established.established; school authorities may accept as secondary proof of age a certified copy of any medical record of the child's birth issued by the treating physician or the hospital in which the child was born or a certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a church, mosque, temple, or other religious institution that maintains birth records of its members."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑366 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

"(g1) When a child first enrolls in or transfers into the public schools of a local school administrative unit, the principal of the school to which the child is assigned shall require the parent to state whether the child is a citizen or a national of the United States, and if the child is not, the immigration status of the child. This information shall be used only for fiscal analysis and shall not be used to deny admission to a child who is a domiciliary of the local school administrative unit."

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2009‑2010 school year.