GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

H                                                                                                                                                    3

HOUSE BILL 587

Committee Substitute Favorable 4/17/13
Third Edition Engrossed 4/18/13

Short Title:        OCS/ECS/Exemption From ACT.	(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

April 8, 2013

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to exempt students enrolled in the occupational course of study and the extended course of study from the Act and act precursor testing requirements.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C-174.11(c)(4) reads as rewritten:

"(4)      To the extent funds are made available, the State Board shall plan for and require the administration of the ACT test for all students in the eleventh grade unless the student has already taken a comparable test and scored at or above a level set by the State Board. The State Board shall not require the administration of the ACT test or any precursor test to the ACT test, such as PLAN or EXPLORE to a student who is enrolled in the Occupational Course of Study or the Extended Course of Study who (i) does not score at or above grade level on any State-approved end-of-course tests and (ii) has a written parental request for exemption. The State Board of Education shall ensure that parents of students enrolled in the Occupational Course of Study or the Extended Course of Study in all public schools, including charter and regional schools have the necessary information to make informed decisions regarding participation in the ACT and aligned precursor tests. The State Board may develop alternative assessment measures for these students."

SECTION 2.   G.S. 115C-174.22 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C-174.22.  Tools for student learning.

To the extent funds are made available for this purpose, and except as otherwise provided in G.S. 115C-174.11(c)(4), the State Board shall plan for and require the administration of diagnostic tests in the eighth and tenth grades that align to the ACT test in order to help diagnose student learning and provide for students an indication of whether they are on track to be remediation-free at a community college or university."

SECTION 3.  The State Board of Education shall apply to the U.S. Department of Education for an amendment to the federal waiver obtained by the State Board regarding accountability measures under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6311, to implement the requirements of this act.

SECTION 4.  Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective September 1, 2014, or upon the approval of the waiver amendment required to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in accordance with Section 3 of this act, whichever occurs earlier. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.