GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2011

H                                                                                                                                                   2

HOUSE BILL 829

Committee Substitute Favorable 4/20/11

Short Title:        Streamline Education Planning Responsibility.	(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

April 7, 2011

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to streamline public school planning responsibilities.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C-47(18) reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C-47.  Powers and duties generally.

In addition to the powers and duties designated in G.S. 115C-36, local boards of education shall have the power or duty:

…

(18)      To Make Rules Concerning the Conduct and Duties of Personnel. - Local boards of education, upon the recommendation of the superintendent, shall have full power to make all just and needful rules and regulations governing the conduct of teachers, principals, and supervisors, the kind of reports they shall make, and their duties in the care of school property.

            Prior to the beginning of each school year, each local board of education shall identify all reports, including local school required reports, that are required at the local level for the school year and shall, to the maximum extent possible, eliminate any duplicate or obsolete reporting requirements. Local boards of education may consolidate any plans and reports affecting the school community to reduce paperwork, unless prohibited by federal law or grants. If a local board of education finds that a school improvement plan adequately covers another plan that the local school administrative unit is otherwise required to prepare, the local school administrative unit shall not be required to prepare an additional plan on the matter. No additional reports shall be required at the local level after the beginning of the school year without the prior approval of the local board of education.

            Each local board of education shall appoint a person or establish a paperwork control committee to monitor all reports and other paperwork required of teachers by the central office."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C-102.6C is repealed.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C-102.6D(d) is repealed.

SECTION 4.  G.S. 115C-102.7 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C-102.7.  Monitoring and evaluation of State and local school system technology plans; reports.

(a)        The Department of Public Instruction shall monitor and evaluate the development and implementation of the State and local school system technology plans. The evaluation shall consider the effects of technology on student learning, the effects of technology on students' workforce readiness, the effects of technology on teacher productivity, and the cost-effectiveness of the technology.

(a1)      Repealed by Session Laws 1997-18, s. 15(k).

(b)        Repealed by Session Laws 2009-451, s. 7.31, effective July 1, 2009.

(c) The Department of Public Instruction shall randomly check local school system technology plans to ensure that local school administrative units are implementing their plans as approved. The Department shall report to the State Board of Education on which local school administrative units are not complying with their plans. The report shall include the reasons these local school administrative units are out of compliance and a recommended plan of action to support each of these local school administrative units in carrying out their plans."

SECTION 5.  G.S. 115C-105.47 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C-105.47.  Local safe school plans.

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(b)        Each plan shall include each of the following components:

            …

(15)      Any other information the local board considers necessary or appropriate to implement this Article.

A local board may develop its plan under this section by conducting a comprehensive review of its existing policies, plans, statements, and procedures to determine whether they: (i) are effective; (ii) have been updated to address recent changes in the law; (iii) meet the current needs of each school in the local school administrative unit; and (iv) address the components required to be included in the local plan. The board then may consolidate and supplement any previously developed policies, plans, statements, and procedures that the board determines are effective and updated, meet the current needs of each school, and meet the requirements of this subsection.

Once developed, the board shall submit the local plan to the State Board of Education and shall ensure the plan is available and accessible to parents and the school community. The board shall provide annually to the State Board information that demonstrates how the At-Risk Student Services/Alternative Schools Funding allotment has been used to (i) prevent academic failure and (ii) promote school safety.

(c)        A local board may amend the plan as often as it considers necessary or appropriate."

SECTION 6.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.