Chapter 115C

A general and uniform system of free public schools shall be provided throughout the State, wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students, in accordance with the provisions of Article IX of the Constitution of North Carolina. Tuition shall be free of charge to al…

The State Board of Education shall consist of the Lieutenant Governor, the State Treasurer, and 11 members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly in joint session. Not more than two public school employees paid from State or local funds may ser…

No local board of education may charge any pupil a rental fee for the use of textbooks. A pupil's parents or legal guardians may be charged damage fees for abuse or loss of textbooks under rules adopted by the State Board of Education. All money collected from the sale of textboo…

The superintendent of each local school administrative unit, as an official agent of the State Board of Education, shall administer the provisions of this Part and the rules and regulations of the Board insofar as they apply to his unit. The superintendent of each local school ad…

(a) Any parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis may purchase any instructional material needed for any child in the public schools of the State from the board of education of the local school administrative unit in which the child is enrolled or, in the case of basic textboo…

The State Board of Education shall adopt rules requiring all public school units to evaluate the following when acquiring technology, computer hardware, and software: (1) The long-term cost of ownership, including costs of repairing the technology, computer hardware, or software.…

(a) Definitions. - The following definitions apply in this section: (1) Break/fix rate. - The percentage obtained by dividing the number of school technology devices reported as malfunctioning or needing repair due to physical damage, hardware failure, or other breakage incidents…

Local boards of education shall adopt policies for student access to the internet on devices or internet services provided by the local school administrative unit. The policies shall do at least the following: (1) Limit access by students to only age-appropriate subject matter an…

The State Board of Education shall propose a State school technology plan that ensures the effective use of technology is built into the North Carolina Public School System for the purpose of preparing a globally competitive workforce and citizenry for the 21st century. (1993, c.…

(a) The State school technology plan shall be a comprehensive State implementation plan for using funds from the State School Technology Fund and other sources to improve student performance in the public schools through the use of learning and instructional management technologi…

(a) The State Board of Education shall review, revise as needed, and approve the State School Technology Plan at a minimum every two years in the odd-numbered year, beginning in 2011. The plan shall be updated more often, as required, as in cases where significant changes occur r…

(a) There is established under the control and direction of the State Board of Education the State School Technology Fund. This fund shall be a nonreverting special revenue fund consisting of any monies appropriated to it by the General Assembly and any monies credited to it unde…

(a) The Department of Public Instruction shall monitor and evaluate the development and implementation of the State technology plan. The evaluation shall consider the effects of technology on student learning, the effects of technology on students' workforce readiness, the effect…

(a) The State Board of Education shall establish and maintain an electronic dashboard to publicly display information related to digital learning. The State Board shall include in the dashboard, at a minimum, the following categories of information to be reported: (1) In-school d…

Fees, charges and costs may be collected from students, their parents or guardians, and school personnel in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 115C-47(6). (1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985, c. 581, s. 2.) Part 5. Interstate Compact on Education.

The Compact for Education is hereby entered into and enacted into law, with all jurisdictions legally joining therein. Pursuant to Article III(9) of the Compact, the commission shall file a copy of its bylaws and any amendment thereto with the Secretary of State of North Carolina…

(a) The General Assembly believes that all children can learn. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the mission of the public school community is to challenge with high expectations each child to learn, to achieve, and to fulfill his or her potential. With that mission a…

(a) Local school administrative units shall participate in the School-Based Management and Accountability Program. (b) The School-Based Management and Accountability Program shall provide increased local control of schools with the goal of improving student performance. Local boa…

(a) Consistent with improving student performance, a local board shall provide maximum flexibility to schools in the use of funds to enable the schools to accomplish their goals. (b) Subject to the following limitations, local boards of education may transfer and may approve tran…

(a) Except as otherwise provided for in this section, the State Board of Education shall not grant waivers of State laws or rules to local boards of education. If permitted under this section, a request for a waiver by a local board of education shall (i) identify the school or s…

(a) School Improvement Team. - The principal of each school, representatives of the assistant principals, instructional personnel, instructional support personnel, and teacher assistants assigned to the school building, and parents of children enrolled in the school shall constit…

Any funds the local board of education makes available to an individual school building to implement the school improvement plan at that school shall be used in accordance with that plan. Each local board shall distribute seventy-five percent (75%) of the funds in the staff devel…

A school is encouraged to include a comprehensive parent involvement program as part of its school improvement plan under G.S. 115C-105.27. The State Board of Education shall develop a list of recommended strategies that it determines to be effective, which building level committ…

A school improvement team or a parent organization at a school may ask the local board of education to provide assistance in promoting or restoring safety and an orderly learning environment at a school. The school improvement team or parent organization shall file a copy of this…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) Curriculum. - Materials or programs related to courses offered by an economically disadvantaged public school. (2) Economically disadvantaged public school. - A school in a local school administrative un…

(a) The School-Based Management and Accountability Program shall (i) focus on student performance in the basics of reading, mathematics, and communications skills in elementary and middle schools, (ii) focus on student performance in courses required for graduation and on other m…

(a) Identification of Low-Performing Schools. - The State Board of Education shall identify low-performing schools on an annual basis. Low-performing schools are those that earn an overall school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of "met expected growth" or "n…

(a) Definition of Continually Low-Performing Schools. - A continually low-performing school is a school that has received State-mandated assistance and has been designated by the State Board as low performing for at least two of three consecutive years. If the State Board identif…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the State Board of Education is authorized to approve a local board of education's request to reform any school in its administrative unit which the State Board of Education has identified as one of the continually low-perf…

(a) The State Board of Education may assign an assistance team to any school identified as low-performing under this Article or to any other school that requests an assistance team and that the State Board determines would benefit from an assistance team. The State Board shall gi…

(a) General Knowledge Test. - (1) Each assistance team assigned to a low-performing school during the 1997-98 school year shall review the team's evaluations of certified staff members to determine which staff members have been designated by the team as Category 3 teachers. The a…

(a) Within 30 days of the initial identification of a school as low-performing by the State Board under G.S. 115C-105.37(a), the superintendent shall take one of the following actions concerning the school's principal: (i) recommend to the local board that the principal be retain…

(a) Identification of Low-Performing Local School Administrative Units. - The State Board of Education shall identify low-performing local school administrative units on an annual basis. A low-performing local school administrative unit is a unit in which the majority of the scho…

The State Board of Education shall develop a plan to create rigorous student academic performance standards for kindergarten through eighth grade and student academic performance standards for courses in grades 9-12. The performance standards shall align, whenever possible, with …

(a) In order to implement Part 1A of Article 8 of this Chapter, local school administrative units shall identify students who are at risk for academic failure and who are not successfully progressing toward grade promotion and graduation, beginning in kindergarten. Identification…

In order to implement this Article, the State Board of Education: (1) through (4) Repealed by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 7.13(y), effective July 1, 2011. (5) Shall adopt policies that define who is an at-risk student. (1997-443, s. 8.29(r)(1); 1999-397, s. 2; 2000-140, s. 22; 2011…

(a) Before establishing any alternative learning program or alternative school, the local board of education shall develop a proposal to implement the program or school that includes all of the following: (1) The educational and behavioral goals for students assigned to the progr…

(a) Prior to referring a student to an alternative school or an alternative learning program, the referring school shall: (1) Document the procedures that were used to identify the student as being at risk of academic failure or as being disruptive or disorderly. (2) Provide the …

The General Assembly finds that all schools should be safe, secure, and orderly. If students are to aim for academic excellence, it is imperative that there is a climate of respect in every school and that every school is free of disruption, drugs, violence, and weapons. All scho…

(a) At least once annually, each public school unit shall require each school under its control to hold a full school-wide tabletop exercise and drill based on the procedures documented in its School Risk Management Plan (SRMP) and shall report the date and time the drill is cond…

It was subsequently renumbered as G.S. 143B-1209.102 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. (2015-241, s. 8.26(c); 2018-97, s. 2.4(b); 2023-78, ss. 1, 4(b).)

(a) The governing body of each public secondary school shall develop and operate an anonymous tip line, in coordination with local law enforcement and social services agencies, to receive anonymous information on internal or external risks to the school population, school buildin…

(a) The Center for Safer Schools, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Public Safety, shall develop and adopt policies on the placement of school crisis kits in schools and on the contents of those kits. The kits shall include, at a mini…

(a) Each public school unit shall provide the following to local law enforcement agencies: (i) schematic diagrams, including digital schematic diagrams, and (ii) either keys to the main entrance of all school buildings or emergency access to key storage devices such as KNOX ® box…

(a) Each public school unit shall provide the following to the Division of Emergency Management (Division) at the Department of Public Safety: (i) schematic diagrams, including digital schematic diagrams, and (ii) emergency response information requested by the Division for the S…

(a) For the purposes of this section, a school includes any of the following: (1) A public school within a public school unit. (2) A nonpublic school authorized under Part 1 or Part 2 of Article 39 of this Chapter. (b) A school resource officer is any law enforcement officer assi…

(a) Definitions. - The following definitions apply in this section: (1) Superintendent. - The superintendent or, if there is no superintendent, the staff member with the highest decision-making authority. (2) Threat assessment. - A fact-based process of identifying, assessing, an…

The goal of the State is to provide full educational opportunity to all children with disabilities who reside in the State. (1973, c. 1293, ss. 2-4; 1975, c. 563, ss. 1-5; 1977, c. 927, ss. 1, 2; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1295; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1997-443, s. 11A.47; 2006-69, s. 2.)

(a) The purposes of this Article are to (i) ensure that all children with disabilities ages three through 21 who reside in this State have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique ne…

The following definitions apply in this Article: (1) Child with a disability. - A child with at least one disability who because of that disability requires special education and related services. (2) Disability. - Includes intellectual disability; hearing impairment, including d…