Chapter 115C

(a) Repealed by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 8.25(e), effective August 7, 2014. (b) The Authority shall report annually, no later than October 15, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information from the prior school year: (1) Total number, grade …

(a) The Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve is established as a reserve to be administered by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina for the purpose of allocating funds to the Authority for the award of scholarship grants in accordance with this Part. T…

As used in this Part or Parts 1 and 2 of this Article: (a) "Home school" means a nonpublic school consisting of the children of not more than two families or households, where the parents or legal guardians or members of either household determine the scope and sequence of academ…

A home school shall make the election to operate under the qualifications of either Part 1 or Part 2 of this Article and shall meet the requirements of the Part elected, except that any requirement related to safety and sanitation inspections shall be waived if the school operate…

No school which complies with this Part shall be subject to any other provision of law relating to education except requirements of law respecting immunization. The Division of Nonpublic Education, Department of Administration, shall provide to home schools information about meni…

(a) A student enrolled in a home school shall be allowed to participate in the administration of the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test or the PreACT test, as offered by the local school administrative unit in accordance with G.S. 115C-174.18, as follows: …

(a) The Secretary of Administration, upon consideration of the advice of the Division of Nonpublic Education in the Department of Administration and representatives of nonpublic schools, shall adopt rules for the procedures a person who is or was enrolled in a home school, in a n…

A nonpublic school that discloses personally identifiable information in student data or records according to the terms of a written agreement with a State agency, local school administrative unit, community college, or constituent institution of The University of North Carolina,…

(a) The State Education Assistance Authority, in its administration of scholarship programs for eligible students pursuant to Part 2A of this Article and Article 41 of this Chapter may contract with a nonprofit corporation representing parents and families, for outreach and schol…

The following definitions apply in this Part: (1) Claim. - A claim or cause of action seeking any legal or equitable remedy or relief. (2) COVID-19. - The coronavirus disease 2019. (3) COVID-19 emergency declaration. - Executive Order No. 116 issued March 10, 2020, by Governor Ro…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to G.S. 115C-567.12, a nonpublic school shall have immunity from claims by an individual, if all of the following apply: (1) The claim arises out of or is in connection with tuition or fees paid to the nonpublic school fo…

This Part applies to alleged acts or omissions occurring on or after the issuance of the COVID-19 emergency declaration until July 1, 2020. The provisions of this Part shall be in addition to all other immunities provided by applicable State law. (2020-49, s. 10(a).)

It is a matter of vital State concern affecting the public health, safety, and welfare that nonpublic schools continue to be able to fulfill their educational missions during the COVID-19 pandemic without civil liability for any acts or omissions for which immunity is provided in…

There is established the North Carolina Personal Education Student Accounts for Children with Disabilities Program to provide the option for a parent to better meet the individual educational needs of the parent's child. (2017-57, s. 10A.4(a); 2021-180, s. 8A.3(l).)

The following definitions apply in this Article: (1) Authority. - Defined in G.S. 116-201. (2) Division. - The Division of Nonpublic Education, Department of Administration. (2a) Educational technology. - As defined annually by the Authority, an item, piece of equipment, material…

(a) Application Selection. - The Authority shall make available no later than February 1 of each year applications to eligible students for the award of scholarship funds for a personal education student account to be used for qualifying education expenses to attend a nonpublic s…

After the initial disbursement of funds, the Authority shall ensure that the student's continuing eligibility is assessed at least every three years by one of the following: (1) The local education agency. - The local education agency shall assess if the student continues to be a…

(a) Verification of Information. - The Authority may seek verification of information on any application for the award of scholarship funds for a personal education student account. The Authority shall establish rules for the verification process. If a household fails to cooperat…

(a) Parental Agreement. - The Authority shall provide the parent of a scholarship recipient with a written agreement, applicable for each year the eligible student receives scholarship funds under this Article, to be signed and returned to the Authority prior to receiving the sch…

(a) List of Nonpublic Schools. - The Division shall provide annually by December 31 to the Authority a list of all nonpublic schools operating in the State that meet the requirements of Part 1, 2, or 3 of Article 39 of this Chapter. The list shall include whether a Part 1 or 2 no…

(a) Rules and Regulations. - The Authority shall establish rules and regulations for the administration of the program, including the following: (1) The administration and awarding of scholarship funds, including a lottery process for the selection of recipients within the criter…

(a) The Authority shall report annually, no later than October 15, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information from the prior school year: (1) Total number, grade level, race, ethnicity, and sex of eligible students receiving scholarship fu…

(a) The State Board, as part of its duty to monitor all local education agencies to determine compliance with this Article and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq., (2004), as amended, and federal regulations adopted under that act, as…

(a) The General Assembly finds that due to the continued growth and ongoing need in this State to provide opportunity for school choice for children with disabilities, it is imperative that the State provide an increase in funds of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) each f…

(a) There is created the North Carolina Education and Workforce Innovation Commission (Commission). The Commission shall be located administratively in the Department of Public Instruction but shall exercise all its prescribed powers independently of the Department of Public Inst…

(a) Program Establishment. - There is established the Education and Workforce Innovation and CTE Grade Expansion Program (Program) to foster innovation in education that will lead to more students graduating career and college and to prioritize the inclusion of students in sixth …

(a) CTE Grade Expansion Grants. - Career and Technical Education Grade Expansion grants shall be awarded under the Program for the purpose of expanding career and technical education (CTE) programs by prioritizing the inclusion of students in sixth and seventh grade through grant…

(a) There is established the B-3 Interagency Council. The Council is a joint council between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Public Instruction and shall consist of 12 voting members and four nonvoting advisory members as follows: (1) The Superin…

The B-3 Interagency Council shall have the following powers and duties: (1) Facilitating the development and implementation of an interagency plan for a coordinated system of early care, education, and child development services with a focus on program outcomes in satisfying the …

The Deputy Secretary of Human Services and the Associate Superintendent of Early Education shall report on a quarterly basis to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Superintendent of Public Instruction on the progress and implementation of any of the duties and resp…

(a) There is established within the Department of Public Instruction the position of Associate Superintendent of Early Education who shall serve as the chief academic officer of early education. The Associate Superintendent shall have professional, administrative, technical, and …

The State of North Carolina shall be divided into eight educational districts, which shall match the composition of the zones set forth in G.S. 143B-28.1. (1955, c. 1372, art. 1, s.3; 1981, c. 423, s.1; 2014-18, s. 3.4.)

Each county of the State shall be classified as a county school administrative unit, the schools of which, except in city administrative units, shall be under the general supervision and control of a county board of education with a county superintendent as the administrative off…

(a) Consolidation and Merger. - The State Board of Education shall have the authority to consolidate and merge contiguous county school administrative units or a group of county school administrative units in which each county unit is contiguous with at least one other county uni…

City school administrative units may be consolidated and merged with contiguous city school administrative units and with county school administrative units upon approval by the State Board of Education of a plan for consolidation and merger submitted by the boards of education i…

(a) Boards of education of contiguous counties or boards of education in a group of counties in which each county is contiguous with at least one other county in the group, and any city school administrative unit located in counties to be merged, may merge school administrative u…

(a) The board of commissioners of a county in which two or more local school administrative units are located, but all are located wholly within the county, may adopt a plan for the consolidation and merger of the units into a single countywide unit. The plan adopted under this s…

If a city board of education notifies the State Board of Education that it is dissolving itself, the State Board of Education shall adopt a plan of consolidation and merger of that city school administrative unit with the county school administrative unit in the county in which t…

All plans for consolidation and merger of school administrative units entered into between June 9, 1969, and May 26, 1992, under G.S. 115C-67, 115C-68.1, 115C-68.2, former G.S. 115-74.1, or under any local act authorizing such mergers, are ratified and considered to have been ado…

The term "district" here used is defined to mean any convenient territorial division or subdivision of a county, created for the purpose of maintaining within its boundaries one or more public schools. It may include one or more incorporated towns or cities, or parts thereof, or …

School districts may be formed out of contiguous counties by agreement of the county boards of education of the respective counties subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. Rules for the organization, support and operation of districts so formed are subject to the…

(a) Local boards of education shall have the power and authority to close or consolidate schools located in the same district, and with the approval of the State Board of Education, to consolidate school districts or other school areas over which the board has full control, whene…

The county boards of education with the approval of the State Board of Education may transfer from nontax territory and attach permanently to local tax districts or to city school administrative units, real property contiguous to said local tax districts or city school administra…

The school system of each local school administrative unit shall consist of 12 years of study or grades, and shall be graded on the basis of a school year of not less than nine months. Schools within the system may be organized in the discretion of the local board of education. (…

(a) The different types of public schools are classified and defined as follows: (1) An "elementary school" is a school that includes all or part of the first through eighth grade and that may have a kindergarten or other early childhood program. (2) A "high school" is a school t…

As used in this Article, the following definitions apply: (1) Reserved for future codification purposes. (2) Child. - A person less than 18 years of age who has not been emancipated pursuant to Article 35 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes. (3) Reserved for future codification…

(a) The following definitions apply in this section: (1) Wireless communication device. - Any portable wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data communication between two or more parties, including the following: a. Cellular telephones. b.…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) Biological sex. - As defined in G.S. 12-3.3. (2) Immediate family member. - A parent, brother, sister, or grandparent. The term includes step and half relationships. (3) Sleeping quarters. - A room with a …

(a) The General Assembly finds that parental involvement and empowerment is fundamental to the successful education of all students. To strengthen partnerships among parents and school personnel, public school units and all public school unit personnel shall fully support and coo…

The General Assembly finds that Section 1 of Article I of the Constitution of this State recognizes the equality and rights of all persons. Therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly that students, teachers, administrators, and other school employees respect the dignity …