North Carolina § 116-235 - Board of Trustees; additional powers and duties.

§ 116-235. Board of Trustees; additional powers and duties.

In addition to the powers enumerated in Chapter 116, Article I, Part 3, the Board of Trustees shall have the powers and duties set out in this section. Academic Program. - The Board of Trustees shall establish the standard course of study for the School. This course of study shall set forth the subjects to be taught in each grade and the texts and other educational materials on each subject to be used in each grade. The Board of Trustees shall adopt regulations governing class size, the instructional calendar, the length of the instructional day, and the number of instructional days in each term. Students. - Admission of Students. - The School shall admit students in accordance with criteria, standards, and procedures established by the Board of Trustees. To be eligible to be considered for admission, an applicant must be either a legal resident of the State, as defined by G.S. 116-143.1(a)(1), or a student whose parent is an active duty member of the Armed Forces, as defined by G.S. 116-143.3(2), who is abiding in this State incident to active military duty at the time the application is submitted, provided the student shares the abode of that parent; eligibility to remain enrolled in the School shall terminate at the end of any school year during which a student becomes a nonresident of the State. The Board of Trustees shall ensure, insofar as possible without jeopardizing admission standards, that an equal number of qualified applicants is admitted to the program and to the residential summer institutes in science and mathematics from each of North Carolina's congressional districts. In no event shall the differences in the number of qualified applicants offered admission to the program from each of North Carolina's congressional districts be more than two and one-half percentage points from the average number per district who are offered admission. School Attendance. - Every parent, guardian, or other person in this State having charge or control of a child who is enrolled in the School and who is less than 16 years of age shall cause such child to attend school continuously for a period equal to the time which the School shall be in session. No person shall encourage, entice, or counsel any child to be unlawfully absent from the School. Any person who aids or abets a student's unlawful absence from the School shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The Chancellor of the School shall be responsible for implementing such additional policies concerning compulsory attendance as shall be adopted by the Board of Trustees, including regulations concerning lawful and unlawful absences, permissible excuses for temporary absences, maintenance of attendance records, and attendance counseling. Student Discipline. - Rules of conduct governing students of the School shall be established by the Board of Trustees. The Chancellor, other administrative officers, and all teachers, substitute teachers, voluntary teachers, teacher aides and assistants, and student teachers in the School may use reasonable force in the exercise of lawful authority to restrain or correct pupils and maintain order. through (h). Repealed by Session Laws 2006-66, s. 9.11(s), effective July 1, 2007. The Display of the United States and North Carolina Flags and the Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. - The Board of Trustees shall adopt policies to require (i) the display of the United States and North Carolina flags in each classroom when available, (ii) the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance on a daily basis, and (iii) the instruction on the meaning and historical origins of the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. These policies shall not compel any person to stand, salute the flag, or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. If flags are donated or are otherwise available, flags shall be displayed in each classroom. History (1985, c. 757, s. 206(b); 1993, c. 539, ss. 896, 897; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1995, c. 507, s. 15.1; 2002-126, s. 9.12(c); 2005-318, s. 2; 2005-445, s. 8.1; 2006-66, ss. 9.11(o)-9.11(s); 2006-137, s. 5; 2011-183, s. 88.) Pilot Program to Raise the High School Dropout Age from Sixteen to Eighteen. - Session Laws 2013-360, s. 8.49(a)-(d), as amended by Session Laws 2014-115, s. 64, provides: "(a) Notwithstanding any provisions in Part 1 of Article 26 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, G.S. 7B-1501(27) , 115C-238.66(3), 116-235(b)(2), and 143B-805(20) to the contrary, the State Board of Education shall authorize the Hickory Public Schools and the Newton-Conover City Schools to establish and implement a pilot program pursuant to this section to increase the high school dropout age from 16 years of age to the completion of the school year coinciding with the calendar year in which a student reaches 18 years of age, unless the student has previously graduated from high school. "(a1) For the purposes of implementing the pilot program authorized by this section, a local school administrative unit that is participating in the pilot program shall have the authority to provide that, if the principal or the principal's designee determines that a student's parent, guardian, or custodian, or a student who is 18 years of age, has not made a good-faith effort to comply with the compulsory attendance requirements of the pilot program, the principal shall notify the district attorney and, if the student is less than 18 years of age, the director of social services of the county where the student resides. If the principal or the principal's designee determines that a parent, guardian, or custodian of a student less than 18 years of age has made a good-faith effort to comply with the law, the principal may file a complaint with the juvenile court counselor pursuant to Chapter 7B of the General Statutes that the student is habitually absent from school without a valid excuse. Upon receiving notification by the principal or the principal's designee, the director of social services shall determine whether to undertake an investigation under G.S. 7B-302 . "(a2) The local boards of education of the participating local school administrative units shall prescribe specific rules to address under what circumstances a student who is 18 years of age who is required to attend school as part of the pilot program shall be excused from attendance, including if the student has attained a high school equivalency certificate or a student has enlisted as a member of the Armed Forces. "(a3) If an affidavit is made by the student, parent of the student, or by any other person that any student who is required to attend school under the requirements of the pilot program is not able to attend school by reason of necessity to work or labor for the support of himself or herself or the support of the family, then the school social worker of the applicable school located within the participating school administrative unit shall diligently inquire into the matter and bring it to the attention of an appropriate court, depending on the age of the student. The court shall proceed to find whether as a matter of fact the student is unable to attend the school or such parents, or persons standing in loco parentis, are unable to send the student to school for the term of compulsory attendance for the reasons given. If the court finds, after careful investigation, that the student or the parents have made or are making a bona fide effort to comply with the compulsory attendance law, and by reason of illness, lack of earning capacity, or any other cause which the court may deem valid and sufficient, the student is unable to attend school, then the court shall find and state what help is needed for the student or family to enable compliance with the attendance requirements under the pilot program. "(b) Each local school administrative unit may use any funds available to it to implement the pilot program in accordance with this section to (i) employ up to three additional teachers and (ii) fund additional student-related costs, such as transportation and technology costs, including additional computers, to serve a greater number of students as a result of the pilot program. Each local school administrative unit may also use any funds available to it to operate a night school program for students at risk of dropping out of high school. To the extent possible, the local school administrative units shall partner with Catawba Valley Community College in administering the pilot program. "(c) The local school administrative units, in collaboration with the State Board of Education, shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education/Higher Education on or before January 15, 2016. The report shall include at least all of the following information: "(1) An analysis of the graduation rate in each local school administrative unit and the impact of the pilot program on the graduation rate. "(2) The teen crime statistics for Catawba County. "(3) The number of reported cases of violations of compulsory attendance laws in Catawba County and the disposition of those cases. "(3a) Implementation of enforcement mechanisms for violations of the compulsory attendance requirements of the pilot program, including the imposition of criminal penalties. "(4) The number of at-risk students served in any night programs established as part of the pilot program and student graduation and performance outcomes for those students. "(5) All relevant data to assist in determining the effectiveness of the program and specific legislative recommendations, including the continuation, modification, or expansion of the program statewide. "(d) The State Board of Education shall not authorize a pilot program under subsection (a) of this section except upon receipt of a copy of a joint resolution adopted by the boards of education for the Hickory Public Schools and the Newton-Conover City Schools setting forth a date to begin establishment and implementation of the pilot program." Pilot Program to Raise the High School Dropout Age from Sixteen to Eighteen. - Session Laws 2016-94, s. 8.21, establishes a pilot program pursuant to this section to increase the high school dropout age from 16 years of age to the completion of the school year coinciding with the calendar year in which a student reaches 18 years of age, unless the student has previously graduated from high school in the Hickory Public Schools, the Newton-Conover City Schools, and the Rutherford County Schools. For complete provisions see the note under 115C-378 under the same catchline. Editor's Note. - Subdivision (b)(2), as amended by Session Laws 2005-318, s. 2, effective December 1, 2005, [to change the offense classification from class 3 to class 1]; is applicable to offenses committed on or after that date. Session Laws 2013-360, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013.'" Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2016-94, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2016.'" Session Laws 2016-94, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2016-2017 fiscal year." Session Laws 2016-94, s. 39.7, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2005-445, s. 8.1, effective September 28, 2005, and applicable to the 2005-2006 academic year and each subsequent academic year, rewrote the second sentence of subdivision (b)(1). Session Laws 2006-66, s. 9.11.(o)-(s), effective July 1, 2007, inserted "additional" in the section catchline; added present subsection (a); and redesignated former subsection (a) as subsection (a1); substituted "qualified applicants" for "rising high school juniors" twice in subdivision (b)(1); substituted "Chancellor" for "Director" in subdivisions (b)(2) and (b)(3); and repealed subsections (c) through (h). Session Laws 2006-137, s. 5, effective July 19, 2006, added subsection (i). Session Laws 2011-183, s. 88, effective June 20, 2011, substituted "Armed Forces" for "armed services" in the third sentence of subdivision (b)(1). §§ 116-235.1 through 116-235.4: Reserved for future codification purposes.