North Carolina § 115C-105 - 37A. Continually low-performing schools; definition; assistance and intervention; reassignment of students.

§ 115C-105. 37A. Continually low-performing schools; definition; assistance and intervention; reassignment of students.

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 identifies a school as continually low performing: The school improvement team at that school shall review its school improvement plan to ensure consistency with the plan adopted pursuant to G.S. 115C-105.38(b)(3), and The plan must be reviewed and approved by the State Board of Education. Assistance to Schools That Are Low Performing for Two Years. - If a school that has received State-mandated assistance is designated by the State Board as low performing for two consecutive years or for two of three consecutive years, the State Board shall provide a series of progressive assistance and intervention strategies to that school. These strategies shall be designed to improve student achievement and to maintain student achievement at appropriate levels and may include, to the extent that funds are available for this purpose, assistance such as reductions in class size, extension of teacher and assistant principal contracts, extension of the instructional year, and grant-based assistance. Intervention in Schools That Are Low Performing for Three or More Years. - The State Board of Education shall develop and implement a series of actions for providing assistance and intervention to schools that have previously received State- mandated assistance and have been designated by the State Board as low performing for three or more consecutive years or for at least three out of four years. These actions shall be the least intrusive actions that are consistent with the need to improve student achievement at each such school and shall be adapted to the unique characteristics of each such school and the effectiveness of other actions developed or implemented to improve student achievement at each such school. The State Board of Education shall report annually to the Superintendent of the North Carolina Innovative School District on any schools identified under this section as qualifying schools as defined in G.S. 115C-75.5 for consideration to be selected as innovative schools in accordance with Article 7A of this Chapter. History (2001-424, s. 29.3; 2009-223, s. 3; 2011-145, s. 7.13(n); 2011-391, s. 14(b); 2016-110, s. 2; 2017-57, s. 7.26E(b), (f); 2018-145, s. 27(b).) Evaluation of Initiatives to Assist High-Priority Schools. - Session Laws 2001-424, ss. 29.6(a) to (d), as amended by Session Laws 2002-126, s. 7.28, provide: "(a) In order for the high-priority schools identified in Section 29.1 of this act [s. 29.1 of Session Laws 2001-424, which provided for immediate assistance to the highest priority elementary schools] to remain eligible for the additional resources provided in this section [s. 29.6 of Session Laws 2001-424], the schools must meet the expected growth for each year and must achieve high growth for at least two out of three years based on the State Board of Education's annual performance standards set for each school. No adjustment in the allotment of resources based on performance shall be made until the 2004-2005 school year. "(b) All teaching positions allotted for students in high-priority schools and continually low-performing schools in those grades targeted for smaller class sizes shall be assigned to and teach in those grades and in those schools. In grades K-3 in high-priority schools, the maximum class size for the portion of the 2001-2002 school year beginning with January 1, 2002, shall be no more than two students above the allotment ratio in that grade. The maximum class size for subsequent school years in grades K-3 in high priority schools and in grades K-5 in continually low-performing schools shall be no more than one student above the allotment ratio in that grade. The Department of Public Instruction shall monitor class sizes at these schools at the end of the first month of school and report to the State Board of Education on the actual class sizes in these schools. If the local school administrative unit notifies the State Board of Education that they do not have sufficient resources to adhere to the class size maximum requirements, the State Board shall verify the accuracy of the request. If additional resources are determined necessary, the State Board of Education may allocate additional teaching positions to the unit from the Reserve for Average Daily Membership Adjustments. "(c) If a local board of education determines that the local school administrative unit is unable to implement the class-size limitation in accordance with this section [s. 29.6 of Session Laws 2002-424] for any high-priority school located in the unit, the local board may request a waiver for the school for the 2001-2002 school year. The request shall include the documentation required in G.S. 115C-105.26(a) . If the State Board grants the waiver, the State Board shall withdraw the additional teacher positions allotted to the local school administrative unit for the school and reinstate the regular allotment for teacher assistants for the school. "If a local board of education determines that the local school administrative unit is unable to implement the class-size limitation and other high priority initiatives in accordance with this section for any high-priority school located in the unit for the 2002-2003 school year, the local board may request a waiver for the school from the State Superintendent of Public instruction for the 2002-2003 school year. The Superintendent shall evaluate the school's efforts to meet the goals of high priority schools. The Superintendent may grant a waiver for the 2002-2003 school year if the Superintendent finds that the school is making efforts comparable to those required for high-priority schools and that the educational progress of students in the school is satisfactory. "(d) Of funds appropriated from the General Fund to State Aid to Local School Administrative Units, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for fiscal year 2001-2002 and the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for fiscal year 2002-2003 shall be used by the State Board of Education to contract with an outside organization to evaluate the initiatives set forth in this act. "The evaluation shall include: "(1) An assessment of the overall impact these initiatives have had on student achievement; "(2) An assessment of the effectiveness of each individual initiative set forth in this act [Session Laws 2001-424] in improving student achievement; "(3) An identification of changes in staffing patterns, instructional methods, staff development, and parental involvement as a result of these initiatives; "(4) An accounting of how funds and personnel resources made available for these schools were utilized and the impact of varying patterns of utilization on changes in student achievement; "(5) An assessment of the impact of bonuses for mathematics, science, and special education teachers on (i) the retention of these teachers in the targeted schools, (ii) the recruitment of teachers in these specialties into targeted schools, (iii) the recruitment of teachers certified in these disciplines into teaching, (iv) student achievement in schools at which these teachers receive these bonuses; and "(6) Recommendations for the continuance and improvement of these initiatives. "The State Board of Education shall make an initial report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee regarding the results of this evaluation by December 1, 2002, and annually thereafter. The State Board of Education shall submit its recommendations for changes to these initiatives to the Committee at any time." Flexibility for Highest Priority Elementary Schools. - Session Laws 2005-276, s. 7.10, provides: "The State Board of Education may allow high priority schools that have made high growth for three consecutive years to be removed from the list of high priority schools. If a local board of education chooses to have a school removed from the list of high priority schools, the additional high priority funding for that school shall be discontinued." Phaseout of Special Supplementary Funding for High Priority Schools. - Session Laws 2007-323, s. 7.34(a) provide: "(a) The State Board of Education may develop a policy for a two-year phaseout of the special supplementary funding currently provided to the two remaining high priority elementary schools and may use funds in the ADM Contingency Reserve to support any additional cost of the two-year phaseout." Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2001-424, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2001.' " Session Laws 2001-424, s. 36.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2001-2003 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2001-2003 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2001-424, s. 36.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2002-126, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations, Capital Improvements, and Finance Act of 2002'." Session Laws 2002-126, s. 31.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2002-2003 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2002-2003 fiscal year. For example, uncodified provisions of this act relating to the Medicaid program apply only to the 2002-2003 fiscal year." Session Laws 2002-126, s. 31.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2005-276, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2005'." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2007-323, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2007.'" Session Laws 2007-323, s. 32.3 provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2007-323, s. 32.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2016-110, s. 7, provides: "This act becomes effective only if funds are appropriated by the Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2016 for the Achievement School District." The appropriation was made in the reserve for pending legislation in the budget bill. Session Laws 2016-110, s. 8, as amended by Session Laws 2017-57, s. 7.26E(f), as amended by Session Laws 2018-145, s. 27(b), and as amended by Session Laws 2019-248, s. 1(f), provides: "This act is effective when it becomes law [July 22, 2016] and supervision of innovative schools by the Innovative School District shall begin with the 2018-2019 school year. In the discretion of the State Board of Education (i) the ISD Superintendent may not be required during the 2017-2018 school year to recommend qualifying schools for inclusion in the ISD for the 2018-2019 school year and (ii) the time line for selection of innovative schools for the 2018-2019 school year provided in G.S. 115C-75.7 may be varied, but in no event may the local board of education's decision occur later than April 1, 2018." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.1, as amended by Session Laws 2020-49, s. 3(a), provides: "For the purposes of this Part, the following definitions apply: "(1) Authority. - State Education Assistance Authority. "(2) Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency. - The period beginning March 10, 2020, and continuing until the Governor signs an executive order rescinding Executive Order No. 116 (Declaration of a State of Emergency to Coordinate Response and Protective Actions to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19). "(3) Federal testing waiver. - The testing waiver granted to the State Board of Education by the United States Department of Education for the 2019-2020 school year, pursuant to section 8401(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, which, pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11 , eliminated the collection of certain student assessment data for the 2019-2020 school year. "(4) Modified calendar school. - A school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003-2004 school year or any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003-2004 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar. "(5) State Board. - The State Board of Education. "(6) Year-round school. - A school with a single or multi-track instructional calendar that was adopted prior to March 1, 2020, and provides instructional days in compliance with Section 2.11(b)(1) of this Part throughout the entire school calendar year, beginning July 1 and ending June 30, by utilizing at least one of the following plans: "a. A plan dividing students into four groups and requiring each group to be in school for assigned and staggered quarters each school calendar year. "b. A plan providing students be scheduled to attend an average of between 44 and 46 instructional days followed by an average of between 15 and 20 days of vacation, repeated throughout the school calendar year. "c. A plan dividing the school calendar year into five nine-week sessions of classes and requiring each student to attend four assigned and staggered sessions out of the five nine-week sessions to complete the student's instructional year." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.2, provides: "The purpose of this Part is to clarify or modify certain requirements in consideration of actions and circumstances related to the COVID-19 emergency, including, but not limited to, the federal testing waiver and the closure of schools for in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 school year." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.5(b), provides: "Continually Low-Performing Schools. - Notwithstanding G.S. 115C-105.37 A and G.S. 115C-218.94(b) , for the 2020-2021 school year, the following applies: "(1) The State Board shall not identify additional continually low-performing schools based on data from the 2019-2020 school year. "(2) Schools previously identified as continually low-performing based on data from the 2018-2019 school year shall continue to be identified as continually low-performing. "(3) Previously identified continually low-performing schools shall continue to carry out the plan approved by the State Board pursuant to G.S. 115C-105.37 A(a). "(4) Assistance and intervention levels provided for the 2019-2020 school year based on designation as low-performing for two years under G.S. 115C-105.37 A(b) or low-performing for three years under G.S. 115C-105.37 A(c) shall continue. "(5) Local boards of education may request to reform a continually low-performing school in accordance with G.S. 115C-105.37 B." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.6(a), provides: "Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 115C-75.7 and G.S. 115C-105.37 A(d), for the 2020-2021 school year, the following applies: "(1) The State Board shall not identify any additional schools as qualifying schools for the Innovative School District based on data from the 2019-2020 school year. "(2) Schools identified as qualifying schools for the 2019-2020 school year based on data from the 2018-2019 school year shall remain on the qualifying list, and the provisions of G.S. 115C-75.7(b1) , (b2), and (d) shall continue to apply to these schools." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2009-223, s. 3, effective June 30, 2009, and applicable beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, designated the previously existing provisions of subsection (a) as subsection (a) and subdivision (a)(1), added subdivision (a)(2), and made minor stylistic and punctuation changes. Session Laws 2016-110, s. 2, effective July 22, 2016, added subsection (d). Session Laws 2017-57, s. 7.26E(b), effective July 1, 2017, in (d) substituted "North Carolina Innovative School District" for "Achievement School District" and "innovative" for "achievement."