North Carolina § 115C-269 - 35. Accountability for educator preparation programs.

§ 115C-269. 35. Accountability for educator preparation programs.

Performance Measures. - The State Board shall adopt rules necessary to establish standards of performance to govern the continuing accountability of all EPPs. At a minimum, the performance standards shall be based on the following information that is disaggregated with respect to race, sex, and ethnicity: Performance based on the standards and criteria for annual evaluations of licensed employees. Proficiency and growth of students taught by educators holding an initial professional license, to the extent practicable. When available, EVAAS data shall be used to measure student growth. Results from an educator satisfaction survey, developed by the State Board with stakeholder input, performed at the end of the educator's first year of teaching after receiving an initial professional license. Repealed by Session Laws 2019-149, s. 1, effective July 22, 2019, and applicable to (i) educator preparation programs (EPPs) authorized by the State Board of Education on or after the date this act becomes law and (ii) reports submitted to the State Board and reviews by the State Board of an EPP beginning with those based on data from the 2019-2020 academic year. Annual Performance Reports. - The State Board shall require all recognized EPPs to submit annual performance reports. The performance reports shall provide the State Board with a focused review of the EPPs and the current authorization process in order to ensure that the programs produce graduates that are well prepared to teach. At a minimum, the annual report shall contain the following indicators: Performance data from subsection (a) of this section. Data related to the EPP's compliance with requirements for field supervision of students during their internship and residency experiences. The following information, disaggregated by race, sex, and ethnicity: The number of students who apply to candidacy of the EPP. The number of students admitted as candidates of the EPP. The number of students completing the program. The number of graduates of the EPP licensed in North Carolina. The number of graduates of the EPP employed in North Carolina. The number and percentage of students who convert from a residency license to either an initial professional license or a continuing professional license. Any other information required by federal law. Repealed by Session Laws 2019-149, s. 1, effective July 22, 2019, and applicable to (i) educator preparation programs (EPPs) authorized by the State Board of Education on or after the date this act becomes law and (ii) reports submitted to the State Board and reviews by the State Board of an EPP beginning with those based on data from the 2019-2020 academic year. Quality of students entering the EPP, including the average grade point average and average score on preprofessional skills tests or college entrance exams that assess reading, writing, mathematics, and other competencies. Graduation rates. Time-to-graduation rates. Pass rates of graduates on professional, pedagogy, and content area examinations for the purpose of licensure. Percentage of graduates receiving initial professional licenses. The activities offered by the program that are designed to prepare educators, including general education teachers and special education teachers, to effectively teach the following: Students with disabilities. Students of limited English proficiency. The activities offered by the program that are designed to prepare educators to do the following: Integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction, including activities consistent with the principles of universal design for learning. Use technology effectively to collect, manage, and analyze data to improve teaching and learning for the purpose of increasing student academic achievement. The retention of beginning educators in the profession for at least two years after licensure in North Carolina. The results of surveys given to school principals that involve evaluation of the program's effectiveness in preparing participants to succeed in the classroom, based on experience with employed program participants. Any other information necessary to enable the State Board to assess the effectiveness of the program on the basis of educator retention and success criteria adopted by the State Board. Submission of Annual Performance Reports. - Performance reports shall be provided annually to the following: The State Board. The board of trustees or board of directors of the entity submitting the report. Information Requests by EPPs. - The State Board of Education shall annually provide, upon request, the data required to be included in an EPP's annual performance report related to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this section and subdivision (11) of subsection (b) of this section. The State Board of Education shall provide this information to an EPP as aggregate data and disaggregated by race, sex, and ethnicity. Notwithstanding Article 21A of this Chapter, local school administrative units shall provide to the State Board of Education for the purposes of these information requests any North Carolina Educator Evaluation System effectiveness status assigned to teachers based on queries from the State Board. The State Board of Education shall not report aggregated or disaggregated data to the EPP that reveals confidential information in a teacher's personnel file, as defined by Article 21A of this Chapter, such as making the effectiveness status personally identifiable to an individual teacher. History (2017-189, s. 2(i); 2019-149, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-189, s. 7(a) made this section effective July 27, 2017, and applicable beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. Session Laws 2017-189, s. 7(e), provides: "(e) All EPPs operating in the State on June 30, 2018, or thereafter shall submit annual performance reports beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. The State Board shall monitor the data quality of the annual performance reports, including checking for statistical anomalies, data availability, and any other issues the State Board deems relevant. The State Board shall report on its monitoring and recommend any legislative changes to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 15, 2020." Session Laws 2019-149, s. 3(a), (b), provides: "(a) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction and the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC), shall develop a formulaic, performance-based weighted model for the purposes of comparing the annual report card information between each educator preparation program (EPP) pursuant to G.S. 115C-269.50 . The State Board, in consultation with the Department and PEPSC, shall do at least the following in designing the weighted model: "(1) Identify and select measures from the annual performance reports required by G.S. 115C-269.35(b) , as amended by this act, to be used in the weighted model. "(2) Assign weight to each measure, including making rounding decisions for awarding points. "(3) Determine the number of years of data that will be used to calculate measures, such as three or five years. "(4) Examine potential reasons for excluding EPPs from the reporting, including if there are missing or too few data points for certain measures. "(5) Establish targets and minimum standards. To the extent practicable, EPPs shall be measured against objective criteria rather than norm-referenced criteria. "(6) Consider whether the weighted model should be used solely for public accountability and to inform policymakers or if the weighted model may also be used as a corrective or compliance tool. "(7) Examine how an information dashboard system could be used as part of the reporting system, including any challenges related to integrating data from both public and private EPPs in one information dashboard system. "(8) Examine whether additional information should be included in the weighted model to most effectively achieve the following: "a. Meet federal and State law requirements. "b. Hold EPPs accountable for established standards. "c. Assist EPPs in improving performance. "d. Communicate EPP performance to policymakers and the public. "(9) Identify any necessary changes to State law that would enable a transition to the new weighted model. "(b) By February 15, 2020, the State Board, in consultation with the Department and PEPSC, shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on (i) the development of the formulaic, performance-based weighted model for EPPs as required by subsection (a) of this section, (ii) recommendations on the purposes and uses of the weighted model, (iii) recommendations on the time line for possible implementation of the weighted model, and (iv) any legislative changes needed for implementation of the model. The State Board shall not implement the weighted model without express authorization from the General Assembly." Session Laws 2019-149, s. 5, made the amendment of this section by Session Laws 2019-149, s. 1, effective July 22, 2019, and applicable to (i) educator preparation programs (EPPs) authorized by the State Board of Education on or after the date this act becomes law [July 22, 2019] and (ii) reports submitted to the State Board and reviews by the State Board of an EPP beginning with those based on data from the 2019-2020 academic year. 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. 2.22(d), provides: "Accountability. - Due to the lack of student assessment data and the closure of schools for in-person instruction, notwithstanding the requirements of G.S. 115C-269.35(a) , EPPs shall only be required to submit information that is practicably available in the annual report to the State Board required under G.S. 115C-269.35(b) for the 2019-2020 academic year." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2019-149, s. 1, rewrote subsections (a) and (b). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note.