North Carolina § 115C-295 - Minimum age and license prerequisites.

§ 115C-295. Minimum age and license prerequisites.

All teachers employed in the public schools of the State or in schools receiving public funds, shall be required either to hold or be qualified to hold a license in compliance with the provision of the law or in accordance with the regulations of the State Board of Education: Provided, that nothing herein shall prevent the employment of temporary personnel under such rules as the State Board of Education may prescribe: Provided further, that no person shall be employed to teach who is under 18 years of age. It shall be unlawful for any board of education to employ or keep in service any teacher who neither holds nor is qualified to hold a license in compliance with the provision of the law or in accordance with the regulations of the State Board of Education. This section shall not prohibit the employment of individuals exempted from licensure under G.S. 115C-270.21. History (1955, c. 1372, art. 18, ss. 1, 4; 1975, c. 437, s. 7; c. 731, ss. 1, 2; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 975, s. 16; 2018-7, s. 2(b).) Opportunities for Military Personnel. - Session Laws 2001-146, s. 1, provides: "The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the Department of Public Instruction shall work cooperatively to expand the opportunities for military personnel to enroll in and complete teacher education programs prior to discharge from the military. The cooperative effort shall include the expansion, as feasible, of teacher education classes and programs on military bases and at alternate nearby sites, through Internet-based course offerings, and through cooperative education programs. The cooperative effort shall also focus on the educational needs unique to active military personnel who are potential teachers or teacher assistants and ways to make the necessary classes and programs more accessible to them. A special effort shall also be made to communicate with and inform military personnel of the educational opportunities available on military bases, at alternate sites near military bases, through long-distance education, and through cooperative education." Teacher Education Programs through Distance Education. - Session Laws 2001-424, s. 31.7, provides: "(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly to make teacher education programs easily accessible statewide through distance education. The General Assembly finds that the '2 + 2' program is an excellent model for teacher credential programs and encourages its use as a model. "(b) To achieve the goal of encouraging the '2 + 2' program as a model for teacher education programs and to make those model teacher education programs available and easily accessible statewide, any teacher education program that is offered by a constituent institution through distance education that does not require campus residency is eligible for funds appropriated by this act [Session Laws 2001-424] for that purpose. The Board of Governors shall determine the eligibility of a constituent institution pursuant to this section [s. 31.7 of Session Laws 2001-424]. The Board of Governors shall also determine the amount of funds to be allocated to each eligible constituent institution based on the number of student credit hours taught in teacher preparation courses through distance education at that institution and shall distribute those funds to the institution. The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee annually regarding the implementation of this section [s. 31.7 of Session Laws 2001-424] and the amount and use of the funds allocated pursuant to this section [s. 31.7 of Session Laws 2001-424]." UNC-NCCCS Joint Initiative for Teacher Education and Recruitment. - Session Laws 2005-276, s. 9.3(a)-(c), as amended by Session Laws 2010-31, s. 9.3(d), provides: "(a) Funds appropriated in this act to The University of North Carolina for the UNC-NCCCS Joint Initiative for Teacher Education and Recruitment shall be used to establish eight positions. These individuals shall have an office in and work with staff in the Regional Alternative Licensure Centers of the Department of Public Instruction. Their responsibilities are to assist in increasing the number of certified teachers in the public schools of North Carolina. To accomplish this, their specific tasks are as follows: "(1) Resolve curriculum issues between The University of North Carolina campuses and the community colleges within each region to ensure seamless articulation; "(2) Serve as licensure advisors to prospective teachers and assist with individual reviews for lateral entry candidates; "(3) Offer admissions advice to community college students seeking to transfer to a four-year institution; and "(4) Recruit prospective teachers on community college campuses. "Funds have been included in the appropriation to ensure these staff members can travel routinely among all the University System campuses and community college sites within a region. "(b) The results of this initiative shall be reported annually, and shall include at a minimum, the following performance outcomes by region in which the advisors are working: "(1) Number of community college students articulated and working toward teacher licensure, their 'base' community college, and The University of North Carolina institution to which they have moved; "(2) Number of lateral entry teachers worked with by these advisors who are actively pursuing certification, and the number licensed; "(3) Head count of the number of students in the process of receiving courses towards certification, their home county, where/at what institution(s) they are taking the course(s), and whether they are taking the course by regular attendance or via distance education (or the respective percentages if both methods are being employed); "(4) Total full-time equivalencies (FTE's) and student credit hours that the head count in subdivision (3) of this subsection represents; "(5) Articulation issues and curriculum changes effectively made as a result of these advisors; and "(6) Articulation issues that are under discussion but have not been satisfactorily resolved. "(c) These results shall be reported by April 15, 2011, and annually thereafter to the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, the State Board of Community Colleges, the Education Cabinet, the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, and the Office of State Budget and Management." 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 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 2010-31, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2010'." Session Laws 2010-31, s. 32.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2010-2011 fiscal year." Session Laws 2010-31, s. 32.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 7.13A, provides: "The State Board of Education shall not require more than five semester hours or seven and one-half units of renewal credits in order to renew a North Carolina Standard Professional 2 professional educator's license." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011.'" Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2021-7, s. 1.3(a), (b), provides: "(a) Employment of School Personnel. - For each local school administrative unit operating the program, the following shall apply: "(1) Notwithstanding Articles 19, 20, 21, and Part 3 of Article 22 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, a local board of education shall employ teachers and other school personnel as temporary employees on a contract basis for the period of the program. School personnel employed as temporary employees by a local board of education pursuant to this act shall not be considered an "employee" as defined in G.S. 135-1(10) or a "teacher" as defined in G.S. 135-1(25) , nor shall it cause school personnel to be considered an "employee or State employee" under G.S. 135-48.1(10) . In addition, school personnel shall not be deemed as earning "compensation" as defined in G.S. 135-1 (7a) and shall not be eligible to accrue paid leave during their temporary employment. "(2) For individuals who retired under the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) on or after December 1, 2020, but on or before March 1, 2021, the six-month separation from service from an employer that is required under G.S. 135-1(20) in order for a retirement to become effective shall not apply and instead a one-month separation shall be required, provided that the position to which the individual returns is as a teacher or other school personnel employed as a temporary employee on a contract basis for the program as required in subdivision (1) of this section. Upon the expiration of this section, all of the following shall apply: "a. The six-month separation from an employer required under G.S. 135-1(20) shall again be applicable to individuals who retired under TSERS on or after December 1, 2020, but on or before March 1, 2021. "b. In order for a member's retirement under TSERS on or after December 1, 2020, but on or before March 1, 2021, to become effective in any month, the member must perform no work for an employer, including part-time, temporary, substitute, or contractor work, at any time between the expiration of this section and the end of the six months immediately following the effective date of retirement, provided the expiration of the six-month period of separation did not occur while this section was in effect. "c. For individuals who retired under TSERS on or after December 1, 2020, but before March 1, 2021, any time worked in the program and the time this section expires shall not be considered work for the purposes of the six-month separation required under G.S. 135-1(20) . "d. For purposes of this subdivision, local school administrative units shall certify to the Retirement System that a retirement system beneficiary is employed by the local board of education. "(3) From funds available, local boards shall offer a signing bonus of at least one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) to any teacher who (i) had received a past teaching bonus for reading in grades three, four, and five or mathematics in grades four, five, six, seven, or eight or (ii) has received National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification. Local boards of education are encouraged to find ways to incentivize highly effective teachers to participate in the program, such as increased compensation and varied contract durations. "(4) Local boards of education shall provide a performance bonus to a teacher who provided instruction during the program, in a per student amount of at least one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00), for each student not demonstrating reading proficiency on the third-grade end-of-grade reading assessment assigned to that teacher who became proficient in reading after completing the program, as demonstrated by an alternate assessment. "(b) This section is effective when it becomes law and expires October 1, 2021." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2018-7, s. 2(b), effective June 13, 2018, in the section heading, and in subsections (a) and (b), substituted "license" for "certificate"; and added subsection (c).