North Carolina § 115C-83 - 9. Notification requirements to parents and guardians.

§ 115C-83. 9. Notification requirements to parents and guardians.

Parents or guardians shall be notified in writing, and in a timely manner, that the student shall be retained, unless he or she is exempt from mandatory retention for good cause, if the student is not demonstrating reading proficiency by the end of third grade. Parents or guardians shall receive this notice when a kindergarten, first, second, or third grade student (i) is demonstrating difficulty with reading development; or (ii) is not reading at grade level. (Applicable before the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year) Parents or guardians of any student who is to be retained under the provisions of G.S. 115C-83.7(a) shall be notified in writing of the reason the student is not eligible for a good cause exemption as provided in G.S. 115C-83.7(b). Written notification shall also include a description of proposed reading interventions that will be provided to the student to remediate identified areas of reading deficiency. (Applicable beginning with the 2022-2023 school year) Parents or guardians of any student who is to be retained under the provisions of G.S. 115C-83.7(a) shall be notified in writing of the reason the student is not eligible for a good cause exemption as provided in G.S. 115C-83.7(b). Written notification shall also include a description of proposed literacy interventions that will be provided to the student to remediate areas where the student has not demonstrated reading proficiency. Parents or guardians of students retained under G.S. 115C-83.7(a) shall receive at least monthly written reports on student progress toward reading proficiency. The evaluation of the student's progress shall be based upon the student's classroom work, observations, tests, assessments, and other relevant information. Teachers and principals shall provide opportunities, including, but not limited to, information sessions, to discuss with parents and guardians the notifications listed in this section. History (2012-142, s. 7A.1(b); 2014-5, s. 7; 2015-46, s. 3; 2021-8, s. 6(h).) Subsection (b) Set Out Twice. - The first version of subsection (b) set out above is applicable before the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. The second version of subsection (b) set out above is applicable beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2012-142, s. 7A.1(b), enacted this section as G.S. 115C-83.1 I. It has been renumbered as this section at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2015-46, s. 3.5, provides: "The State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by November 15, 2016, on how at risk students are identified and being served through interventions to prevent academic failure." Session Laws 2015-46, s. 4, made the amendment to subsection (a) of this section by Session Laws 2015-46, s. 3, applicable beginning with the 2015-2016 school 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. 2.7(b), provides: "Parental Notice and Interventions. - Consistent with G.S. 115C-83.9(a) , parents or guardians shall receive notice that a first, second, or third grade student demonstrated difficulty with reading development or was not reading at grade level during the 2019-2020 school year based on assessments completed on or before March 13, 2020. The provisions of G.S. 115C-83.9(d) shall apply to this notice. "For third grade students retained for the 2019-2020 school year based on data from the 2018-2019 school year, the requirements of G.S. 115C-83.9(c) shall not apply beginning March 16, 2020. "For third grade students retained for the 2020-2021 school year due to reading deficiencies, the provisions of G.S. 115C-83.8(b) through (e) and G.S. 115C-83.9 shall apply in the same manner they would have had the student been retained pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.7(a) , except that notification regarding the exemptions described in G.S. 115C-83.7(b) shall not apply." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2021-8, s. 1, provides: "This act shall be known as the "Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021." Session Laws 2021-8, s. 6(m), made the amendments to subsection (b) by Session Laws 2021-8, s. 6(h), applicable beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2014-5, s. 7, effective June 10, 2014, substituted "opportunities, including, but not limited to, information sessions" for "opportunities" in subsection (d). Session Laws 2015-46, s. 3, effective June 2, 2015, deleted former subdivision (a)(iii), which read: "has a personal education plan under G.S. 115C-105.41 " and made a related change. For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2021-8, s. 6(h), effective April 9, 2021, rewrote subsection (b). For applicability, see editor's note.