GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

SESSION LAW 1999-373
SENATE BILL 977

AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAM WITH REGARD TO THE SCHOOL CALENDAR AND TO REQUIRE PRINICPALS AND LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 115C-84.2(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	School Calendar. – Each local board of education shall adopt a school calendar consisting of 220 days all of which shall fall within the fiscal year. A school calendar shall include the following:
(1)	A minimum of 180 days and 1,000 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months. The local board shall designate when the 180 instructional days shall occur. The number of instructional hours in an instructional day may vary according to local board policy and does not have to be uniform among the schools in the administrative unit. Local boards may approve school improvement plans that include days with varying amounts of instructional time. If school is closed early due to inclement weather, the day and the scheduled amount of instructional hours may count towards the required minimum to the extent allowed by State Board policy. The school calendar shall include a plan for making up days and instructional hours missed when schools are not opened due to inclement weather.
(2)	A minimum of 10 annual vacation leave days.
(3)	The same or an equivalent number of legal holidays occurring within the school calendar as those designated by the State Personnel Commission for State employees.
(4)	Eight days, as designated by the local board, for use as teacher workdays, additional instructional days, or other lawful purposes. A local board may delegate to the individual schools some or all of the eight days to schedule under subdivision (5) of this subsection. A local board may schedule different purposes for different personnel on any given day and is not required to schedule the same dates for all personnel.
(5)	The remaining days scheduled by each school's principal for any of the purposes allowed under subdivision (4) of this subsection. Before scheduling these days, the principal shall work with the school improvement team to determine the days to be scheduled and the purposes for which they should be scheduled.  Days may be scheduled and planned for different purposes for different personnel and there is no requirement to schedule the same dates for all personnel. However, if during the last two years the local school administrative unit has made up an average of at least eight days for school closing because of inclement weather, the local board may designate up to two of these days as additional make-up days to be scheduled after the last day of student attendance.
Local boards and individual schools are encouraged to use the calendar flexibility in order to meet the annual performance standards set by the State Board. Local boards of education shall consult with parents and the employed public school personnel in the development of the school calendar.
Local boards and individual schools shall give teachers at least 14 calendar days' notice before requiring a teacher to work instead of taking vacation leave on days scheduled in accordance with subdivision (4) or (5) of this subsection.  A teacher may elect to waive this notice requirement for one or more such days."
Section 2.  G.S. 115C-288 is amended by adding the following new subsection to read:
"(l)	To Establish School Improvement Teams. – Each school year, the principal shall ensure that a school improvement team is established under G.S. 115C-105.27 for the purpose of developing, reviewing, and revising a school improvement plan."
Section 3.  G.S. 115C-47 is amended by adding the following new subdivision to read:
"(38)	To Establish School Improvement Teams. – Local boards shall adopt a policy to ensure that each principal has established a school improvement team under G.S. 115C-105.27 and in accordance with G.S. 115C-288(l). Local boards shall direct the superintendent or the superintendent's designee to provide appropriate guidance to principals to ensure that these teams are established and that the principals work together with these teams to develop, review, and amend school improvement plans for their schools."
Section 4.  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall study issues related to the development of a school calendar including whether there is sufficient flexibility under the current law to deal with school closings due to inclement weather and emergency situations involving individual schools.  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee may report its findings and any recommendations to the 2000 Regular Session of the 1999 General Assembly, or to the 2001 General Assembly.
Section 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1999, and applies to all school years beginning with the 2000-2001 school year.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of July, 1999.

s/	Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

s/	James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives

s/	James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor

Approved 9:15 p.m. this 4th day of August, 1999