GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2019
H

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HOUSE BILL 79

Short Title:

Academic Alignment/Boards of Education & CC.

(Public)

Sponsors:

Representatives Horn, Johnson, Elmore, and Strickland (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Referred to:

Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
February 14, 2019

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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ALLOW LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION TO ALIGN THEIR SCHOOL
CALENDARS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGES.
Whereas, the State-mandated, late-August start date creates barriers to dual
enrollment by putting high schools out of alignment with community colleges, which typically
begin the first semester earlier in August and begin the second semester two or three weeks before
high school students complete the fall semester; and
Whereas, academic alignment would benefit all students in local school
administrative units who are enrolled in classes through a local community college by allowing
them to align their fall and spring semesters with the fall and spring semesters of the local
community colleges; and
Whereas, academic alignment would allow local school administrative units to work
with local community colleges to meet workforce development needs more effectively by
helping high school and college students develop the skills necessary for business and industry;
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-84.2(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of
opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for
year-round schools, the opening date for students shall be no earlier than the Monday closest to
August 26, and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to June 11.
On a showing of good cause, the State Board of Education may waive the requirement that the
opening date for students be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and may allow the
local board of education to set an opening date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 19,
to the extent that school calendars are able to provide sufficient days to accommodate anticipated
makeup days due to school closings. A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if
necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or
instructional time. For purposes of this subsection, the term "good cause" means that schools in
any local school administrative unit in a county have been closed eight days per year during any
four of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures,
or other emergency situations.
Notwithstanding the required opening date under this subsection, a local board of education
may schedule the school opening date for any school in the local school administrative unit to no
earlier than the opening date of a community college serving the county in which the school unit
is located, in whole or in part.

*H79-v-1*

 General Assembly Of North Carolina
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Session 2019

The required opening and closing dates under this subsection shall not apply to any school
that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003-2004 school year or to
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."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with
the 2019-2020 school year.

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House Bill 79-First Edition