§ 115C-269.35.  Accountability for educator preparation programs.

(a) 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:

(1) Performance based on the standards and criteria for annual evaluations of licensed employees.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) Repealed by Session Laws 2019-149, s. 1, effective July 22, 2019, and applicable to (i) educator preparation programs (EPPs) authorized by the State Board of Education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.

(b) 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:

(1) Performance data from subsection (a) of this section.

(2) Data related to the EPP's compliance with requirements for field supervision of students during their internship and residency experiences.

(3) The following information, disaggregated by race, sex, and ethnicity:

a. The number of students who apply to candidacy of the EPP.

b. The number of students admitted as candidates of the EPP.

c. The number of students completing the program.

d. The number of graduates of the EPP licensed in North Carolina.

e. The number of graduates of the EPP employed in North Carolina.

f. The number and percentage of students who convert from a residency license to either an initial professional license or a continuing professional license.

g. Any other information required by federal law.

h. Repealed by Session Laws 2019-149, s. 1, effective July 22, 2019, and applicable to (i) educator preparation programs (EPPs) authorized by the State Board of Education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.

(4) 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.

(5) Graduation rates.

(6) Time-to-graduation rates.

(7) Pass rates of graduates on professional, pedagogy, and content area examinations for the purpose of licensure.

(8) Percentage of graduates receiving initial professional licenses.

(9) 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:

a. Students with disabilities.

b. Students of limited English proficiency.

(10) The activities offered by the program that are designed to prepare educators to do the following:

a. Integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction, including activities consistent with the principles of universal design for learning.

b. Use technology effectively to collect, manage, and analyze data to improve teaching and learning for the purpose of increasing student academic achievement.

(11) The retention of beginning educators in the profession for at least two years after licensure in North Carolina.

(12) 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.

(13) 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.

(c) Submission of Annual Performance Reports. - Performance reports shall be provided annually to the following:

(1) The State Board.

(2) The board of trustees or board of directors of the entity submitting the report.

(d) 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. (2017-189, s. 2(i); 2019-149, s. 1.)