H47 - Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 - Part I. (SL 2025-2)

Overview: Section 5.8 of S.L. 2025‑2 (House Bill 47) addresses school calendar flexibility and school nutrition compensation for counties affected by Hurricane Helene.

School Calendar Flexibility:  For instructional days or equivalent hours missed due to Hurricane Helene between December 2024 and February 2025, the governing body of a specified public school unit can, in its discretion, do the following: (i) make up any number of the instructional days or equivalent hours missed, (ii) deem as completed any number of the instructional days or equivalent hours missed up to a total of 10 days, or (iii) implement a combination of both of these options. The section only applies to public school units in the following counties: Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey.

All employees and contractors of public school units that have been granted school calendar flexibility are deemed to have worked for any scheduled instructional days missed due to inclement weather during the months of December 2024 through February 2025 if the public school unit deemed the instructional time was completed. Employees and contractors must be compensated as if they had worked on the scheduled instructional days that were missed.

School Nutrition Compensation:  Of the disaster recovery funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) in S.L. 2024‑51, DPI must provide compensation to public school employees and contractors of schools participating in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program for scheduled instructional days when compensation would have been provided by school meal receipts or by federal funds either (i) as authorized by the provision deeming those days to have been worked or (ii) for a scheduled instructional day that was conducted remotely. Employees and contractors compensated using funds described in this section must be compensated in the same manner they would have been compensated if they had worked on the scheduled instructional days that were missed or provided remotely.

If the funds appropriated are insufficient to provide for the authorized compensation, DPI must develop uniform criteria to determine the comparative economic need of public school units and prioritize those with the greatest economic need when awarding available funds.

Reporting Requirements: By May 1, 2025, DPI was required to report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly on the following information for each public school unit that was allowed calendar flexibility and school nutrition compensation:

• The number of instructional days or hours missed due to inclement weather from December 2024 through February 2025, the number of days deemed completed as allowed by this section, and any makeup days scheduled for missed days from December 2024 through February 2025.
• Any compensation provided to employees and contractors as allowed by this section.

This section became effective March 19, 2025.