A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish a program to exempt students enrolled in secondary schools operated by the university of north carolina from paying fees related to advanced courses.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Part 5 of Article 1 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 116‑43.30.  Advanced courses for secondary school students.
(a)	It is the intent of the State to enhance accessibility and encourage secondary school students to enroll in and successfully complete more rigorous advanced courses to enable success in postsecondary education for all students. For the purposes of this section, an advanced course is an Advanced Placement course, an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme course, or a Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) course, including an AS‑Level or A‑Level course. To attain this goal, to the extent funds are made available for this purpose, secondary school students enrolled in the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts shall be exempt from paying any fees for administration of examinations for advanced courses and registration fees for advanced courses in which the student is enrolled regardless of the score the student achieves on an examination.
(b)	The University of North Carolina System Office shall report annually by December 15 to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on advanced courses by students enrolled in the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following information from the prior fiscal year:
(1)	Number of students enrolled in advanced courses and participating in advanced course examinations, including demographic information by gender, race, and free and reduced‑price lunch status.
(2)	Student performance on advanced course examinations, including information by course and school.
(3)	Amount of State funds expended for fees for advanced courses by school."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of ninety thousand dollars ($90,000) in recurring funds for the 2021‑2022 fiscal year to be used to pay for the fees for the administration of examinations for advanced courses and registration fees for advanced courses for students enrolled in the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, as provided in G.S. 116‑43.30, as enacted by this act.
SECTION 3.  The initial report required pursuant to G.S. 116‑43.30(b) shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 15, 2022.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2021.