A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf are governed by boards of trustees and function similarly to local school administrative units.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 9C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"Article 9C.
"Schools for Students with Visual and Hearing Impairments.
"Part 1. Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
"§ 115C‑150.11.  State Board of Education as governing agency over the Governor Morehead School.
The State Board of Education shall be the sole governing agency for the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. The Superintendent of Public Instruction through the Department of Public Instruction shall be responsible for the administration, including appointment of staff, and oversight of the Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
"§ 115C‑150.12.  Applicability of Chapter.
Except as otherwise provided, the requirements of this Chapter shall apply to the Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
"§ 115C‑150.13.  Rules and admission criteria.
(a)	The State Board of Education shall adopt rules necessary for the Department of Public Instruction to implement this Article for the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, including, at a minimum, rules to address eligibility for admission criteria. In determining rules for admission criteria, the State Board of Education shall take into account the following factors:
(1)	State and federal laws.
(2)	Optimal academic and communicative outcomes for the child.
(3)	Parental input and choice.
(4)	Recommendations in a child's Individualized Education Program (IEP).
(b)	Rules for the Governor Morehead School for the Blind shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.
"§ 115C‑150.14.  Tuition and room and board.
(a)	Only children who are residents of North Carolina are entitled to free tuition and room and board at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind.
(b)	The Governor Morehead School for the Blind may enroll a foreign exchange student and shall charge the student the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of providing education at the school for the period of the student's attendance. The School shall submit a plan prior to enrolling any of those students to the State Board of Education for approval, including the proposed costs to be charged to the students for attendance and information on compliance with federal law requirements. For the purposes of this section, a foreign exchange student is a student who is domiciled in a foreign country and has come to the United States on a valid, eligible student visa.
(c)	Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, foreign exchange students who have obtained the status of nonimmigrants pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F) may only be enrolled in the School in grades nine through 12 for a maximum of 12 months at the School.
"§ 115C‑150.15.  Reporting to the Governor Morehead School for the Blind on blind children.
(a)	Request for Consent. – Local superintendents shall require that the following request for written consent be presented to parents, guardians, or custodians of any visually impaired children no later than October 1 of each school year: "North Carolina provides a public residential schools serving visually impaired students: the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. Do you consent to the release of your contact information and information regarding your child and his or her visual impairment to this school so that you can receive more information on services offered by that campus?"
(b)	Annual Report to the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. – Local superintendents shall report by November 30 each year the names and addresses of parents, guardians, or custodians of any  visually impaired children who have given written consent to the directors of the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. The report shall include whether the visual impairments range from partial to total disability, and if the child has multiple disabilities with the visual impairment not identified as the primary disability of the student. The report shall also be made to the Department of Public Instruction.
(c)	Confidentiality of Records. – The directors of the Governor Morehead School for the Blind shall treat any information reported to the School by a local superintendent under subsection (b) of this section as confidential, except that a director or the director's designee may contact the parents, guardians, or custodians of any visually impaired children whose information was included in the report. The information shall not be considered a public record under G.S. 132‑1.
Part 2. Residential Schools for Students with Hearing Impairments.
"§ 115C‑150.30.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Part:
(1)	ENCSD. – The Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf.
(2)	NCSD. – North Carolina School for the Deaf.
(3)	Residential school. – The schools for students with hearing impairments located at the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf.
"§ 115C‑150.31.  General supervision over residential schools.
The State Board of Education shall have general supervision over residential schools in accordance with G.S. 115C‑12. Except as otherwise provided for in this Part, the residential schools shall be housed administratively within the Department of Public Instruction, but each residential school shall operate independently with a board of trustees as the governing body. Each board of trustees of the ENCSD and NCSD, respectively, shall appoint a director for the school, who shall act as secretary to the board of trustees in accordance with G.S. 115C‑150.32 and shall manage school personnel, day‑to‑day operations of the school, and the school's operating budget at the direction of the board of trustees.
"§ 115C‑150.32.  Board of trustees for each residential school.
(a)	Appointment. – Each residential school shall be governed by a separate board of trustees. There shall be five voting members for each board of trustees to be appointed as follows:
(1)	Two members appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(2)	Two members appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(3)	One member appointed by the Governor.
(b)	Ex Officio, Nonvoting Members. – The President of the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf Alumni Association or the President's designee shall be a nonvoting, ex officio member of the ENCSD Board of Trustees. The President of the North Carolina School for the Deaf Alumni Association or the President's designee shall be a nonvoting, ex officio member of the NCSD Board of Trustees.
(c)	Terms of Members. – Members shall be appointed for six‑year terms. Terms shall commence July 1. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. All vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority for the vacating member for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(d)	Declarations of Vacancies. – Whenever an appointed member of a board of trustees shall fail, for any reason other than ill health or service in the interest of the State or nation, to be present at three successive regular meetings of the board, his or her place as a member of the board shall be deemed vacant.
(e)	Chair; Director. –A board of trustees shall elect one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice‑chair, each for a two‑year term, at the first meeting occurring after July 1 in even‑numbered years. The director appointed in accordance with G.S. 115C‑150.31 shall serve as secretary of the board of trustees. The director shall recommend school personnel to the board of trustees to be employed by the board.
(f)	Meetings. – A board of trustees shall meet at least four times a year and also at such other times as it may deem necessary. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. All meetings shall be subject to Article 33C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. The members shall receive per diem compensation and necessary travel and subsistence expenses while engaged in the discharge of their official duties as is provided by law for members of State boards and commissions.
(g)	Procedures. – A board of trustees shall determine its own rules of procedure and may delegate to committees that it creates any powers it deems appropriate.
"§ 115C‑150.33.  Applicability of Chapter.
Except as otherwise provided, the requirements of this Chapter shall apply to residential schools. For the purposes of federal law and the administration of State law, each residential school shall be considered a local school administrative unit.
"§ 115C‑150.34.  Powers and duties.
(a)	Each board of trustees shall have the powers and duties of a local board of education, including the powers and duties provided in G.S. 115C‑47, except as otherwise provided in this Part. A board of trustees shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of the residential school to implement the requirements of this Part.
(b)	Each board of trustees shall establish rules for determining admissions and assignments for students to the school. The rules shall, at a minimum, establish the following:
(1)	Admission criteria that include consideration of the following:
a.	Evidence of hearing loss.
b.	State and federal laws.
c.	Optimal academic and communicative outcomes for the child.
d.	Parental input and choice.
(2)	An application process that may be directly made by a parent or legal guardian or upon recommendation of a public school unit.
(3)	An admissions committee to evaluate eligibility for admission and assignment to the school. A written invitation shall be extended to a representative of the applicant's current public school unit to attend and participate in the evaluation. The admissions committee shall include, but is not limited to, the following members:
a.	A chair designated by the director of the residential school.
b.	The applicant's parent or legal guardian.
c.	Any professionals necessary to interpret the evaluation results.
(4)	A process to allow temporary assignment for extended evaluations when an applicant's eligibility for admission cannot be established through the initial application.
(5)	Consideration of multiple sources of information in determining admission eligibility, including assessments, teacher recommendations, evidence of the applicant's physical and emotional health, and indications of the applicant's level of functionating, including adaptive behavior skills.
(c)	Rules adopted by a board of trustees for a residential school are not required to be adopted in accordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.
(d)	The board of trustees for a residential school shall be subject to rules adopted by the State Board of Education in accordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.
"§ 115C‑150.35.  Tuition and room and board.
(a)	Only children who are residents of North Carolina are entitled to free tuition and room and board at a residential school.
(b)	A residential school may enroll a foreign exchange student and shall charge the student the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of providing education at the school for the period of the student's attendance. A residential school that seeks to enroll foreign exchange students under this section shall submit a plan prior to enrolling any of those students to the board of trustees for approval, including the proposed costs to be charged to the students for attendance and information on compliance with federal law requirements. For the purposes of this section, a foreign exchange student is a student who is domiciled in a foreign country and has come to the United States on a valid, eligible student visa.
(c)	Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, foreign exchange students who have obtained the status of nonimmigrants pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F) may only be enrolled in a residential school in grades nine through 12 for a maximum of 12 months at the school.
"§ 115C‑150.36.  Reporting to residential schools on hearing impaired children.
(a)	Request for Consent. – Local superintendents shall require that the following request for written consent be presented to parents, guardians, or custodians of any hearing impaired children no later than October 1 of each school year: "North Carolina provides two public residential schools serving hearing impaired students: the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf. Do you consent to the release of your contact information and information regarding your child and his or her impairment to these schools so that you can receive more information on services offered by those campuses?"
(b)	Annual Report to Residential Schools. – Local superintendents shall report by November 30 each year the names and addresses of parents, guardians, or custodians of any hearing impaired children who have given written consent to the directors of the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf. The report shall include whether the hearing impairments range from partial to total disability and if the child has multiple disabilities with the hearing impairment not identified as the primary disability of the student. The report shall also be made to the Department of Public Instruction.
(c)	Confidentiality of Records. – The directors of the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf shall treat any information reported to the schools by a local superintendent under subsection (b) of this section as confidential, except that a director or the director's designee may contact the parents, guardians, or custodians of any hearing impaired children whose information was included in the report. The information shall not be considered a public record under G.S. 132‑1.
(d)	Transfer of Information. – The local superintendent, or if there is no superintendent, the staff member with the highest decision‑making authority, shall share a copy of all current evaluation data and a copy of the current or proposed individualized education plan with the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf or the North Carolina School for the Deaf for any child enrolled in a public school unit who has been identified as a child with a disability with hearing impairment that has applied for admission to a residential school, upon the written request of a parent, guardian, or custodian of the student."
SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 115C‑5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑5.  Definitions.
As used in this Chapter unless the context requires otherwise:
…
(3a)	The governing body of a public school unit is the following:
a.	For a local school administrative unit, the local board of education.
b.	For a charter school, the nonprofit corporation board of directors.
c.	For a regional school, the regional school board of directors.
d.	For a school operated under Article 7A and Part 1 of Article 9C of this Chapter, the State Board of Education.
e.	For a school operated under Article 29A of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes, the chancellor of the constituent institution.
f.	For a residential school, the board of trustees.
…
(7a)	Public school unit. – Any of the following:
a.	A local school administrative unit.
b.	A charter school.
c.	A regional school.
d.	A school providing elementary or secondary instruction operated by one of the following:
1.	The State Board of Education, including schools operated under Article 7A and Part 1 of Article 9C of this Chapter.
2.	The University of North Carolina under Article 29A of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes.
e.	A residential school.
…."
SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 115C‑105.51(g) reads as rewritten:
"(g)	For the purposes of this section, a "public secondary school" is any of the following types of public school serving grades six or higher:
(1)	A school under the control of a local school administrative unit.
(2)	A school under the control of the State Board of Education, including schools operated under Article 7A and Part 1 of Article 9C of this Chapter.
(3)	A school under the control of The University of North Carolina.
(4)	A charter school.
(5)	A regional school.
(6)	A residential school."
SECTION 2.(c)  G.S. 150B‑1(d) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(31)	The Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf."
SECTION 2.(d)  Section 10 of S.L. 2013‑247 is repealed.
SECTION 3.(a)  Section 8.15(b) of S.L. 2013‑360 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 8.15.(b)  Notwithstanding G.S. 146‑30 or any other provision of law, the Department of Public Instruction shall only retain proceeds generated from the rental of building space on the residential school campus of the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. The Department of Public Instruction shall use all receipts generated from the leases to staff and operate the Governor Morehead School. These receipts shall not be used to support administrative functions within the Department."
SECTION 3.(b)  Notwithstanding G.S. 146‑30 or any other provision of law, beginning with the 2022‑2023 fiscal year, the Department of Public Instruction shall retain all proceeds generated from the rental of building space on the residential school campuses of the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School for the Deaf to be used in accordance with this subsection. The Department of Public Instruction shall allocate all receipts generated from these leases to each board of trustees in the amount generated from the individual school to supplement funds to staff and operate that school. These receipts shall not be used to support administrative functions within the Department of Public Instruction.
SECTION 4.  Notwithstanding Article 9C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, as amended by this act, the Department of Public Instruction may continue its administrative duties and responsibilities for the North Carolina School for the Deaf and the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf subject to Article 9C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes as of June 30, 2022, until the board of trustees for each school has successfully transitioned into the administrative role required by this act, but in no event later than October 1, 2022.
SECTION 5.(a)  By May 1, 2022, the General Assembly and the Governor shall appoint the initial members of the boards of trustees for the North Carolina School for the Deaf and the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf to take office effective July 1, 2022. Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑150.32, as enacted by this act, of the members appointed by the General Assembly in 2022, the General Assembly shall appoint one of the members recommended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one of the members recommended by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to a two‑year term of office and one of the members recommended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one of the members recommended by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to a four‑year term of office. The member appointed by the Governor in 2022 shall be appointed to a six‑year term of office. Upon the expiration of the initial terms appointed in 2022, all subsequent appointments by all appointing entities shall be for a six‑year term of office, as provided in G.S. 115C‑150.32, as enacted by this act.
SECTION 5.(b)  Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑150.32(f), as enacted by this act, following the appointment of a majority members of the boards of trustees of each residential school as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the director of each residential school shall call an initial meeting of each board.
SECTION 6.  The Department of Public Instruction shall, in collaboration with the personnel from the North Carolina School for the Deaf and the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, develop a transition plan for the change in administration of the residential schools for students with hearing impairments in accordance with the requirements of this act to be effective July 1, 2022. By December 15, 2021, the Department of Public Instruction shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the plan for transition in administration of the residential schools, including any legislative recommendations necessary to effectuate the transition.
SECTION 7.  Sections 1 through 4 of this act become effective July 1, 2022. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.