HB 23 — Education Studies and Other Changes.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2023 H 21 HOUSE BILL 23 Committee Substitute Favorable 5/2/23 Short Title:

EducationGooru StudiesContract. and Other Changes.

Representatives Blackwell, Torbett, and Cotham (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Education - K-12, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House January 30, 2023 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO STUDYREQUIRE VARIOUSTHE EDUCATIONDEPARTMENT ISSUESOF ANDPUBLIC MAKEINSTRUCTION OTHERTO CHANGESCONTRACT WITH GOORU, INC., FOR USE OF THEIR GOORU NAVIGATOR PROGRAM TO EDUCATIONADDRESS LAWS.NEGATIVE EDUCATIONAL IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

6SECTION PART1. I.

REVISENotwithstanding MYFUTURENCany EDUCATIONALprovision ATTAINMENTof GOALlaw REPORTINGto SECTIONthe 1.contrary, the Department of Public Instruction shall use funds provided pursuant to Section 3.5(a)(10) of S.L.

Section2021-25, 1(c)as ofamended by S.L.

2019-552021-180, readsto ascontract rewritten:with Gooru, Inc., for a period of up to three years for the software program Gooru Navigator, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to evaluate and improve student learning and performance and to provide students with an individualized roadmap for improving learning and performance.

"SECTIONSECTION 1.(c)2. Beginning September 1, 2020, March 15, 2024, and every September 1 March 15 thereafter, the myFutureNC Commission, which is a statewide commission focusing on postsecondaryeducational attainment in NorthCarolina, shall reportto theGeneral Assembly, as provided by G.S.

120-29.5, and to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the progress of the State reaching the postsecondary attainment goal set forth in G.S.

116C-10, as enacted by this act, and activities by the Commission to further North Carolina towards the postsecondary attainment goal." PART II.

STUDY FOR STUDENTS WITH EXTRAORDINARY COSTS/REPORT SECTION 2.

As used in this section, "Approved School" means a private school with approved nonpublic education programs providing special education for students with intensive needs.

The Department of Public Instruction shall study the following and report any legislative recommendations based on the outcomes of the study to the House Appropriations Committee on Education, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education/Higher Education, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by October 15, 2023:

(1) A method of improving options for children with disabilities with intensive needs which require private placement in an Approved School consistent with the student's individualized education program (IEP).

(2) A method of determining that placement in an Approved School is the means that most appropriately suits the child's individual needs.

(3) Extraordinary costs incurred by the public school unit by student placement in Approved Schools.

(4) Methods of creating a network of Approved Schools into which a child with disabilities with intensive needs may be placed consistent with the student's IEP.

(5) A method of prioritizingdispersal of funds to public school units to assist with the cost associated with enrolling in an Approved School in early grades to *H23-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023 incentivize public school units to enroll students in the Approved Schools at the earliest appropriate age.

(6) Recommendations on the proportion of a student's extraordinary cost to be paid from local, State, and federal sources, respectively, and to identify existing funds at each level that may be available for the purposes studied pursuant to this section.

(7) A method to monitor overidentification of children with disabilities with intensive needs.

(8) Methods to allow for Medicaid reimbursement for additional services, such as transportation, and expanding the eligible age range to receive reimbursement for services.

(9) An estimated range of costs associated with implementing the studied methods.

(10) The advisability of one or more pilot programs with one or more Approved Schools.

PART III.

REVISE NORTH CAROLINA PRINCIPAL FELLOWS COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP SECTION 3.(a) G.S.

116-74.41 reads as rewritten:

"§ 116-74.41.

North Carolina Principal Fellows Commission established;

membership.

(a) There is established the North Carolina Principal Fellows Commission.

The Commission shall exercise its powers and duties independently in its administration of the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program in accordance with this Article.

The Director of the Program shall staff the Commission in accordance with G.S.

116-74.49.

The State Education Assistance Authority as created in G.S.

116-203 shall be responsible for awarding grants upon selection of the recipients by the Commission in accordance with G.S.

116-74.46 and executing agreements for forgivable scholarship loans, cancelling through service, collecting, and otherwise enforcing the agreements under G.S.

116-74.48.

(a1) Repealed by Session Laws 2018-5, s.