HB 121 — School Calendar Flexibility/Statewide/Open Calendar.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 21 HOUSE BILL 121 Committee Substitute Favorable 4/29/25 Short Title:

Representatives Setzer, Huneycutt, Cunningham, and Johnson-Hostler (Primary Sponsors).

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

State and Local Government, if favorable, Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House February 17, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY TO LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION IN ADOPTING THE SCHOOL CALENDAR.

SECTION 1.(a)1. G.S.

115C-84.2G.S. reads as rewritten:

"§115C-84.2(d) 115C-84.2.reads as rewritten:

School"(d) calendar.Opening and Closing Dates.

…– (a2)Local Reportboards onof Schooleducation Startshall determine the dates of opening and Endclosing Dates.the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section.

–Except Asfor partyear-round ofschools, the reportingopening requirementsdate underfor students shall be no earlier than the UniformMonday Educationclosest Reportingto SystemAugust pursuant26, and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to G.S.June 11.

115C-12(18), annually by April 1 each local board of education shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education on the start and end dates of the instructional calendar for students for the next academic year.

The local board of education shall report this information for each school under the control of that board and shall identify the statutory exception authorizing an earlier start date for all schools that start earlier than the Monday closest to August 26.board.

(a3) The State Board of Education shall report annually no later than June 15 to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the start and end dates for instructional calendars for the next academic year reported by local boards of education as provided in subsection (a2) of this section.

The report shall identify all schools that start earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and the statutory exception for the earlier start date.

(b) Limitations.

– The following limitations apply when developing the school calendar:

(1) The total number of teacher workdays for teachers employed for a 10-month term shall not exceed 195 days.

(2) The calendar shall include at least 42 consecutive days when teacher attendance is not required unless:

(i) the school is a year-round school;

or (ii) the teacher is employed for a term in excess of 10 months.

At the request of the local board of education or of the principal of a school, a teacher mayelect to work on one of the 42 days when teacher attendance is not required in lieu of another scheduled workday.

(3) School shall not be held on Sundays.

(4) Veterans Day shall be a holiday for all public school personnel and for all students enrolled in the public schools.

The month of November shall be designated "Veterans' History Awareness Month." … (d) Opening and Closing Dates.

– Local boards of education shall determine the dates of opening and closing the public schools schools, including year-round schools, under subdivision (a)(1) of this section.

Except for year-round schools, the opening date for students shall be no *H121-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 earlier than the Monday closest to August 26, and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to June 11.

A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements forinstructionalfor daysinstructional orinstructional time.Forpurposes ofthis subsection,theterm "good cause" means that schools in any local school administrative unit in a county have been closed eight days per year during any four of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or otherinstructional emergencytime. situations.

TheFor requiredpurposes openingof andthis closingsubsection, datesthe underterm this"good subsectioncause" shallmeans notthat applyschools toin any school that a local boardschool designatedadministrative asunit havingin a modifiedcounty calendarhave forbeen theclosed 2003-2004eight schooldays per year orduring to any schoolfour that was part of a planned program in the 2003-2004last school10 yearyears forbecause a system of modifiedsevere calendarweather schools,conditions, soenergy longshortages, aspower thefailures, schoolor operatesother underemergency asituations. modified calendar.

…."The SECTIONrequired 1.(b)opening G.S.and closing dates under this subsection shall not apply to any school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003-2004 school year or to any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003-2004 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar." SECTION 2.

115C-84.3(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b) A public school unit in a county with a local school administrative unit that has received a good cause waiver, as provided in G.S.

115C-84.2(d), for the school year been closed eight days per year during any four of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergency situations may use up to 15 remote instruction days or 90 remote instruction hours when schools are unable to open due to severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergency situations and mayuse that timetowardstherequired instructional days orhours forthe school calendar.All otherpublic school units may use up to five remote instruction days or 30 remote instruction hours when schools are unable to open due to severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergency situations and may use that time towards the required instructional days or hours for the school calendar." SECTION 2.

Page*H121-v-1* 2 House Bill 121-Second Edition