Agenda - 04-25-2013 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment C 11 performance standards for two consecutive years would lose career status and would have to serve two additional years on probationary status before being eligible for career status again. All teachers who currently have career status would retain it as long as they meet the performance criteria. "It makes everyone stay on their toes from the day they step into the classroom," said Rep. Bryan Holloway (R- Stokes), one of the bill's primary sponsors. "If you do well, you're fine. If you have a bad year, you have a year to fix it," NCSBA is in the process of analyzing the teacher contract portions of the bill. HB 719 would also include language from HB 435 supported by NCSBA that incorporates a school -wide growth component into school performance grades. Another provision in HB 719 would create a task force, comprised of teachers, parents, policymakers, and administrators, to review and propose ideas on teacher merit pay and other teacher incentive issues. The task force would include one local school board member recommended by NCSBA. "We need to look at pay as a whole issue," said Rep. Rick Glazier (D- Cumberland), another primary sponsor of the bill. HB 719 also recommends expanding digital technology and out-of-the-classroom learning and changes to school improvement plans. In response to the House measure, Sen. Berger was quoted as saying, "I think what we've put in the Senate bill are things that need to be addressed in K -12 education. I think dragging our feet on some of these issues is something that's not productive in terms of improving our public schools." In addition to Reps. Holloway and Glazier, HB 719's other primary sponsors are Reps. Hugh Blackwell (R- Burke) and Larry Hall (D- Durham). The bill will be considered by the House Education Committee on Tuesday. SCHOOL SAFETY LEGISLATION The House Education Committee last week approved house Bill 452- 2013 School Safety Act, a comprehensive school safety bill crafted with input from NCSBA. The bill's provisions include the following: • Provide grants for LEAs to hire and/or train School Resource Officers. • Provide grants for LEAs to hire additional school psychologists, school counselors and social workers. • Codify the duties of a school counselor and require that they spend at least 80% of their work time providing direct services to students and designates that coordination of standardized testing does not constitute direct services to students. • Require LEAs to adopt an emergency response plan. • Require every public school to have a panic alarm system that connects with the nearest local law enforcement agency. • Require an LEA, system -wide, school safety exercise every 2 years, and require a school to hold a school safety exercise at least every year. • Require LEAs to prepare schematic diagrams of its school facilities and provide the diagrams and keys to the main entrance of all school facilities to local law enforcement agencies.