AN ACT to allow public school students to be released during the instructional day to attend courses in religious moral instruction.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:

Part 8. Courses and Credits.

§ 115C‑78.3.  Released time courses.

(a)        The following definitions apply in this section:

(1)        Released time course. – A course in religious moral instruction taught by a sponsoring entity that a student attends during the instructional day.

(2)        Sponsoring entity. – An organization that provides released time courses.

(b)        Released Time Course Policy. – The governing body of a public school unit may adopt a policy to allow students to attend a released time course for at least one but no more than five hours per week. At a minimum, the policy shall require that:

(1)        A student's parent or legal guardian gives written consent for the student to attend the released time course.

(2)        Transportation to and from the location of the released time course, including transportation for students with disabilities, is the complete responsibility of the sponsoring entity, parent or legal guardian, or student.

(3)        No federal, State, or local funds, other than minimal administrative costs incurred by facilitating the released time course policy, are expended in providing the released time course.

(4)        Students assume responsibility for any missed schoolwork.

(5)        Released time courses are not to be held on school property unless permitted under a neutral policy of equal access opening school property for use by community groups.

(6)        Students shall not be considered absent from school while attending a released time course.

(c)        Credit for Released Time Courses. – Notwithstanding any State Board of Education rules, as part of a governing body of a public school unit's released time course policy, the governing body may allow the awarding of up to two elective course credits to a student who successfully completes a released time course in accordance with the following:

(1)        A student's participation in a released time course but failure to earn credit shall not be denoted as a fail on the student's transcript.

(2)        In determining how much credit to award for completion of a released time course, the governing body of the public school unit shall evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar courses. The decision to award credit for a released time course shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any test for, religious content or denominational affiliation. For purposes of this section, secular criteria may include the following:

a.         The number of hours of classroom instruction time.

b.         A review of the course syllabus that reflects course requirements and materials used.

c.         The methods of assessment used in the course.

d.         The qualifications of the course instructor, which shall be similar to the qualifications of other teachers within the public school unit.

(d)       Duties and Responsibilities of Sponsoring Organizations. – An organization that provides a released time course shall do the following:

(1)        Maintain attendance records and make the records available to the public school unit the students enrolled in the course attend.

(2)        Upon request of a governing body of a public school unit that has students taking or seeking to take a released time course from that organization, provide a copy of the syllabus for the course.

(3)        Make provisions for and assume liability for students while they are under supervision of the sponsoring organization.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2025‑2026 school year.