AN ACT to make various changes to the laws affecting the employment, licensure, and quality of life of public school teachers and to provide additional flexibility to local school administrative units in setting the school calendar.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

part i. reinstate education‑based salary supplements for teachers and instructional support personnel

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑302.10 is repealed.

SECTION 1.(b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the 2025‑2026 fiscal year, State Board of Education policy TCP‑A‑006, as it was in effect on June 30, 2013, shall be used to determine (i) whether teachers and instructional support personnel are paid on the M salary schedule and (ii) whether they receive a salary supplement for academic preparation at the six‑year or doctoral degree level.

SECTION 1.(c)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of eight million dollars ($8,000,000) in recurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to reinstate education‑based salary supplements for teachers and instructional support personnel in accordance with this act.

SECTION 1.(d)  This act becomes effective July 1, 2026.

part ii. national board for professional teaching standards loan program and funds

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 115C‑296.2A is repealed.

SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 115C‑296.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑296.2.  National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification.

(a)        State Policy. – It is the goal of the State to provide opportunities and incentives for good teachers to become excellent teachers and to retain them in the teaching profession; to attain this goal, the State shall support the efforts of teachers to achieve national certification by providing approved paid leave time for teachers participating in the process, lending providing a forgivable loan to teachers for the participation fee, and paying a significant salary differential to teachers who attain national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

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(c)        Payment of the NBPTS Participation Fee; Paid Leave. – The State State Education Assistance Authority shall lend teachers the participation fee and shall provide fee, and teachers shall receive up to three days of approved paid leave to all teachers participating for participation in the NBPTS program who:if the teachers meet all of the following criteria:

(1)        Have completed three full years of teaching in a North Carolina public school; andschool.

(2)        Have (i) not previously received State funds for participating in any certification area in the NBPTS program, (ii) repaid any State funds previously received for the NBPTS certification process, or (iii) received a waiver of repayment from the State Board of Education.

Teachers participating in the program shall take paid leave only with the approval of their supervisors.

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(d1)     Forgiveness and Repayment of the Application Fee. – A The State Education Assistance Authority shall forgive the loan of the application fee if the teacher attains NBPTS certification within five years of applying for NBPTS certification. If the teacher does not attain NBPTS certification within five years, the teacher shall repay the application fee to the State Education Assistance Authority within three years. eight years of applying for NBPTS certification. The commencement of cash repayment shall begin 12 months following the disbursement of the loan funds. The Alternatively, the State Education Assistance Authority may forgive the loan upon the death of the teacher or upon an injury deemed to leave the teacher totally and permanently disabled.

All funds appropriated to, or otherwise received by, the Authority to provide loans to teachers pursuant to this section, all funds received as repayment of loans, and all interest earned on these funds shall be placed in a trust fund. This fund shall be used only for loans made pursuant to this section and administrative costs of the Authority.

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(f)        Rules. – The State Education Assistance Authority shall adopt rules and guidelines regarding the loan loan, forgiveness, and repayment of the NBPTS application fee. To the extent funds provided for forgivable loans for the NBPTS application fee are insufficient to award forgivable loans to qualified applicants, the Authority may establish a lottery process for selection of loan recipients in accordance with the requirements established by this section. The State Board shall adopt policies and guidelines to implement the remainder of this section.

SECTION 2.(c)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of one million one hundred forty thousand dollars ($1,140,000) in recurring funds beginning in the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to provide forgivable loans to teachers for the cost of the participation fee for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification pursuant to G.S. 115C‑296.2, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.

part iii. increase teacher salaries

SECTION 3.(a)  The following monthly teacher salary schedule shall apply for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to licensed personnel of the public schools who are classified as teachers. The salary schedule is based on years of teaching experience.

2026‑2027 Teacher Monthly Salary Schedule

Years of Experience                                                              A Teachers

0                                                                                         $6,000

1                                                                                         $6,110

2                                                                                         $6,220

3                                                                                         $6,329

4                                                                                         $6,439

5                                                                                         $6,549

6                                                                                         $6,691

7                                                                                         $6,824

8                                                                                         $6,956

9                                                                                         $7,089

10                                                                                       $7,222

11                                                                                       $7,354

12                                                                                       $7,487

13                                                                                       $7,619

14                                                                                       $7,752

15                                                                                       $7,885

16                                                                                       $8,030

17                                                                                       $8,178

18                                                                                       $8,328

19                                                                                       $8,482

20                                                                                       $8,638

21                                                                                       $8,797

22                                                                                       $8,958

23                                                                                       $9,123

24                                                                                       $9,291

25                                                                                       $9,462

26                                                                                       $9,636

27                                                                                       $9,813

28                                                                                       $9,994

29                                                                                      $10,178

30+                                                                                   $10,365

SECTION 3.(b)  Salary Supplements for Teachers Paid on This Salary Schedule. –

(1)        Licensed teachers who have NBPTS certification shall receive a salary supplement each month of twelve percent (12%) of their monthly salary on the A salary schedule.

(2)        Licensed teachers who are classified as M teachers shall receive a salary supplement each month of ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary on the A salary schedule.

(3)        Licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the six‑year degree level shall receive a salary supplement of one hundred twenty‑six dollars ($126.00) per month in addition to the supplement provided to them as M teachers.

(4)        Licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the doctoral degree level shall receive a salary supplement of two hundred fifty‑three dollars ($253.00) per month in addition to the supplement provided to them as M teachers.

(5)        Certified school nurses shall receive a salary supplement each month of ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary on the A salary schedule.

(6)        School counselors who are licensed as counselors at the master's degree level or higher shall receive a salary supplement of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month.

SECTION 3.(c)  For school psychologists, school speech pathologists who are licensed as speech pathologists at the master's degree level or higher, and school audiologists who are licensed as audiologists at the master's degree level or higher, the following shall apply:

(1)        The first step of the salary schedule shall be equivalent to the sixth step of the A salary schedule.

(2)        These employees shall receive the following salary supplements each month:

a.         Ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary, excluding the supplement provided pursuant to sub‑subdivision b. of this subdivision.

b.         Five hundred dollars ($500.00).

(3)        These employees are eligible to receive salary supplements equivalent to those of teachers for academic preparation at the six‑year degree level or the doctoral degree level.

(4)        The twenty‑sixth step of the salary schedule shall be seven and one‑half percent (7.5%) higher than the salary received by these same employees on the twenty‑fifth step of the salary schedule.

SECTION 3.(d)  Beginning with the 2014‑2015 fiscal year, in lieu of providing annual longevity payments to teachers paid on the teacher salary schedule, the amounts of those longevity payments are included in the monthly amounts under the teacher salary schedule.

SECTION 3.(e)  A teacher compensated in accordance with this salary schedule for the 2026‑2027 school year shall receive an amount equal to the greater of the following:

(1)        The applicable amount on the salary schedule for the applicable school year.

(2)        For teachers who were eligible for longevity for the 2013‑2014 school year, the sum of the following:

a.         The salary the teacher received in the 2013‑2014 school year pursuant to Section 35.11 of S.L. 2013‑360.

b.         The longevity that the teacher would have received under the longevity system in effect for the 2013‑2014 school year provided in Section 35.11 of S.L. 2013‑360 based on the teacher's current years of service.

c.         The annual bonus provided in Section 9.1(e) of S.L. 2014‑100.

(3)        For teachers who were not eligible for longevity for the 2013‑2014 school year, the sum of the salary and annual bonus the teacher received in the 2014‑2015 school year pursuant to Section 9.1 of S.L. 2014‑100.

SECTION 3.(f)  As used in this section, the term teacher shall also include instructional support personnel.

SECTION 3.(g)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year the sum of four billion three hundred ninety million dollars ($4,390,000,000) in recurring funds to implement the teacher raises provided in this section.

part iv. exploratory sabbatical grant program for teachers

SECTION 4.(a)  Article 20 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new section to read:

§ 115C‑302.5.  Exploratory sabbatical grant program for teachers.

(a)        Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:

(1)        Department. – The Department of Public Instruction.

(2)        Eligible teacher. – A teacher employed in a local school administrative unit who meets all of the following criteria:

a.         Has worked as a teacher in a public school unit for 10 years, regardless of a break in service.

b.         Has not taken a sabbatical pursuant to the Program in the prior 10 years.

c.         Has a continuing professional teacher license.

d.         Is not currently eligible under G.S. 135‑5 for an unreduced retirement allowance.

(3)        Program. – The Exploratory Sabbatical Grant Program for Teachers established pursuant to this section.

(b)        Program. – To the extent funds are provided for this purpose, the Department of Public Instruction shall establish the Exploratory Sabbatical Grant Program for Teachers. The purpose of the Program is to support teacher retention by allowing eligible teachers to take sabbaticals from their current teaching positions and serve as substitute teachers in other subjects, other schools located in the local school administrative unit, or both, while continuing to receive their salaries as full‑time teachers.

(c)        Applications; Time Line. – No later than November 1 of each year, the Department of Public Instruction shall issue a request for applications from local school administrative units to participate in the Program. Local school administrative units shall submit their applications to the Department by February 15 of the following year. The Department shall select local school administrative units to participate in the Program by April 15 of the year applications are submitted for participation in the following school year.

(d)       Award of Funds. – The Department shall award funds for up to a total of 500 teacher sabbatical positions. The Department shall allocate teacher sabbatical positions to local school administrative units proportionally based on the number of eligible teachers in the unit. For each teacher sabbatical position authorized by the Department under the Program, the Department shall allocate one additional classroom teaching position to the local school administrative unit for that school year.

(e)        Selection of Teachers. – Local school administrative units that receive an award of grant funds pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall select eligible teachers in the unit to receive teacher sabbaticals. As part of that process, the unit shall prioritize the award of sabbaticals to teachers with between 10 and 19 years of experience as a teacher. Thereafter, the unit shall award funds to teachers with 20 to 29 years of experience as a teacher.

(f)        Sabbatical Requirements. – The following requirements shall apply to sabbaticals taken under this section:

(1)        A teacher selected to receive a sabbatical pursuant to subsection (e) of this section shall serve as a substitute teacher in the local school administrative unit where the teacher is employed for up to one school year.

(2)        The teacher shall receive compensation equivalent to his or her full salary as a teacher during the sabbatical.

(3)        The local school administrative unit where the teacher is employed shall determine the minimum number of hours the teacher is required to work as a substitute teacher during the sabbatical.

(4)        At the conclusion of the sabbatical, the local school administrative unit shall offer the teacher a full‑time teaching position somewhere within the unit unless the teacher is dismissed or demoted for cause. The position need not be in the same location or the same grade level as the position the teacher vacated prior to taking the sabbatical.

(g)        Administration. – Of the funds appropriated to the Department pursuant to this section, the Department may retain up to one percent (1%) each fiscal year for administrative costs associated with the Program.

(h)        Report. – No later than March 15, 2028, and every year thereafter while grant funds are awarded under the Program, the Department shall report on the Program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. The report shall include at least the following information:

(1)        The number of local school administrative units participating in the Program in that school year and the identity of those units.

(2)        The number of teachers in each participating local school administrative unit that are taking sabbaticals in that school year and the average years of experience of those teachers.

(3)        The number of teachers in the prior school year who took sabbaticals and remained employed as teachers in the participating local school administrative units in the following year.

SECTION 4.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction beginning in the 2026‑2027 fiscal year the sum of forty million dollars ($40,000,000) in recurring funds to provide grants to local school administrative units to permit teachers to take one‑year sabbaticals as substitute teachers under the Exploratory Sabbatical Grant Program for Teachers established pursuant to G.S. 115C‑302.5, as enacted by subsection (a) of this section.

SECTION 4.(c)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2026.

part v. school calendar and remote instruction flexibility

SECTION 5.(a)  G.S. 115C‑84.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑84.2.  School calendar.

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(a2)      Report on School Start and End Dates. – As part of the reporting requirements under the Uniform Education Reporting System pursuant to G.S. 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.

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(d)       Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for year‑round schools, the opening date for students shall be no 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. On a showing of good cause, the State Board of Education may waive the requirement that the opening date for students be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and may allow the local board of education to set an opening date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 19, to the extent that school calendars are able to provide sufficient days to accommodate anticipated makeup days due to school closings. A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or instructional time. For purposes of this subsection, the term 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 other emergency situations.

The required opening 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.

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SECTION 5.(b)  G.S. 115C‑84.3 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑84.3.  Remote instruction.

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(b)        A public school unit in a county that has received a good cause waiver, as provided in G.S. 115C‑84.2(d), for the school year 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 may use that time towards the required instructional days or hours for the school calendar. All other public Public school units may use up to five 75 remote instruction days or 30 450 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.

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(d)       A governing board that chooses to use remote instruction as provided in subsection (b) of this section shall submit to the State Board, by July 1 annually, a remote instruction plan that provides a detailed framework for delivering quality remote instruction to students for the upcoming school year and information on the number of remote instruction days or hours used in the prior school year to satisfy instructional requirements, when applicable. At a minimum, the plans submitted by governing boards shall include the following:

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(8)        The number of remote instruction days or hours used in the prior school year and the number of remote instruction days or hours planned for the upcoming school year.

(e)        The State Board of Education shall report by September 15 annually to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information related to remote instruction:

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(2)        A summary document of the following:

a.         The number of remote instruction days or hours used by each public school unit in the prior school year.year and the number of remote instruction days or hours planned for the upcoming school year.

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SECTION 5.(c)  G.S. 115C‑105.26(b)(3) is repealed.

part vi. protected teacher planning time

SECTION 6.(a)  G.S. 115C‑105.27(b) reads as rewritten:

(b)      School Improvement Plan. – In order to improve student performance, the school improvement team at each school shall develop a school improvement plan that takes into consideration the annual performance goal for that school that is set by the State Board under G.S. 115C‑105.35 and the goals set out in the mission statement for the public schools adopted by the State Board of Education. All school improvement plans shall be, to the greatest extent possible, data‑driven. School improvement teams shall use the Education Value‑Added Assessment System (EVAAS) or a compatible and comparable system approved by the State Board of Education to (i) analyze student data and identify root causes for problems, (ii) determine actions to address them, and (iii) appropriately place students in courses such as Algebra I. School improvement plans shall contain clear, unambiguous targets, explicit indicators and actual measures, and expeditious time frames for meeting the measurement standards.

The strategies for improving student performance:

(1)        Shall include a plan for the use of staff development funds that may be made available to the school by the local board of education to implement the school improvement plan. The plan may provide that a portion of these funds is used for mentor training and for release time and substitute teachers while mentors and teachers mentored are meeting;meeting.

(1a)      Repealed by Session Laws 2012‑142, s. 7A.1(c), effective July 2, 2012.

(2)        Shall include a plan to address school safety and discipline concerns;concerns.

(3)        May include a decision to use State funds in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.25;G.S. 115C‑105.25.

(4)        Shall include a plan that specifies the effective instructional practices and methods to be used to improve the academic performance of students identified as at risk of academic failure or at risk of dropping out of school;

(5)        May include requests for waivers of State laws, rules, or policies for that school. A request for a waiver shall meet the requirements of G.S. 115C‑105.26;G.S. 115C‑105.26.

(6)        Shall include a plan to provide a duty‑free lunch period for every teacher on a daily basis or as otherwise approved by the school improvement team; andteam.

(7)        Shall include a plan to provide duty‑free instructional planning time for every teacher under G.S. 115C‑301.1, with the goal of providing an average of at least five hours of planning time per week; [and]G.S. 115C‑301.1.

(8)        Shall include a plan to identify and eliminate unnecessary and redundant reporting requirements for teachers and, to the extent practicable, streamline the school's reporting system and procedures, including requiring forms and reports to be in electronic form when possible and incorporating relevant documents into the student accessible components of the Instructional Improvement System.

SECTION 6.(b)  G.S. 115C‑301.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑301.1.  Duty‑free instructional planning time.

All full‑time assigned classroom teachers shall be provided a minimum of five duty‑free instructional planning time during regular student contact hours. hours each week. The duty‑free instructional planning time shall be provided to the maximum extent that (i) the safety and proper supervision of children may allow during regular student contact hours and (ii) insofar as funds are provided for this purpose by the General Assembly. If the safety and supervision of children does not allow duty‑free instructional planning time during regular student contact hours for a given teacher, the funds provided by the General Assembly for the duty‑free instructional planning time for that teacher shall revert to the general fund. Principals shall not unfairly burden a given teacher by making that teacher give up his or her duty‑free instructional planning time on an ongoing, regular basis without the consent of the teacher.

part vii. GUARANTEED teacher workdays

SECTION 7.  G.S. 115C‑84.2(a)(4) is reenacted as it existed immediately before its repeal and reads as rewritten:

(4)      Five A minimum of nine days, as designated by the local board, for use as teacher workdays. These days shall be protected to allow teachers to complete instructional and classroom administrative duties. The local school administrative unit shall not impose any additional tasks on these days. The local board shall schedule one of these days at the beginning of the school year and one at the end of each academic quarter.as follows:

a.         Three days at the beginning of the school year.

b.         One day at the end of the first, second, and third academic quarters.

c.         Three days at the end of the final academic quarter.

part viii. effective date

SECTION 8.  Except as otherwise provided, this bill is effective when it becomes law.