AN ACT TO provide funds for school PSYCHOLOGISTS AND SOCIAL WORKERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑316.5 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑316.5.  School psychologists allotment.

(a)        To the extent funds are made available, the State Board of Education shall establish a funding allotment for school psychologist positions. The State Board is authorized to adopt rules for the allocation of school psychologist positions pursuant to this allotment. Rules adopted by the State Board pursuant to this section shall include, at a minimum, the following requirements:

(1)        School psychologist positions are allocated on the basis of average daily membership.membership at a rate of one school psychologist per 700 students.

(2)        Each local school administrative unit receives sufficient funding for at least one school psychologist position in accordance with G.S. 115C‑47(67).

(b)        Beginning with the 2023‑2024 fiscal year, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction, to be allocated to the school psychologists allotment, the amounts necessary to employ the following percentages of the ratio of school psychologists to students provided in subsection (a) of this section in each of the following fiscal years:

Fiscal Year               Appropriation

2023‑2024                       30%

2024‑2025                       40%

2025‑2026                       55%

2026‑2027                       70%

2027‑2028                       85%

2028‑2029                       100%

(c)        When developing the base budget, as defined by G.S. 143C‑1‑1, for each fiscal year specified in subsection (b) of this section, the Director of the Budget shall include the appropriated amount for that fiscal year.

(d)       Funds provided pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall supplement and not supplant any other funds provided for school psychologists.

SECTION 1.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of eighteen million eight hundred thirty‑five thousand two hundred seventy dollars ($18,835,270) in recurring funds for the 2022‑2023 fiscal year to be allocated to the school psychologist allotment pursuant to G.S. 115C‑316.5, as amended by this act, to fund school psychologists in public school units.

SECTION 2.(a)  Article 21 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 115C‑316.7.  School social worker allotment.

(a)        The State Board of Education shall establish a funding allotment for school social worker roles. The State Board is authorized to adopt rules for the allocation of school social worker positions pursuant to this allotment. School social worker positions shall be allocated on the basis of average daily membership at a rate of one school social worker per 400 students.

(b)        Beginning with the 2023‑2024 fiscal year, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction, to be added to the instructional support allotment, the amounts necessary to employ the following percentages of the school social worker role position level provided in subsection (a) of this section for each fiscal year as follows:

Fiscal Year                 Appropriation

2023‑2024                          30%

2024‑2025                          40%

2025‑2026                          55%

2026‑2027                          70%

2027‑2028                          85%

2028‑2029                          100%

(c)        When developing the base budget, as defined by G.S. 143C‑1‑1, for each fiscal year specified in subsection (b) of this section, the Director of the Budget shall include the appropriated amount for that fiscal year.

(d)       Funds provided pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall supplement and not supplant any other funds provided for school social workers.

SECTION 2.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of twenty‑four million two hundred sixteen thousand eight hundred ninety dollars ($24,216,890) in recurring funds for the 2022‑2023 fiscal year pursuant to G.S. 115C‑316.7, as enacted by this act, to fund social worker roles in public school units.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2022.