AN ACT to APPROPRIATE funds to support teachers participating in the NORTH CAROLINA new teacher support program.

Whereas, recent graduates of North Carolina educator preparation programs (EPPs) are facing the continued impact on families, students, and schools by the aftermath of the worst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19); and

Whereas, North Carolina teacher vacancies are in excess of 5,000 or five percent (5%), a fifty‑eight and four‑tenths percent (58.4%) increase year over year; and

Whereas, fewer students are enrolled in the 15 educator preparation programs (EPPs) at constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina; and

Whereas, there was a thirteen percent (13%) increase in the number of teachers identified as candidates for a residency license from the 2020‑2021 school year to the 2021‑2022 school year; and

Whereas, the attrition rate for beginning teachers is approximately sixty‑three percent (63%) higher than their more experienced counterparts; and

Whereas, the attrition rate of teachers who entered the teaching profession with a residency license or lateral entry license was fifty‑eight and seven‑tenths percent (58.7%) higher than traditionally prepared educators; and

Whereas, teachers who left employment in the public schools had lower Education Value‑Added Assessment System (EVAAS) index scores than those teachers who remained in employment during the measurement period; and

Whereas, students in North Carolina are making up learning loss experienced during the COVID‑19 pandemic; and

Whereas, certain local school administrative units may be more vulnerable to teacher attrition; and

Whereas, on‑the‑job learning and comprehensive induction into the teaching profession between the first and second years of teaching is where the most gains in teacher effectiveness are realized; and

Whereas, half of North Carolina's teachers leave the profession after five years, and the personnel costs associated with teacher attrition are twelve thousand five hundred dollars ($12,500) per teacher; and

Whereas, according to the draft report on the 2021‑2022 State of the Teaching Profession, 793 of the 6,684 resident teachers in North Carolina are no longer teaching in the public schools, representing a loss of nine million nine hundred twelve thousand dollars ($9,912,000) annually; and

Whereas, teacher effectiveness is the most important factor in delivering positive student outcomes; and

Whereas, as of February 8, 2023, the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program has sustained induction support, recording over 35,800 supportive contacts with teachers, delivered distanced professional development to partners, and continues to innovate novel ways to support teachers during school closures and associated disruptions to mitigate loss of learning; and

Whereas, the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program is a program of The University of North Carolina and administratively coordinated by East Carolina University and is a comprehensive induction program providing research‑based curriculum and multiple services to increase teacher effectiveness, enhance skills, and reduce attrition among beginning teachers; and

Whereas, teachers participating in the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program were significantly more likely to return (i) to North Carolina public schools overall, (ii) to the same local school administrative unit, and (iii) to the same school in the following year than other beginning teachers working in similar schools; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of two million one hundred twenty‑eight thousand dollars ($2,128,000) in nonrecurring funds for each fiscal year of the 2023‑2025 fiscal biennium for the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program (NC NTSP) to enable additional qualifying new graduates of educator preparation programs (EPPs) at constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina who are teaching in North Carolina public schools to participate in NC NTSP without cost to local school administrative units. New teachers eligible for funding shall be teaching in the following local school administrative units: Anson County Schools, Northampton County Schools, Onslow County Schools, Public Schools of Robeson County, Scotland County Schools, Tyrrell County Schools, Washington County Schools, and Weldon City Schools.

SECTION 2.  The funds appropriated in Section 1 of this act shall be used in programs designed to address the specific and various needs of traditional pathway NC EPP graduates who will begin their teaching careers in North Carolina public schools through a blended model of support to include:

(1)        Participation in the 2023‑2024 e‑Institute hosted by NC NTSP, a professional conference event for early career educators.

(2)        An assigned instructional coach familiar with the region and local school context to guide improvements in the teachers' proficiency in planning, instruction, and assessment.

(3)        Access to and participation in ongoing, career‑embedded professional development to meet their emerging needs with consideration of their professional context.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2023.