AN ACT to make various changes to education laws.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Part I. medical condition action plans and medical emergency plans

SECTION 1.1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑12 is amended by adding the following new subdivisions to read:

(50)    Medical Condition Action Plan. – The State Board of Education shall adopt a rule establishing a medical condition action plan as provided in G.S. 115C‑375.1 to be implemented by each public school unit for each student at risk for a medical emergency as diagnosed by a doctor.

(51)      Medical Emergency Plan. – The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Health and Human Services, shall adopt a rule establishing the required response of public school unit employees when a student has a medical emergency not otherwise covered by a medical condition action plan implemented in accordance with G.S. 115C‑375.1. The Department of Public Instruction shall provide each public school unit with a copy of the rule, and each public school unit shall implement the rule.

SECTION 1.1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑375.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑375.1.  To provide some medical care to students.students and implement medical condition action plans.

(a)        It is within the scope of duty of teachers, including substitute teachers, teacher assistants, student teachers, or any other public school employee when authorized by the board of education governing body of a public school unit or its designee, (i) to administer any drugs or medication prescribed by a doctor upon written request of the parents, or as described in the medical condition action plan required by subsection (b) of this section, (ii) to give emergency health care when reasonably apparent circumstances indicate that any delay would seriously worsen the physical condition or endanger the life of the pupil, student, and (iii) to perform any other first aid or lifesaving techniques in which the employee has been trained in a program approved by the State Board of Education. At least one public school unit employee per school shall be trained in first aid and lifesaving techniques, including seizure recognition. No public school unit employee, however, other than a school administrator, shall be required to administer drugs or medication or attend lifesaving techniques programs.

(b)        Each governing body of a public school unit shall implement the medical condition action plan adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C‑12(50) for each student at risk of a medical emergency as diagnosed by a doctor. The medical condition action plan adopted by the State Board of Education shall include all of the following:

(1)        A standard medical condition action plan form.

(2)        Detailed instructions in the medical condition action plan form to ensure that all individuals designated by the principal, or, if there is no principal, the staff member with the highest decision‑making authority, to provide medical care for a student at risk for a medical emergency as diagnosed by a doctor, know how to address the medical emergency.

(3)        Information detailing the method by which and by whom any medical emergency will be handled when the student is at a school‑sponsored activity that is not on the campus of the public school unit, including field trips and interscholastic athletic activities.

(c)        Any public school unit employee, authorized by the board of education governing body of a public school unit or its designee to act under (i), (ii), or (iii) above, subsections (a) and (b) of this section, shall not be liable in civil damages for any authorized act or for any omission relating to that act unless the act or omission amounts to gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing. Any person, serving in a voluntary position at the request of or with the permission or consent of the board of education governing body of a public school unit or its designee, who has been given the authority by the board of education governing body of a public school unit or its designee to act under (ii) above give emergency health care when reasonably apparent circumstances indicate that any delay would seriously worsen the physical condition or endanger the life of the student shall not be liable in civil damages for any authorized act or for any omission relating to the act unless the act amounts to gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing.

(d)       At the commencement of each school year, but before the beginning of classes, and thereafter as circumstances require, the principal of each school school, or, if there is no principal, the staff member with the highest decision‑making authority, shall determine which persons will participate in the medical care program.

SECTION 1.1.(c)  The State Board of Education may adopt temporary rules to implement this section.

SECTION 1.2.(a)  G.S. 115C‑47 is amended by adding the following new subdivisions to read:

(68)    To Implement a Medical Condition Action Plan. – Local boards of education shall implement the medical condition action plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(50) and as provided in G.S. 115C‑375.1.

(69)      To Implement a Medical Emergency Plan. – Local boards of education shall implement the medical emergency plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(51).

SECTION 1.2.(b)  G.S. 115C‑218.75 is amended by adding the following new subsections to read:

(e3)    Medical Condition Action Plan. – A charter school shall implement the medical condition action plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(50) and as provided in G.S. 115C‑375.1.

(e4)      Medical Emergency Plan. – A charter school shall implement the medical emergency plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(51).

SECTION 1.2.(c)  G.S. 115C‑238.66 is amended by adding the following new subdivisions to read:

(7g)    Medical condition action plan. – A regional school shall implement the medical condition action plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(50) and as provided in G.S. 115C‑375.1.

(7h)      Medical emergency plan. – A regional school shall implement the medical emergency plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(51).

SECTION 1.2.(d)  G.S. 116‑239.8(b) is amended by adding the following new subdivisions to read:

(23)    A laboratory school shall implement the medical condition action plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(50) and as provided in G.S. 115C‑375.1.

(24)      A laboratory school shall implement the medical emergency plan adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C‑12(51).

SECTION 1.2.(e)  Subdivision (2) of Section 6(d) of S.L. 2018‑32 is amended by adding the following new sub‑subdivisions to read:

q.        (68) [To Implement a Medical Condition Action Plan].

r.          (69) [To Implement a Medical Emergency Plan].

SECTION 1.3.  This Part applies beginning with the 2023‑2024 school year.

PART II. allow students in home schools to participate in advanced placement (AP) exams, the preliminary scholastic assessment test (psat), and the PreACT

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 115C‑174.18 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑174.18.  Opportunity to take Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Every student in the eighth through tenth grades who has completed Algebra I or who is in the last month of Algebra I shall be given an opportunity to take a version of either the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) or the PLAN precursor test to the ACT, PreACT test, at the discretion of the local school administrative unit, one time at no cost to the student. A student receiving instruction through a home school, as provided by Part 3 of Article 39 of this Chapter, shall be eligible to participate in testing as provided in G.S. 115C‑565.1. The maximum amount of State funds used for this purpose shall be the cost of the PSAT/NMSQT.

SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 115C‑174.26(a) reads as rewritten:

(a)      It is the intent of the State to enhance accessibility and encourage students to enroll in and successfully complete more rigorous advanced courses to enable success in postsecondary education for all students. For the purposes of this section, an advanced course is an Advanced Placement course, an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme course, or a Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) course, including an AS‑Level or A‑Level course. To attain this goal, to the extent funds are made available for this purpose, students enrolled in public schools shall be exempt from paying any fees for administration of examinations for advanced courses and registration fees for advanced courses in which the student is enrolled regardless of the score the student achieves on an examination. A student receiving instruction through a home school, as provided by Part 3 of Article 39 of this Chapter, shall be eligible to participate in administration of examinations for advanced courses as provided in G.S. 115C‑565.1.

SECTION 2.(c)  Part 3 of Article 39 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 115C‑565.1.  Eligibility to participate in certain testing administration in local school administrative units.

(a)        A student enrolled in a home school shall be allowed to participate in the administration of the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test or the PreACT test, as offered by the local school administrative unit in accordance with G.S. 115C‑174.18, as follows:

(1)        The student may take the test at a school within the local school administrative unit that the student would be assigned to if the student attended public school.

(2)        The student shall have completed a course or test that shows equivalent competency to passing Algebra I.

(3)        The student's parent shall be charged the cost of the test by the local school administrative unit.

(4)        The student's parent, or other responsible adult designated by the parent, may be required by the local school administrative unit to serve as a proctor in order for the student to take the test, if the addition of the student would prevent the local school administrative unit from meeting the required proctor‑student ratio for that test at that school.

(b)        A student enrolled in a home school shall be allowed to take any advanced course examination offered by a local school administrative unit in accordance with G.S. 115C‑174.26, as follows:

(1)        The student may take the advanced course examination at a school within the local school administrative unit that the student would have been assigned to if the student attended public school.

(2)        The student shall meet any requirements to take the advanced course examination established by the organization issuing that examination and the chief administrator of the home school. A local board of education shall not require the student to complete a specific advanced course to take the related examination.

(3)        The student's parent shall be charged the cost of the test by the local school administrative unit.

(4)        The student's parent, or other responsible adult designated by the parent, may be required by the local school administrative unit to serve as a proctor in order for the student to take the advanced course examination, if the addition of the student would prevent the local school administrative unit from meeting the required proctor‑student ratio for that examination at that school.

PART III. ALLOW PARENT CHOICE IN NURSING SERVICE PROVIDERS REQUIRED BY AN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM

SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 115C‑111.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 115C‑111.2.  Contracts with private service providers.

(a)        Local educational agencies furnishing special education and related services to children with disabilities may contract with private special education facilities or service providers to furnish any of these services that the public providers are unable to furnish.services.

(b)        As used in this subsection, nursing services are services that may only be provided by a nurse. When providing nursing services pursuant to a child's IEP, local educational agencies shall make available the parent's choice of nurse if all of the following apply:

(1)        The child's IEP requires nursing services.

(2)        The child received nursing services from the nurse (i) prior to the nursing services being required by the child's IEP or (ii) prior to the child enrolling in his or her current school.

(3)        The parent's choice of nurse is employed by a nursing agency and willing to provide the nursing services required by the child's IEP.

(4)        The nursing agency employing the parent's choice of nurse meets all standard contract terms required for any other nursing agency contracted by the local educational agency, including licensing and liability requirements.

(5)        The contracted rate is equal to or less than the contracted rate of other nurses contracted by the local educational agency.

(c)        This section shall not be construed to limit the local educational agency's responsibility to provide a free appropriate public education.

SECTION 3.(b)  This section applies beginning with the 2023‑2024 school year.

PART IV. ALLOW LICENSED REGISTERED NURSES TO BE EMPLOYED AS SCHOOL NURSES

SECTION 4.(a)  G.S. 115C‑315(d1) reads as rewritten:

(d1)    Certification for School Nurses. – Notwithstanding any other provision of law or rule, school nurses employed in the public schools prior to July 1, 1998, shall not be required to be nationally certified to continue employment. School nurses not certified by the American Nurses' Association or the National Association of School Nurses Any person licensed as a registered nurse under Article 9A of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes who has at least two years of licensed experience in a hospital or health clinic may be employed as a school nurse and shall not be required to possess or promise to obtain any other certification or license as a condition of employment in that role. School nurses not certified by a national organization recognized by the State Board of Education shall continue to be paid based on the noncertified nurse salary range as established by the State Board of Education.Board.

SECTION 4.(b)  The State Board of Education has authority to adopt temporary rules to enact the provisions of this act until such a time as permanent rules are adopted.

PART V. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 5.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.