North Carolina SB 1044: Foundational Mathematics Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 1044

Short Title: Foundational Mathematics Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Corbin, Hise, and Lee (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S1044-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO IMPROVE GRADE LEVEL PROFICIENCY IN MATHEMATICS, CODIFY 2
THE OFFICE OF LEARNING RESEARCH (OLR) AT THE NORTH CAROLINA 3
COLLABORATORY, REQUIRE OLR TO EVALUATE VENDORS OF 4
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, TO ESTABLISH THE AI INSTRUCTIONAL 5
SUPPORT PROGRAM, AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THOSE PURPOSES. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
8
PART I. HIGH QUALITY MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION 9
SECTION 1.(a) Article 8 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 10
adding a new Part to read: 11
"Part 1C. High-Quality Mathematics Instruction. 12
"§ 115C-83.20. State goal. 13
The goal of the State is to ensure that every student has mathematics skills at or above grade 14
level by the end of each grade and continues to progress so that he or she can have the 15
mathematics skills needed for secondary education and career success. The State Board of 16
Education and the Department of Public Instruction shall provide technical assistance as needed 17
to aid local school administrative units in reaching this goal and implementing all provisions of 18
this Part. 19
"§ 115C-83.21. Purposes. 20
The purposes of this Part are to ensure that (i) difficulty with mathematics skill development 21
is identified before students transition to a new grade, (ii) students receive appropriate 22
mathematics interventions to address difficulty with mathematics skill development and to 23
remediate math skill deficiencies, and (iii) each student and his or her parent or guardian be 24
informed of the student's academic needs and progress. 25
"§ 115C-83.22. Definitions. 26
The following definitions apply in this Part: 27
(1) Difficulty with mathematics skill development. – Performing at or below 28
grade level on screening assessments administered pursuant to 29
G.S. 115C-83.24. 30
(2) High-quality instruction. – Instruction that meets the criteria set forth in 31
G.S. 115C-83.23. 32
(3) Major mathematics skills. – Mathematics skills identified by the State Board 33
of Education to show grade level proficiency. 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 1044-First Edition
(4) Progressing toward grade level standards. – Showing improved performance 1
in major mathematics skills based on results on the screening assessment 2
administered pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.24. 3
"§ 115C-83.23. High-quality instruction. 4
Governing bodies of public school units shall implement high-quality mathematics 5
instruction for students in kindergarten through grade eight that meets the following criteria: 6
(1) Aligns with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. 7
(2) Is evidence-based. 8
(3) Engages students and provides them with relevant challenges and pathways 9
to deeper understanding. 10
(4) Provides students at all levels of language proficiency with opportunities to 11
use written and oral forms of communication to learn and demonstrate 12
understanding of mathematics skills. 13
(5) Is for at least 60 minutes per day. 14
"§ 115C-83.24. Mathematics screening assessment. 15
(a) All students in kindergarten through grade eight shall be assessed at least three times 16
per school year with formative and diagnostic mathematics assessments made available to local 17
school administrative units by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11(a1). 18
The first assessment in a given school year shall be administered within 30 days of the start of 19
the school year. Assessments shall meet the following criteria: 20
(1) Be valid and reliable. 21
(2) Align with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. 22
(3) Align with this Part. 23
(4) Yield data that can be used with the Education Value-Added Assessment 24
System (EVAAS) to analyze student data to identify root causes for difficulty 25
with mathematics skill development and to determine actions to address them. 26
(b) The Department of Public Instruction shall partner with the vendor selected pursuant 27
to subsection (c) of this section to provide guidance and professional development to teachers 28
and administrators on the following to ensure that mathematics screening assessment data is used 29
to meaningfully inform instruction: 30
(1) Using mathematics screening assessment results to influence in-class 31
instruction. 32
(2) Planning for student interventions and MSPs. 33
(3) Progress monitoring of students based on mathematics screening assessment 34
results. 35
(c) The Department of Public Instruction shall develop and issue a request for proposals 36
(RFP) for a mathematics screening assessment tool to be administered to all students in 37
kindergarten through grade eight consistent with the requirements of Part 1C of Article 8 of 38
Chapter 115C. The Depar