North Carolina HB 911: Occupational and Physical Therapist Salaries/Employment.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 911

Short Title: Occup. & Phys. Therapist Salaries/Employment. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Crawford.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H911-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REQUIRE LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION TO REVISE AND PUBLICIZE 2
SALARY SCHEDULES FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS AND PHYSICAL 3
THERAPISTS, TO PROVIDE SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR OCCUPATIONAL 4
THERAPISTS AND PHYSICAL THERAPISTS, AND TO REQUIRE LOCAL BOARDS 5
OF EDUCATION TO SUBMIT A WORKFORCE REPORT FOR OCCUPATIONAL 6
THERAPISTS AND PHYSICAL THERAPISTS. 7
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 8
9
PART I. REVISE AND PUBLICIZE MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE FOR 10
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS AND PHYSICAL THERAPISTS 11
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-316(b1) reads as rewritten: 12
"(b1) Every local board of education shall adopt a minimum salary schedule for 13
occupational therapists and physical therapists employed in full-time, permanent positions. The 14
minimum salary schedule shall apply to positions paid from State, local, or federal funds. In 15
accordance with the noncertified salary grades and ranges adopted by the State Board of 16
Education, the The minimum salary schedule shall differentiate salaries based on years of 17
experience, but experience-based experience as a licensed occupational therapist or physical 18
therapist and incorporate the full range of all salary grades adopted by the State Board of 19
Education for occupational therapists and physical therapists. Experience-based intervals shall 20
be (i) divided evenly, (ii) no greater than five years. years apart, and (iii) limited to a maximum 21
of 30 years of experience. Local boards of education may compensate occupational therapists 22
and physical therapists above the minimum salary schedule provided all State-funded salaries are 23
within the noncertified salary grades and ranges adopted by the State Board of Education. No 24
later than October 15 of each year, every local board of education shall report the salary schedule 25
adopted for occupational therapists and physical therapists pursuant to this subsection to the 26
Department of Public Instruction. The Department shall collect the schedules and report them to 27
the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 15." 28
SECTION 1.(b) For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, local boards of education shall ensure 29
that occupational therapists and physical therapists compensated in accordance with a salary 30
schedule adopted pursuant to G.S. 115C-316(b1) receive an amount equal to the greater of the 31
following: 32
(1) The applicable amount under the salary schedule for the applicable year. 33
(2) The salary the therapist received in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. 34
35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 911-First Edition
PART II. SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS AND 1
PHYSICAL THERAPISTS 2
SECTION 2.(a) For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, in addition to any salary received 3
from State funds pursuant to the applicable salary schedule in effect, for occupational therapists 4
and physical therapists employed in full-time permanent positions in public schools, the 5
following shall apply: 6
(1) These employees shall receive the following salary supplements each month: 7
a. Ten percent (10%) of the salary a teacher would receive on the "A" 8
teacher's salary schedule if the teacher had five years of experience 9
more than the occupational therapist or physical therapist. 10
b. Three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00). 11
(2) These employees are eligible to receive salary supplements equivalent to those 12
of teachers and instructional support personnel for academic preparation at the 13
six-year degree level or the doctoral degree level. 14
SECTION 2.(b) Funds provided for salary supplements pursuant to this section shall 15
be used to supplement and not to supplant State or non-State funds already provided for salaries 16
for occupational therapists and physical therapists. 17
SECTION 2.(c) The provisions of this section shall become effective July 1, 2025, 18
only if funds are appropriated by the General Assembly to the Department of Public Instruction 19
in the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide salary supplements for occupational therapists and 20
physical therapists in accordance with this section. 21
22
PART III. WORKFORCE REPORT FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS AND 23
PHYSICAL THERAPISTS 24
SECTION 3. Article 21 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 25
adding the following new section to read: 26
"§ 115C-316.3. Occupational therapist and physical therapist workforce report. 27
(a) Definition. – For purposes of this section, the term "therapist" refers to a person 28
working in a local school administrative unit who is an occupational therapist or a physical 29
therapist. 30