North Carolina HB 816: Voucher School Transparency Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 816

Short Title: Voucher School Transparency Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Rubin, Ball, Prather, and Brockman (Primary Sponsors).
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 8, 2025
*H816-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING STANDARDS FOR 2
NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVING OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS AND 3
TO REQUIRE THE STATE AUDITOR TO ANNUALLY REVIEW AUDITS OF AT 4
LEAST THREE NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS RECEIVING OPPORTUNITY 5
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
8
PART I. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING FOR OPPORTUNITY 9
SCHOLARSHIP SCHOOLS 10
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-562.5 reads as rewritten: 11
"§ 115C-562.5. Obligations of nonpublic schools accepting eligible students receiving 12
scholarship grants. 13
(a) A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall 14
comply with the following: 15
(1) Provide Annually provide to the Authority documentation for required tuition 16
and fees charged to the student by the nonpublic school. 17
(2) Provide to the Authority a criminal background check conducted for the staff 18
member with the highest decision-making authority, as defined by the bylaws, 19
articles of incorporation, or other governing document. For all teachers, the 20
nonpublic school shall adopt a policy requiring criminal history checks under 21
G.S. 115C-332. Each nonpublic school shall apply its policy uniformly in 22
requiring applicants for employment to be checked for a criminal history 23
before the applicant is given an unconditional job offer. A nonpublic school 24
may employ an applicant conditionally while the board is checking the 25
person's criminal history and making a decision based on the results of the 26
check. The nonpublic school may adopt a policy providing for periodic checks 27
of criminal history of teachers. A nonpublic school shall indicate, upon the 28
inquiry by any other public school unit or nonpublic school in the State, as to 29
the reason for an employee's resignation or dismissal, if an employee's 30
criminal history was relevant to the employee's resignation or dismissal. 31
Information provided to the Authority in accordance with this subdivision is 32
otherwise privileged information and is not a public record but is for the 33
exclusive use of the Authority. 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 816-First Edition
(3) Provide to the parent or guardian of an eligible student, whose tuition and fees 1
are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant, an annual written 2
explanation of the student's progress, including the student's scores on 3
standardized achievement tests. 4
(4) Administer, at least once in each school year, tests as provided in this 5
subdivision. Test performance data shall be submitted to the Authority by July 6
15 of each year. Test performance data reported to the Authority under this 7
subdivision is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 8
Tests shall be administered to all eligible students enrolled in grades three and 9
higher whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship 10
grant as follows: 11
a. The nationally standardized test designated by the Authority in grades 12
three and through eight. 13
b. The ACT in grade 11. 14
c. A nationally standardized test or other nationally standardized 15
equivalent measurement selected by the chief administrative officer of 16
the nonpublic school in all other grades four and higher. For grades 17
four through seven, the nationally standardized test or other equivalent 18
measurement selected must measure achievement in the areas of 19
English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. For grades nine, 20
10, and 12, the nationally standardized test or other equivalent 21
measurement selected must measure either (i) achievement in the areas 22
of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics or (ii) 23
competencies in the verbal and quantitative areas. 24
(5) Provide to the Authority graduation rates of the students receiving scholarship 25
grants grants, including four-year cohort graduation rates, in a manner 26
consistent with nationally recognized standards.Title I of the Elementary and 27
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and any associated federal 28
regulations. 29
(6) Contract with a certified public accountant to perform a financial review, an 30
audit, consistent with generally accepted methods of accounting or any other 31
comprehensive basis of accounting recognized by the American Institute of 32
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for each school year in which the 33
school enrolls 70 or more students receiving scholarship grants or scholarship 34
funds awarded by the Authority.accepts students receiving one