| 13 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 14 | 14 | | AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A GRANT PILOT PROGRAM TO FACILITATE INCREASED 2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | PUBLIC SCHOOL UNIT PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE OLYMPIAD. 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 1.(a) Program; Purpose. – The Department of Public Instruction shall 5 |
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| 18 | 18 | | establish the Brown-Morgan Science Olympiad Grant Pilot Program (Program) for the 6 |
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| 19 | 19 | | 2025-2026 school year. The purpose of the Program is to improve the quality of science, 7 |
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| 20 | 20 | | technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education by providing students the 8 |
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| 21 | 21 | | opportunity to compete in a rigorous academic interscholastic competition that consists of a series 9 |
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| 22 | 22 | | of team events for which students prepare throughout the year. 10 |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1.(b) Application. – The Department of Public Instruction shall make the 11 |
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| 24 | 24 | | application for the Program available by August 1, 2025. All public school units are eligible to 12 |
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| 25 | 25 | | apply. Public school units electing to apply shall submit applications no later than August 31, 13 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2025. 14 |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 1.(c) Awards. – The Department of Public Instruction shall select and 15 |
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| 28 | 28 | | notify grant recipients and disburse grant funds by September 15, 2025. The Department shall 16 |
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| 29 | 29 | | prioritize awarding the full amount requested to public school units that did not have a Science 17 |
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| 30 | 30 | | Olympiad team during the immediately preceding school year on a first come, first serve basis. 18 |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 1.(d) Use of Funds. – Grant funds received through the Program shall 19 |
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| 32 | 32 | | supplement and not supplant any funds currently used for these purposes and may be used for 20 |
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| 33 | 33 | | any of the following: 21 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) Registration, tournament, or other similar type of fee required to participate in 22 |
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| 35 | 35 | | a Science Olympiad event. 23 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) Team project materials. 24 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (3) Travel required to participate in a Science Olympiad event. 25 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (4) Salary stipends to teachers that coach a Science Olympiad team. 26 |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 1.(e) Reporting. – No later than May 1, 2025, the Department of Public 27 |
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| 40 | 40 | | Instruction shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee the following 28 |
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| 41 | 41 | | information: 29 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (1) The name of public school units participating in the Program. 30 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (2) The number of students and the grade level of the students that participated in 31 |
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| 44 | 44 | | Science Olympiad under the Program. 32 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (3) The number of unfunded applications for the Program and the total dollar 33 |
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| 46 | 46 | | amount requested but not funded. 34 |
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