GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH10381-NG-42
Short Title: Increased Academic Transparency. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Johnson.
Referred to:
*DRH10381 -NG-42*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR INCREASED PUBLIC ACCESS TO LESSON PLANS AND 2
OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 5
adding a new Part to read: 6
"Part 7. Academic Transparency. 7
"§ 115C-76.75. Inform the public about course materials. 8
(a) The following definitions apply in this section: 9
(1) Action-oriented civics learning assignments or projects. – Assignments or 10
projects that require students to contact elected officials or advocate for a 11
political or social cause or to participate in political or social demonstrations. 12
(2) Course materials. – Any material used for instruction in a course, including, 13
but not limited to, all instructional materials, supplemental materials, 14
textbooks, other reading materials, videos, digital materials, websites, and 15
other online applications. 16
(3) Instructional materials. – Systematically organized material comprehensive 17
enough to cover the primary objectives outlined in the standard course of 18
study for a grade or course. Formats for instructional materials may be print 19
or nonprint, including hardbound books, softbound books, activity-oriented 20
programs, classroom kits, or digital resources that require the use of electronic 21
equipment in order to be used in the learning process. 22
(4) Lesson plan. – An outline of all of the following: 23
a. The instruction provided by a teacher for a course that includes a list 24
of (i) all course materials assigned, distributed, or otherwise presented 25
in the course and (ii) when students must select course materials from 26
a defined list, all course materials on that list. 27
b. Each grade- or school-wide presentation, assembly, lecture, or other 28
activity or event facilitated by the school during instructional hours 29
outside of an individual teacher's classroom, excluding student 30
presentations. The outline shall include a list of (i) each presenter by 31
name and organization and (ii) any course material used or presented. 32
(5) Supplemental materials. – Educational materials that supplement specific 33
instruction for the standard course of study selected and procured by a local 34
board of education for a grade or course or general education needs of the 35
school. Supplemental materials may include textbooks, library books, 36
H.B. 878
Apr 9, 2025
HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 DRH10381-NG-42
periodicals, audiovisual materials, action-oriented civics learning assignments 1
or projects, and other supplemental instructional materials needed for 2
instructional purposes in the local school administrative unit. Supplemental 3
materials may be print or nonprint, including hardbound books, softbound 4
books, activity-oriented programs, classroom kits, or digital resources that 5
require the use of electronic equipment in order to be used in the learning 6
process. 7
(b) The governing body of a public school unit shall ensure that the following information 8
for each school it governs is prominently displayed on the school website, organized, at a 9
minimum, by subject area and grade level: 10
(1) All lesson plans used shall be posted online no later than 10 days after the 11
lesson was given. Lesson plans shall include the following, at a minimum: 12
a. The names of all instructional and supplemental materials used by the 13
school with an electronic link to the instructional materials website. 14
b. Any other course materials used in a course, organized by title, and the 15
author, organization, or website associated with each material and 16
activity. These course materials shall include materials created by the 17
teacher, with the teacher identified as the author. The lesson plan shall 18
include a brief descriptor of the course materials and a link to the 19
course material, if publicly available on the internet, or information on 20
how to request review of a copy of the course material in person. 21
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the digital 22
reproduction or posting of copies of the course materials themselves. 23
(2) For all public school units, any procedures for the documentation, review, or 24
approval of the lesson plans, including course materials identified in those 25
plans, by the principal, curriculum administrators, or other teachers. 26
(3) For all public school units, the procedure established by the governing board 27
for requesting an in-person review of a course material not publicly available 28
on the internet. 29
(4) For all public school units, a list of teacher and staff training materials and 30
activities used at each school during the current school year. 31
(c) The governing body shall provide access from the website of the public school unit 32
to the information required by subsection (b) of this section at all times, either through a website 33
maintained by the public school unit or by a link to another website where the information is 34
publicly accessible. Public access to the information shall be maintained by the public school 35
unit for two calendar years from the date the material is posted. The Department of Public 36
Instruction shall make available to public school units one or more templates for providing 37
information as required by this section. A public school unit may exercise flexibility in 38
determining the most effective means of compliance with the requirements of this section, 39
including, but not limited to, utilizing any of the following in its discretion: 40
(1) Providing a template created by the Department of Public Instruction to 41
teachers to facilitate reporting of lesson plans. 42
(2) Creating one or more templates to provide to teachers to facilitate reporting of 43
lesson plans. The public school unit may customize templates for grades or 44
courses and may autopopulate any course materials required by the public 45
school unit as part of the curriculum for a particular grade or course. 46
(3) Allowing utilization of online collaborative software, documents, or 47
spreadsheets to allow multiple authorized users to update content. 48
(4) To the extent allowable under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 49
(FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, providing temporary login credentials via a 50
publicly accessible link on the school's website to the school's online learning 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
DRH10381-NG-42 Page 3
management system for any grade levels requested, provided that both of the 1
following apply: 2
a. All information required under this section is listed within the online 3
learning management system. 4
b. The login credentials are automatically generated immediately on 5
request and provide access for the requested grade levels for not less 6
than 72 hours at least once per 30-day period for each requestor. The 7
access provided via the login credentials may be limited to the 8
information required by this section and is not required to provide 9
access to academic assessments, answer keys, student generated 10
content, student performance records, or other student identifying 11
information. 12
(d) A governing body that is responsible for the operation of schools with fewer than 30 13
students cumulatively is not required to comply with the requirements of this section. 14
(e) For purposes of teacher privacy, a teacher or staff member may request that the school 15
use the teacher's or staff member's personal title and last initial rather than the teacher's or staff 16
member's full name when posting materials online to be viewed by the public." 17
SECTION 1.(b) Article 4 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes is amended by 18
adding a new section to read: 19
"§ 116-69.3. Inform the public about course materials. 20
The Board of Trustees shall ensure that information about course materials is prominently 21
displayed on the website of the North Carolina School of the Arts for all elementary, middle, and 22
high school programs, in accordance with G.S. 115C-76.75." 23
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 116-235 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 24
"(k) Course Materials. – The Board of Trustees shall ensure that information about course 25
materials is prominently displayed on the website of the School in accordance with 26
G.S. 115C-76.75." 27
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with 28
the 2025-2026 school year. 29