GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 912 Short Title: The Hometown Opp. for Mentoring Educators Act. (Public) Sponsors: Representatives Winslow, Paré, Willis, and Biggs (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site. Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 14, 2025 *H912 -v-1* A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 AN ACT TO CREATE THE HOMETOWN TEACHER GR ANT PROGRAM, CALLED THE 2 H.O.M.E. (HOMETOWN OPPORTUNITIES FOR MENTORING EDUCATORS) AC T. 3 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 SECTION 1. Article 17D of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 5 adding a new section to read: 6 "§ 115C-269.33. Hometown Teacher Grant Program. 7 (a) Definitions. – The following definitions shall apply in this section: 8 (1) Eligible student. – A student of a local school administrative unit who either 9 attended school for five years at a school in, or graduated from a high school 10 in, the local school administrative unit. 11 (2) Eligible teacher. – An eligible student who agrees to remain employed as a 12 teacher in a school in the same local school administrative unit where qualified 13 as an eligible student. 14 (3) Program. – The Hometown Teacher Grant Program. 15 (b) Program Established; Participation. – The Department shall establish the Hometown 16 Teacher Grant Program. The purpose of the Program is to provide grants to local school 17 administrative units to award funds for salary supplements for eligible teachers. The Department 18 shall establish criteria for participation in the Program. The Department shall adopt standards to 19 ensure that only eligible teachers receive an award of funds under the Program. Local school 20 administrative units shall submit to the Department a list identifying the number of eligible 21 teachers participating in the Program each year pursuant to a process to be established by the 22 Department. 23 (c) Agreement; Award. – To the extent funds are available for the Program, funds shall 24 be awarded to an eligible teacher who enters into an agreement to remain employed as required 25 by this section. Eligible teachers shall receive a salary supplement each month in the amount of 26 five hundred dollars ($500.00) as long as the eligible teacher remains in compliance with the 27 agreement. 28 (d) Promotion. – Local boards of education receiving grants under the Program shall 29 make efforts to promote the Program to high school students. 30 (e) Report to the General Assembly. – The Department shall report no later than May 15, 31 2026, and annually thereafter while funds are awarded under the Program, to the Joint Legislative 32 Education Oversight Committee regarding the Program, including at least the following 33 information: 34 (1) Funds awarded under the Program, including the following: 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Page 2 House Bill 912-First Edition a. Demographic information regarding eligible teachers. 1 b. Number of award recipients by local school administrative unit. 2 (2) Placement rates, including the number of eligible teachers who have been 3 employed in the same local school administrative unit in which they were 4 eligible students. 5 (3) Recommendations to improve the Program and increase the number of 6 teachers in North Carolina." 7 SECTION 2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 8 Public Instruction the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in recurring funds for each fiscal 9 year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium for administration of the Program enacted by Section 1 of 10 this act. 11 SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to eligible teachers 12 entering agreements to participate in a program established in this act on or after that date. 13