| 13 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO IMPROVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEACHER 2 |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | PIPELINE. 3 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | Whereas, teacher effectiveness is the most important factor in delivering positive 4 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | student outcomes; and 5 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | Whereas, North Carolina is experiencing an increasing crisis of recruitment and 6 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | retention of highly qualified teachers; and 7 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Whereas, there is a particular need for diverse, high-quality teachers, especially in 8 |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | low-performing schools and rural schools; and 9 |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | Whereas, the North Carolina Teacher Cadet Program (NCTCP) is a successful 10 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | program that encourages high-achieving high school students to attend college and eventually 11 |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | teach in North Carolina public schools; and 12 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | Whereas, building early interest in the teaching profession is critical to building a 13 |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | robust teacher pipeline; and 14 |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | Whereas, NCTCP actively engages in the following strategies: 15 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (1) Maintaining strong partnerships with higher education institutions, including 16 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | The University of North Carolina, and collaborative relationships with local 17 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | boards of education. 18 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | (2) Offering a curriculum developed by highly qualified, licensed public school 19 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | teachers, including high school honors credit, approved by the Department of 20 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | Public Instruction. 21 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | (3) Providing learning through hands-on teaching methods and field experiences 22 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | delivered by educators who are required to complete teacher cadet curriculum 23 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | training; and 24 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | Whereas, the NCTCP has a well-regarded and established record of helping rural and 25 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | economically distressed counties to GROW THEIR OWN TEACHERS from students who were 26 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | born, raised, and received a high school education within the same county; and 27 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | Whereas, the NCTCP has quickly transitioned to an online program and is able to 28 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | operate flexibly in response to changing learning conditions; and 29 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | Whereas, in recent school years, about twenty-one percent (21%) of public school 30 |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | teachers identified as persons of color, and the NCTCP enrolled a substantially greater portion 31 |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | of teacher cadets who identified as persons of color at forty-two percent (42%); and 32 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | Whereas, the NCTCP Program has also successfully addressed the shortage of male 33 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | teachers by having about twenty-five percent (25%) of enrollees identify as male; Now, therefore, 34 |
|---|
| 49 | 52 | | SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 1 |
|---|
| 50 | 53 | | Public Instruction the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for 2 |
|---|
| 51 | 54 | | each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium to be provided to the nonprofit organization known 3 |
|---|
| 52 | 55 | | as the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children to be used for the North Carolina 4 |
|---|
| 53 | 56 | | Teacher Cadet Program. The funds shall be used for the following services related to expansion 5 |
|---|
| 54 | 57 | | of the educator pipeline: 6 |
|---|
| 55 | 58 | | (1) Statewide curriculum training workshops for teachers with options for 7 |
|---|
| 56 | 59 | | in-person and online ongoing support. 8 |
|---|
| 57 | 60 | | (2) Expansion of services in counties designated as development tier one areas. 9 |
|---|
| 58 | 61 | | For schools located in counties identified in this subdivision, the North 10 |
|---|
| 59 | 62 | | Carolina Teacher Cadet Program shall prioritize schools with the highest 11 |
|---|
| 60 | 63 | | teacher attrition rate from the 2022-2023 school year. 12 |
|---|
| 61 | 64 | | (3) Continued development and training for persons in underrepresented teaching 13 |
|---|
| 62 | 65 | | demographics, including cadets who are male and cadets who are persons of 14 |
|---|
| 63 | 66 | | color. To the extent possible, the training shall draw on past and current cadets 15 |
|---|
| 64 | 67 | | who are classroom teachers, postsecondary students pursuing a degree in 16 |
|---|
| 65 | 68 | | education, and seniors in high school. 17 |
|---|
| 66 | 69 | | SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 18 |
|---|