North Carolina 2025 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S48 Amended / Bill

Filed 02/05/2025

                    GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA 
SESSION 2025 
S 	1 
SENATE BILL 48 
 
 
Short Title: Access to Sports and Extracurriculars for All. 	(Public) 
Sponsors: Senators Hise, Ford, and Galey (Primary Sponsors). 
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate 
February 5, 2025 
*S48-v-1* 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 
AN ACT TO PERMIT STU DENTS WHO ATTEND A P UBLIC SCHOOL, PRIVAT E 2 
SCHOOL, OR HOME SCHO OL WITHOUT AN INTERS CHOLASTIC ATHLETICS 3 
PROGRAM IN A GIVEN SPORT OR PARTICULAR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIV ITY 4 
TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT ACTIVITY AT A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL. 5 
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6 
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-407.55(1)b. reads as rewritten: 7 
"b. Enrollment and transfer requirements, including the following: 8 
… 9 
3. If a public high school does not offer a particular sport, a 10 
student from that school may participate in the sport at the 11 
public high school closest to the student's school that has a 12 
program in that sport, subject to the terms and conditions 13 
applicable to a regularly enrolled member of that high school's 14 
student body, except that the high school may charge a 15 
reasonable fee for participation to a student who is not enrolled 16 
in the high school as established by the local board of education 17 
in accordance with G.S. 115C-47(6). 18 
4. A private school or home school student may participate in a 19 
sport at the base public high school for the student's address, 20 
subject to the terms and conditions applicable to a regularly 21 
enrolled member of that high school's student body. If the 22 
student's base public high school does not have a program in a 23 
particular sport, the student may participate in the sport at the 24 
public high school closest to the student's base public high 25 
school that has a program in that sport, subject to the terms and 26 
conditions applicable to a regularly enrolled member of that 27 
high school's student body. The public high school may charge 28 
a reasonable fee for participation to a student who is not 29 
enrolled in the high school as established by the local board of 30 
education in accordance with G.S. 115C-47(6)." 31 
SECTION 2. G.S. 115C-47(6) reads as rewritten: 32 
"(6) To Regulate Fees, Charges and Solicitations. – Local boards of education shall 33 
adopt rules and regulations governing solicitations of, sales to, and 34 
fund-raising activities conducted by, the students and faculty members in 35 
schools under their jurisdiction, and no fees, charges, or costs shall be 36  General Assembly Of North Carolina 	Session 2025 
Page 2  	Senate Bill 48-First Edition 
collected from students and school personnel without approval of the board of 1 
education as recorded in the minutes of said board; provided, this subdivision 2 
shall not apply to such textbooks fees as are determined and established by the 3 
State Board of Education. The local board of education shall publish a 4 
schedule of fees, charges, and solicitations approved by the local board board, 5 
including fees established to allow students not enrolled in a particular public 6 
high school to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities, on the 7 
local school administrative unit's Web site by October 15 of each school year 8 
and, if the schedule is subsequently revised, within 30 days following the 9 
revision." 10 
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with 11 
the 2025-2026 school year. 12