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North Carolina Senate Bill S606

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S606 Compare Versions

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11 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
22 SESSION 2025
3-S 1
4-SENATE BILL 606
3+S D
4+SENATE BILL DRS15275-LG-103
5+
56
67
78 Short Title: Language Access & State Holidays Act. (Public)
89 Sponsors: Senators Batch, Chaudhuri, and Mohammed (Primary Sponsors).
9-Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
10-March 26, 2025
11-*S606 -v-1*
10+Referred to:
11+
12+*DRS15275 -LG-103*
1213 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
1314 AN ACT TO ENSURE NORTH CAROLINIANS CAN ACCESS ESSENTIAL STATE 2
1415 SERVICES IN THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE AND TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE 3
1516 KEY CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS THAT REFLECT THE 4
1617 COMMUNITIES THAT CALL NORTH CAROLINA HOME. 5
1718 Whereas, North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, with many 6
1819 residents speaking languages other than English at home; and 7
1920 Whereas, making state services, education, and healthcare more accessible benefits 8
2021 public safety, economic growth, and community engagement; and 9
2122 Whereas, recognizing widely observed cultural and religious holidays ensures that 10
2223 North Carolina respects the traditions of the people who live and work here; Now, therefore, 11
2324 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 12
2425 13
2526 PART I. REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO PROVIDE 14
2627 MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR LICENSURE IN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES AND 15
2728 TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO ENSURE THAT 16
2829 TRAFFIC SIGNS ARE CLEAR TO NON -ENGLISH SPEAKERS. 17
2930 SECTION 1.1. G.S. 20-7 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 18
3031 "(c2) Provision of Materials in Additional Languages. – The Division shall provide an 19
3132 option for applicants to: (i) receive all materials prepared pursuant to G.S. 20-88.1 and (ii) take 20
3233 the written test required for licensure under this section in all of the following languages, in 21
3334 addition to English: 22
3435 (1) Arabic. 23
3536 (2) Hindi. 24
3637 (3) Korean. 25
3738 (4) Mandarin Chinese. 26
3839 (5) Spanish. 27
3940 (6) Telugu. 28
4041 (7) French. 29
4142 (8) Vietnamese. 30
4243 (9) German. 31
4344 (10) Cherokee. 32
4445 (11) Tagalog. 33
4546 (12) Russian. 34
4647 (13) Portuguese. 35
47-(14) Tamil. 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
48-Page 2 Senate Bill 606-First Edition
48+(14) Tamil. 36
49+FILED SENATE
50+Mar 25, 2025
51+S.B. 606
52+PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
53+Page 2 DRS15275-LG-103
4954 (15) Hmong. 1
5055 (16) Khmer. 2
5156 (17) Burmese. 3
5257 (18) Karen. 4
5358 (19) Karenni. 5
5459 (20) Chin. 6
5560 (21) Bunong. 7
5661 (22) Rhede. 8
5762 (23) Kho. 9
5863 (24) Jari. 10
5964 (25) Minhar." 11
6065 SECTION 1.2. G.S. 20-88.1 reads as rewritten: 12
6166 "§ 20-88.1. Driver education. 13
6267 … 14
6368 (f) The Division shall, upon request: (i) make copies of the driver license handbook 15
6469 available and (ii) provide access to any training course developed pursuant to this section in all 16
6570 of the following languages, in addition to English: 17
6671 (1) Arabic. 18
6772 (2) Hindi. 19
6873 (3) Korean. 20
6974 (4) Mandarin Chinese. 21
7075 (5) Spanish. 22
7176 (6) Telugu. 23
7277 (7) French. 24
7378 (8) Vietnamese. 25
7479 (9) German. 26
7580 (10) Cherokee. 27
7681 (11) Tagalog. 28
7782 (12) Russian. 29
7883 (13) Portuguese. 30
7984 (14) Tamil. 31
8085 (15) Hmong. 32
8186 (16) Khmer. 33
8287 (17) Burmese. 34
8388 (18) Karen. 35
8489 (19) Karenni. 36
8590 (20) Chin. 37
8691 (21) Bunong. 38
8792 (22) Rhede. 39
8893 (23) Kho. 40
8994 (24) Jari. 41
9095 (25) Minhar." 42
9196 SECTION 1.3. G.S. 136-30 reads as rewritten: 43
9297 "§ 136-30. Uniform signs and other traffic control devices on highways, streets, and public 44
9398 vehicular areas. 45
9499 … 46
95100 (d1) Multilingual Service. – To the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the 47
96101 appearance criteria of the Department of Transportation's supplement to the Uniform Manual 48
97102 shall require that all traffic signs, including signs directing persons to roads and places of 49
98103 importance erected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, be clear to non-English speakers 50
99104 through either translations or universally recognized symbols. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
100-Senate Bill 606-First Edition Page 3
105+DRS15275-LG-103 Page 3
101106 …." 1
102107 SECTION 1.4. Notwithstanding G.S. 143C-5-2, there is appropriated from the 2
103108 Highway Fund: 3
104109 (1) To the Division of Motor Vehicles, the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) 4
105110 in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used to produce the 5
106111 materials required by Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of this section. 6
107112 (2) To the Department of Transportation, the sum of ten thousand dollars 7
108113 ($10,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used to 8
109114 implement the requirements of Section 4.3 of this section. 9
110115 SECTION 1.5. Section 1.4 of this Part becomes effective July 1, 2025. The 10
111116 remainder of this Part becomes effective January 1, 2026. 11
112117 12
113118 PART II. REQUIRE SCHOOL DOCUMENTS TO BE TRANSLATED INTO SEVERAL 13
114119 LANGUAGES AND TO ENCOURAGE EXCUSED ABSENCES FOR CERTAIN 14
115120 RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS 15
116121 SECTION 2.1.(a) Part 3 of Article 7B of Chapter 115C is amended by adding a new 16
117122 section to read: 17
118123 "§ 115C-76.41. Parent rights to receive information. 18
119124 (a) The Department of Public Instruction and the governing body of all public school 19
120125 units shall make available a copy of any document for parents translated into Mandarin Chinese, 20
121126 Hindi, Telugu, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, French, Vietnamese, German, Cherokee, Tagalog, 21
122127 Russian, Portuguese, Tamil, Hmong, Khmer, Burmese, Karen, Karenni, Chin, Bunong, Rhede, 22
123128 Kho, Jari, and Minhar. 23
124129 (b) As used in this section, a "document for parents" is any form, communication, notice, 24
125130 or report that the school will provide to parents or that a parent has the ability to access, regardless 25
126131 of whether the document is printed or electronic, including the following: 26
127132 (1) Enrollment forms. 27
128133 (2) Consent forms. 28
129134 (3) Educational or informational documents required to be provided to parents 29
130135 under G.S. 115C-12, 115C-47, 115C-150.12C, 115C-218.75, 115C-238.66, 30
131136 or 116-239.8. 31
132137 (4) School policies accessible to parents, including policies shared on the school's 32
133138 website or learning management system. 33
134139 (5) Disciplinary notices or forms. 34
135140 (6) Notices, forms, and records related to a student's disability or disability 35
136141 testing. 36
137142 (7) Notices, forms, and reports required under this Article. 37
138143 (c) The Department and the governing body of public school units are encouraged to 38
139144 offer interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences and other critical meetings to ensure 39
140145 parents can fully engage in their child's education." 40
141146 SECTION 2.1.(b) This section is effective when it becomes law and applies 41
142147 beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. 42
143148 SECTION 2.2.(a) G.S. 115C-302.1(d)(2) reads as rewritten: 43
144149 "(2) Use. – Personal leave may be used only upon the authorization of the teacher's 44
145150 immediate supervisor, as follows: 45
146151 a. Unless the request is approved by the principal, a teacher shall not take 46
147152 personal leave on the first day the teacher is required to report for the 47
148153 school year, on a required teacher workday, on days scheduled for 48
149154 State testing, or on the day before or the day after a holiday or 49
150155 scheduled vacation day. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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152157 b. On days other than those referenced in sub-subdivision a. of this 1
153158 subdivision, if the request is made at least five days in advance, the 2
154159 request shall be automatically granted subject to the availability of a 3
155160 substitute teacher, and the teacher cannot be required to provide a 4
156161 reason for the request. 5
157162 c. Supervisors and principals are encouraged to make all reasonable 6
158163 efforts to accommodate a request for personal leave if the teacher is 7
159164 requesting the leave for observance of a religious holiday." 8
160165 SECTION 2.2.(b) G.S. 115C-316 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 9
161166 "(e) Local boards of education are encouraged to adopt a policy that schools will make all 10
162167 reasonable efforts to accommodate a school employee's request to use leave for the observance 11
163168 of a religious holiday." 12
164169 SECTION 2.2.(c) G.S. 115C-379(b) reads as rewritten: 13
165170 "(b) In addition to any excused absences authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of this 14
166171 section, the rules shall require school principals to authorize the following excused absences: 15
167172 (1) Religious observance. – A minimum of two excused absences each academic 16
168173 year for religious observances required by the faith of a student or the student's 17
169174 parent or legal guardian. The principal is encouraged to allow excused 18
170175 absences for religious holidays beyond those required to be given, as policies 19
171176 allow. 20
172177 …." 21
173178 SECTION 2.3.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department 22
174179 of Public Instruction the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in recurring funds for the 23
175180 2025-2026 school year to be allocated to public school units on an as-needed basis to cover the 24
176181 cost of providing substitute teachers if a teacher is on personal leave to observe a religious holiday 25
177182 pursuant to G.S. 115C-302.1(d)(2). 26
178183 SECTION 2.3.(b) This section becomes effective July 1, 2025. 27
179184 28
180185 PART III. EXPANSION OF MULTILINGUAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES 29
181186 SECTION 3.1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 30
182187 Health and Human Services (Department) the sum of one hundred thousand ($100,000) in 31
183188 nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to develop and make available, free of charge, 32
184189 on the Department's web site the following forms and documents translated into English, Spanish, 33
185190 Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Telugu, Korean, Arabic, French, Vietnamese, German, Cherokee, 34
186191 Tagalog, Russian, Portuguese, Tamil, Hmong, Khmer, Burmese, Karen, Karenni, Chin, Bunong, 35
187192 Rhede, Kho, Jari, and Minhar: 36
188193 (1) Informed consent forms and explanatory materials regarding informed 37
189194 consent, developed in consultation with the appropriate occupational licensing 38
190195 boards, that can be used by healthcare providers licensed in this State when 39
191196 treating patients with limited English proficiency. 40
192197 (2) Information regarding all of the following: 41
193198 a. The Adult Care Home Residents' Bill of Rights set forth in 42
194199 G.S. 131D-21. 43
195200 b. The Nursing Home Patients' Bill of Rights set forth in G.S. 131E-117. 44
196201 c. The Home Care Clients' Bill of Rights set forth in G.S. 131E-144.3. 45
197202 (3) Any public health information determined by the State Health Director to be 46
198203 essential to maintaining public health and safety, including at least all of the 47
199204 following: 48
200205 a. Information about health hazards, including communicable and 49
201206 non-communicable diseases. 50
202207 b. Information about public health emergencies. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
203-Senate Bill 606-First Edition Page 5
208+DRS15275-LG-103 Page 5
204209 c. Information about the immunization requirements of Part 2 of Article 1
205210 6 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. 2
206211 d. Information about the Newborn Screening Program authorized by 3
207212 G.S. 130A-125. 4
208213 SECTION 3.2. Every healthcare provider that is a recipient of State funds, as defined 5
209214 in G.S. 143C-1-1, is encouraged to employ multilingual staff or provide interpreter services for 6
210215 patients with limited English proficiency. As used in this section, the term "healthcare provider" 7
211216 means any of the following: 8
212217 (1) An individual who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized under 9
213218 Chapter 90 of the General Statutes to provide health care services in the 10
214219 ordinary course of business or practice of a profession or in an approved 11
215220 education or training program. 12
216221 (2) A health care facility licensed under Chapters 131E or 122C of the General 13
217222 Statutes, where health care services are provided to patients. 14
218223 SECTION 3.3. This Part becomes effective July 1, 2025. 15
219224 16
220225 PART IV. EXPAND CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS 17
221226 SECTION 4.1. G.S. 103-4 reads as rewritten: 18
222227 "§ 103-4. Dates of public holidays. 19
223228 (a) The following are declared to be legal public holidays: 20
224229 (1) New Year's Day, January 1. 21
225230 (1a) Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, Birthday, the third Monday in January. 22
226231 (1b) Lunar New Year. 23
227232 (2) Robert E. Lee's Birthday, January 19. 24
228233 (3) Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February. 25
229234 (3a) Greek Independence Day, March 25. 26
230235 (4) Anniversary of signing of Halifax Resolves, April 12. 27
231236 (5) Confederate Memorial Day, May 10. 28
232237 (6) Anniversary of Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20. 29
233238 (7) Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. 30
234239 (8) Good Friday. 31
235240 (8a) Eid al-Adha. 32
236241 (9) Independence Day, July 4. 33
237242 (10) Labor Day, the first Monday in September. 34
238243 (10a) First Responders Day, September 11. 35
239244 (11) Columbus Day, the second Monday in October. 36
240245 (11a) Yom Kippur. 37
241246 (12) Veterans Day, November 11. 38
242247 (13) Tuesday after the first Monday in November in years in which a general 39
243248 election is to be held. 40
244249 (14) Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November. 41
245250 (15) Christmas Day, December 25. 42
246251 (16) Diwali. 43
247252 (17) Eid al-Fitr. 44
248253 (18) Rosh Hashanah. 45
249254 (b) Whenever any public holiday shall fall upon Sunday, the Monday following shall be 46
250255 a public holiday." 47
251256 SECTION 4.2 State agencies are encouraged to accommodate employees who 48
252257 observe the cultural and religious set out in G.S. 103-4, as amended by Section 4.1 of this Part, 49
253258 by allowing excused absences. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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255260 SECTION 4.3.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department 1
256261 of Administration the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2
257262 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used to coordinate public awareness efforts to ensure State agencies 3
258263 and residents of North Carolina are informed of the new cultural and religious holidays enacted 4
259264 in Section 4.1 of this Part. 5
260265 SECTION 4.3.(b) This section becomes effective July 1, 2025. 6
261266 7
262267 PART V. EFFECTIVE DATE 8
263268 SECTION 5.1. Unless otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law. 9