Charter School Changes Approved By NC Legislature

Photo by Brian J. Matis

RALEIGH – Legislation heading to Gov. Pat McCrory allows North Carolina charter schools to follow the lead of local traditional schools on criminal history checks for employees.

A negotiated final version of the bill passed the House and Senate on Tuesday. The measure creates more rules to govern a growing number of public charter schools, but drops plans to create a separate panel to oversee them. The legislation would essentially retain an advisory commission already in place to make recommendations to the State Board of Education.

The proposal retains the current requirement that at least half the teachers at charter schools meet state certification requirements. Earlier versions of the bill would have allowed charter school directors to decide whether to check job applicants for any criminal history.