Re-Professionalizing the Teaching Profession.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1130

Short Title: Re-Professionalizing the Teaching Profession. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cook, von Haefen, Prather, and R. Pierce (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 30, 2026
*H1130-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US CHANGES TO THE LA WS AFFECTING THE 2
EMPLOYMENT, LICENSUR E, AND QUALITY OF LI FE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 3
TEACHERS AND TO PROV IDE ADDITIONAL FLEXI BILITY TO LOCAL SCHO OL 4
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS IN SETTING THE SCHOOL CALENDAR. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. REINSTATE ED UCATION-BASED SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR 8
TEACHERS AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL 9
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-302.10 is repealed. 10
SECTION 1.(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the 2025 -2026 11
fiscal year, State Board of Education policy TCP -A-006, as it was in effect on June 30, 2013, 12
shall be used to determine (i) whether teachers and instructional support personnel are paid on 13
the "M" salary schedule and (ii) whether they receive a salary supplement for academic 14
preparation at the six-year or doctoral degree level. 15
SECTION 1.(c) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 16
Public Instruction the sum of eight m illion dollars ($8,000,000) in recurring funds for the 17
2026-2027 fiscal year to reinstate education -based salary supplements for teachers and 18
instructional support personnel in accordance with this act. 19
SECTION 1.(d) This act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 20
21
PART II. NATIONAL BO ARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS 22
LOAN PROGRAM AND FUNDS 23
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 115C-296.2A is repealed. 24
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 115C-296.2 reads as rewritten: 25
"§ 115C-296.2. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification. 26
(a) State Policy. – It is the goal of the State to provide opportunities and incentives for 27
good teachers to become excellent teachers and to retain them in the teaching profession; to attain 28
this goal, the State shall support the efforts of teach ers to achieve national certification by 29
providing approved paid leave time for teachers participating in the process, lending providing a 30
forgivable loan to teachers for the participation fee, and paying a significant salary differential to 31
teachers who a ttain national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching 32
Standards (NBPTS). 33
… 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1130-First Edition
(c) Payment of the NBPTS Participation Fee; Paid Leave. – The State State Education 1
Assistance Authority shall lend teachers the participation fee and shall provide fee, and teachers 2
shall receive up to three days of approved paid leave to all teachers participating for participation 3
in the NBPTS program who:if the teachers meet all of the following criteria: 4
(1) Have completed three full years of teaching in a North Carolina public school; 5
andschool. 6
(2) Have (i) not previously received State funds for participating in any 7
certification area in the NBPTS program, (ii) repaid any State funds 8
previously received for the NBPTS certification process, or (iii) received a 9
waiver of repayment from the State Board of Education. 10
Teachers participating in the program shall take paid leave only with the approval of their 11
supervisors. 12
… 13
(d1) Forgiveness and Repayment of the Ap plication Fee. – A The State Education 14
Assistance Authority shall forgive the loan of the application fee if the teacher attains NBPTS 15
certification within five years of applying for NBPTS certification. If the teacher does not attain 16
NBPTS certification within five years , the teacher shall repay the application fee to the State 17
Education Assistance Authority within three years. eight years of applying for NBPTS 18
certification. The commencement of cash repayment shall begin 12 months following the 19
disbursement of the loan funds. The Alternatively, the State Education Assistance Authority may 20
forgive the loan upon the death of the teacher or upon an injury deemed to leave the teacher 21
totally and permanently disabled. 22
All funds appropriated to, or otherwise received by, the Authority to provide loans to teachers 23
pursuant to this section, all funds received as repayment of loans, and all interest earned on these 24
funds shall be placed in a trust fund. This fund shall be used only for loans made pursuant to this 25
section and administrative costs of the Authority. 26
… 27
(f) Rules. – The State Education Assistance Authority shall adopt rules and guidelines 28
regarding the loan loan, forgiveness, and repayment of the NBPTS application fee. To the extent 29
funds provided for forgivable loans for the NBPTS application fee are insufficient to award 30
forgivable loans to qualified applicants, the Authority may establish a lottery process for selection 31
of loan recipients in accordance with the requirements established by this section. The State 32
Board shall adopt policies and guidelines to implement the remainder of this section." 33
SECTION 2.(c) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 34
Public Instruction the sum of one million one hundred forty thousand dollars ($1,140,000) in 35
recurring funds beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year to provide forgivable loans to teachers for 36
the cost of the participation fee for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) 37
certification pursuant to G.S. 115C-296.2, as amended by subsection (b) of this section. 38
39
PART III. INCREASE TEACHER SALARIES 40
SECTION 3.(a) The following monthly teacher salary schedule shall apply for the 41
2026-2027 fiscal year to licensed personnel of the public schools who are classified as teachers. 42
The salary schedule is based on years of teaching experience. 43
2026-2027 Teacher Monthly Salary Schedule 44
Years of Experience "A" Teachers 45
0 $6,000 46
1 $6,110 47
2 $6,220 48
3 $6,329 49
4 $6,439 50
5 $6,549 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1130-First Edition Page 3
6 $6,691 1
7 $6,824 2
8 $6,956 3
9 $7,089 4
10 $7,222 5
11 $7,354 6
12 $7,487 7
13 $7,619 8
14 $7,752 9
15 $7,885 10
16 $8,030 11
17 $8,178 12
18 $8,328 13
19 $8,482 14
20 $8,638 15
21 $8,797 16
22 $8,958 17
23 $9,123 18
24 $9,291 19
25 $9,462 20
26 $9,636 21
27 $9,813 22
28 $9,994 23
29 $10,178 24
30+ $10,365 25
SECTION 3.(b) Salary Supplements for Teachers Paid on This Salary Schedule. – 26
(1) Licensed teachers who have NBPTS certification shall receive a salary 27
supplement each month o f twelve percent (12%) of their monthly salary on 28
the "A" salary schedule. 29
(2) Licensed teachers who are classified as "M" teachers shall receive a salary 30
supplement each month of ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary on the 31
"A" salary schedule. 32
(3) Licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the 33
six-year degree level shall receive a salary supplement of one hundred 34
twenty-six dollars ($126.00) per month in addition to the supplement provided 35
to them as "M" teachers. 36
(4) Licensed t eachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the 37
doctoral degree level shall receive a salary supplement of two hundred 38
fifty-three dollars ($253.00) per month in addition to the supplement provided 39
to them as "M" teachers. 40
(5) Certified school nurses shall receive a salary supplement each month of ten 41
percent (10%) of their monthly salary on the "A" salary schedule. 42
(6) School counselors who are licensed as counselors at the master's degree level 43
or higher shall receive a salary supplement of on e hundred dollars ($100.00) 44
per month. 45
SECTION 3.(c) For school psychologists, school speech pathologists who are 46
licensed as speech pathologists at the master's degree level or higher, and school audiologists 47
who are licensed as audiologists at the master's degree level or higher, the following shall apply: 48
(1) The first step of the salary schedule shall be equivalent to the sixth step of the 49
"A" salary schedule. 50
(2) These employees shall receive the following salary supplements each month: 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 1130-First Edition
a. Ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary, excluding the supplement 1
provided pursuant to sub-subdivision b. of this subdivision. 2
b. Five hundred dollars ($500.00). 3
(3) These employees are eligible to receive salary supplements equivalent to those 4
of teachers for acad emic preparation at the six -year degree level or the 5
doctoral degree level. 6
(4) The twenty -sixth step of the salary schedule shall be seven and one -half 7
percent (7.5%) higher than the salary received by these same employees on 8
the twenty-fifth step of the salary schedule. 9
SECTION 3.(d) Beginning with the 2014 -2015 fiscal year, in lieu of providing 10
annual longevity payments to teachers paid on the teacher salary schedule, the amounts of those 11
longevity payments are included in the monthly amounts under the teacher salary schedule. 12
SECTION 3.(e) A teacher compensated in accordance with this salary schedule for 13
the 2026-2027 school year shall receive an amount equal to the greater of the following: 14
(1) The applicable amount on the salary schedule for the applicable school year. 15
(2) For teachers who were eligible for longevity for the 2013 -2014 school year, 16
the sum of the following: 17
a. The salary the teacher received in the 2013-2014 school year pursuant 18
to Section 35.11 of S.L. 2013-360. 19
b. The longevity that the teacher would have received under the longevity 20
system in effect for the 2013 -2014 school year provided in Section 21
35.11 of S.L. 2013-360 based on the teacher's current years of service. 22
c. The annual bonus provided in Section 9.1(e) of S.L. 2014-100. 23
(3) For teachers who were not eligible for longevity for the 2013 -2014 school 24
year, the sum of the salary and annual bonus the teacher received in the 25
2014-2015 school year pursuant to Section 9.1 of S.L. 2014-100. 26
SECTION 3.(f) As used in this section, t he term "teacher" shall also include 27
instructional support personnel. 28
SECTION 3.(g) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 29
Public Instruction for the 2026 -2027 fiscal year the sum of four billion three hundred ninety 30
million dollars ($4,390,000,000) in recurring funds to implement the teacher raises provided in 31
this section. 32
33
PART IV. EXPLORATORY SABBATICAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS 34
SECTION 4.(a) Article 20 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 35
adding the following new section to read: 36
"§ 115C-302.5. Exploratory sabbatical grant program for teachers. 37
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 38
(1) Department. – The Department of Public Instruction. 39
(2) Eligible teacher. – A teacher employed in a local school administrative unit 40
who meets all of the following criteria: 41
a. Has worked as a teacher in a public school unit for 10 years, regardless 42
of a break in service. 43
b. Has not taken a sabbatical pursuant to the Program in the prior 10 44
years. 45
c. Has a continuing professional teacher license. 46
d. Is not currently eligible under G.S. 135-5 for an unreduced retirement 47
allowance. 48
(3) Program. – The Exploratory Sabbatical Grant Program for Teachers 49
established pursuant to this section. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1130-First Edition Page 5
(b) Program. – To the extent funds are provided for this purpose, t he Department of 1
Public Instruction shall establish the Exploratory Sabbatical Grant Program for Teachers. The 2
purpose of the Program is to support teacher retention by allowing eligible teachers to take 3
sabbaticals from their current teaching positions and serve as substitute teachers in other subjects, 4
other schools located in the local school administrative unit, or both, while continuing to receive 5
their salaries as full-time teachers. 6
(c) Applications; Time Line. – No later than November 1 of each year, t he Department 7
of Public Instruction shall issue a request for applications from local school administrative units 8
to participate in the Program. Local school administrative units shall submit their applications to 9
the Department by February 15 of the following year. The Department shall select local school 10
administrative units to participate in the Program by April 15 of the year applications are 11
submitted for participation in the following school year. 12
(d) Award of Funds. – The Department shall award funds for up to a total of 500 teacher 13
sabbatical positions. The Department shall allocate teacher sabbatic al positions to local school 14
administrative units proportionally based on the number of eligible teachers in the unit. For each 15
teacher sabbatical position authorized by the Department under the Program, the Department 16
shall allocate one additional classro om teaching position to the local school administrative unit 17
for that school year. 18
(e) Selection of Teachers . – Local school administrative units that receive an award of 19
grant funds pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall select eligible teachers in the unit to 20
receive teacher sabbaticals. As part of that process , the unit shall prioritize the award of 21
sabbaticals to teachers with between 10 and 19 years of experience as a teacher. Thereafter, the 22
unit shall award funds to teachers with 20 to 29 years of experience as a teacher. 23
(f) Sabbatical Requirements . – The following requirements shall apply to sabbaticals 24
taken under this section: 25
(1) A teacher selected to receive a sabbatical pursuant to subsection (e) of this 26
section shall serve as a substitute teacher in the local school administrative 27
unit where the teacher is employed for up to one school year. 28
(2) The teacher shall receive compensation equivalent to his or her full salary as 29
a teacher during the sabbatical. 30
(3) The local school administrative unit where the teacher is employed shall 31
determine the minimum number of hours the teacher is required to work as a 32
substitute teacher during the sabbatical. 33
(4) At the conclusion of the sabbatical, t he local school administrative unit shall 34
offer the teacher a full -time teach ing position somewhere within the unit 35
unless the teacher is dismissed or demoted for cause. The position need not be 36
in the same location or the same grade level as the position the teacher vacated 37
prior to taking the sabbatical. 38
(g) Administration. – Of the funds appropriated to the Department pursuant to this 39
section, the Department may retain up to one percent (1%) each fiscal year for administrative 40
costs associated with the Program. 41
(h) Report. – No later than March 15, 2028, and every year thereafter while grant funds 42
are awarded under the Program, the Department shall report on the Prog ram to the Joint 43
Legislative Education Oversight Committee. The report shall include at l east the following 44
information: 45
(1) The number of local school administrative units participating in the Program 46
in that school year and the identity of those units. 47
(2) The number of teachers in each participating local school administrative unit 48
that are taking sabbaticals in that school year and the average years of 49
experience of those teachers. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 6 House Bill 1130-First Edition
(3) The number of teachers in the prior school year who took sabbaticals and 1
remained employed as teachers in the participating local school administrative 2
units in the following year." 3
SECTION 4.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 4
Public Instruction beginning in the 2026 -2027 fiscal year the sum of forty million dollars 5
($40,000,000) in recurring funds to provide grants to local school administrative units to permit 6
teachers to take one -year sabbaticals as substitute teachers under the Exploratory Sabbatical 7
Grant Program for Teachers established pursuant to G.S. 115C-302.5, as enacted by subsection 8
(a) of this section. 9
SECTION 4.(c) This section becomes effective July 1, 2026. 10
11
PART V. SCHOOL CALENDAR AND REMOTE INSTRUCTION FLEXIBILITY 12
SECTION 5.(a) G.S. 115C-84.2 reads as rewritten: 13
"§ 115C-84.2. School calendar. 14
… 15
(a2) Report on School Start and End Dates. – As part of the reporting requirements under 16
the Uniform Education Reporting System pursuant to G.S. 115C-12(18), annually by April 1 17
each local board of education shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the 18
State Board of Education on the start and end dates of the instructional calendar for students for 19
the next academic year. The local board of education shall report this information for each school 20
under the control of that board and shall identify the statutory exception authorizing an earlier 21
start date for all schools that start earlier than the Monday closest to August 26.board. 22
(a3) The State Board of Education shall report annually no later than June 15 to the Joint 23
Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the start and end dates for instructional calendars 24
for the next academic year reported by local boards of education as provided in subsection (a2) 25
of this section. The report shall identify all schools that start earlier than the Monday closest to 26
August 26 and the statutory exception for the earlier start date. 27
… 28
(d) Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of 29
opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for 30
year-round schools, the opening date for students shall be no earlier than the Monday closest to 31
August 26, and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to June 11. 32
On a showing of good cause, the State Board of Education may waive the requirement that the 33
opening date for students be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and may allow the 34
local board of education to set an opening date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 19, 35
to the extent that school calendars are able to provide sufficient days to accommodate anticipated 36
makeup days due to school closings. A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if 37
necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or 38
instructional time. For purposes of this subsection, the term " good cause" means that schools in 39
any local school administrative unit in a county have been closed eight days per year during any 40
four of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, 41
or other emergency situations. 42
The required opening and closing dates under this subsection shall not apply to any school 43
that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003 -2004 school year or to 44
any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003 -2004 school year for a system of 45
modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar. 46
…." 47
SECTION 5.(b) G.S. 115C-84.3 reads as rewritten: 48
"§ 115C-84.3. Remote instruction. 49
… 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1130-First Edition Page 7
(b) A public school unit in a county that has received a good cause waiver, as provided 1
in G.S. 115C-84.2(d), for the school year may use up to 15 remote instruction days or 90 remote 2
instruction hours when schools are unable to open due to severe weather conditions, energy 3
shortages, power failures, or other emergency situations and may use that time towards the 4
required instructional days or hours for the school calendar. All other public Public school units 5
may use up to five 75 remote instruction days or 30 450 remote instruction hours when schools 6
are unable to open due to severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, or other 7
emergency situations and may use that time towards the required instructional days or hours for 8
the school calendar. 9
… 10
(d) A governing board that chooses to us e remote instruction as provided in subsection 11
(b) of this section shall submit to the State Board, by July 1 annually, a remote instruction plan 12
that provides a detailed framework for delivering quality remote instruction to students for the 13
upcoming school year and information on the number of remote instruction days or hours used 14
in the prior school year to satisfy instructional requirements, when applicable. At a minimum, 15
the plans submitted by governing boards shall include the following: 16
… 17
(8) The number of remote instruction days or hours used in the prior school year 18
and the number of remote instruction days or hours planned for the upcoming 19
school year. 20
(e) The State Board of Education shall report by September 15 annually to the Joint 21
Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information related to remote 22
instruction: 23
… 24
(2) A summary document of the following: 25
a. The number of remote instruction days or hours used by each public 26
school unit in the prior school year.year and the num ber of remote 27
instruction days or hours planned for the upcoming school year. 28
…." 29
SECTION 5.(c) G.S. 115C-105.26(b)(3) is repealed. 30
31
PART VI. PROTECTED TEACHER PLANNING TIME 32
SECTION 6.(a) G.S. 115C-105.27(b) reads as rewritten: 33
"(b) School Improvement Pl an. – In order to improve student performance, the school 34
improvement team at each school shall develop a school improvement plan that takes into 35
consideration the annual performance goal for that school that is set by the State Board under 36
G.S. 115C-105.35 and the goals set out in the mission statement for the public schools adopted 37
by the State Board of Education. All school improvement plans shall be, to the greatest extent 38
possible, data -driven. School improvement teams shall use the Education Value -Added 39
Assessment System (EVAAS) or a compatible and comparable system approved by the State 40
Board of Education to (i) analyze student data and identify root causes for problems, (ii) 41
determine actions to address them, and (iii) appropriately place students in courses such as 42
Algebra I. School improvement plans shall contain clear, unambiguous targets, explicit indicators 43
and actual measures, and expeditious time frames for meeting the measurement standards. 44
The strategies for improving student performance: 45
(1) Shall include a plan for the use of staff development funds that may be made 46
available to the school by the local board of education to implement the school 47
improvement plan. The plan may provide that a portion of these funds is used 48
for mentor training and for release time and substitute teachers while mentors 49
and teachers mentored are meeting;meeting. 50
(1a) Repealed by Session Laws 2012-142, s. 7A.1(c), effective July 2, 2012. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 8 House Bill 1130-First Edition
(2) Shall include a plan to address school safety and discipline concerns;concerns. 1
(3) May include a decision to use State funds in accordance with 2
G.S. 115C-105.25;G.S. 115C-105.25. 3
(4) Shall include a plan that specifies the effective instructional practices and 4
methods to be used to improve the academic performance of students 5
identified as at risk of academic failure or at risk of dropping out of school; 6
(5) May include requests for waivers of State laws, rules, or policies for that 7
school. A request for a waiver shall meet the requirements of 8
G.S. 115C-105.26;G.S. 115C-105.26. 9
(6) Shall include a plan to provide a duty-free lunch period for every teacher on a 10
daily basis or as otherwise approved by the school improvement team; 11
andteam. 12
(7) Shall include a plan to provide duty-free instructional planning time for every 13
teacher under G.S. 115C-301.1, with the goal of providing an average of at 14
least five hours of planning time per week; [and]G.S. 115C-301.1. 15
(8) Shall include a plan to identify and eliminate unnecessary and redundant 16
reporting requirements for teachers and, to the extent practicable, streamline 17
the school's reporting system and procedures, including requiring forms and 18
reports to be in electronic form when possible and incorporating relevant 19
documents into the student accessible components of the Instructional 20
Improvement System." 21
SECTION 6.(b) G.S. 115C-301.1 reads as rewritten: 22
"§ 115C-301.1. Duty-free instructional planning time. 23
All full -time assigned classroom teachers shall be provided a minimum of five duty-free 24
instructional planning time during regular student contact hours. hours each week. The duty-free 25
instructional planning time shall be provided to the maximum extent that (i) the safety and proper 26
supervision of children may allow during regular student contact hours and (ii) insofar as funds 27
are provided for this purpose by the General Assembly. If the safety and supervision of children 28
does not allow duty -free instructional planning time during regular student contact hours for a 29
given teacher, the funds provided by the General Assembly for the duty -free instructional 30
planning time for that teacher shall revert to the general fund. Principals shall not unfairly burden 31
a given teacher by making that teacher give up his or her duty -free instructional planning time 32
on an ongoing, regular basis without the consent of the teacher." 33
34
PART VII. GUARANTEED TEACHER WORKDAYS 35
SECTION 7. G.S. 115C-84.2(a)(4) is reenacted as it existed immediately before its 36
repeal and reads as rewritten: 37
"(4) Five A minimum of nine days, as designated by the local board, for use as 38
teacher workdays. These days shall be protected to allow teachers to complete 39
instructional and classroom administrative duties. The local school 40
administrative unit shall not impose any additional tasks on these days. The 41
local board shall schedule one of these days at the beginning of the school 42
year and one at the end of each academic quarter.as follows: 43
a. Three days at the beginning of the school year. 44
b. One day at the end of the first, second, and third academic quarters. 45
c. Three days at the end of the final academic quarter." 46
47
PART VIII. EFFECTIVE DATE 48
SECTION 8. Except as otherwise provided, this bill is effective when it becomes 49
law. 50