SchCalFlex/Orange,CH-Car,Caswell/CC & Assmnts.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 51

Short Title: SchCalFlex/Orange,CH-Car,Caswell/CC & Assmnts. (Local)
Sponsors: Representatives Price and Buansi (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: State and Local Government, if favorable, Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules,
Calendar, and Operations of the House
February 5, 2025
*H51-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FL EXIBILITY TO CASWELL COUNTY SCHOOLS, CHA PEL 2
HILL-CARRBORO CITY S CHOOLS, AND ORANGE C OUNTY SCHOOLS IN 3
ADOPTING THE SCHOOL CALENDAR. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-84.2(d) reads as rewritten: 6
"(d) Opening and Closing Dates. – Local boards of education shall determine the dates of 7
opening and closing the public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Except for 8
year-round schools, the opening date for students shall be n o earlier than the Monday closest to 9
August 26, and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to June 11. 10
On a showing of good cause, the State Board of Education may waive the requirement that the 11
opening date for students be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and may allow the 12
local board of education to set an opening date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 19, 13
to the extent that school calendars are able to provide sufficient days to accommodate anticipated 14
makeup days due to school closings. A local board may revise the scheduled closing date if 15
necessary in order to comply with the minimum requirements for instructional days or 16
instructional time. For purposes of this subsection, the term "good cause " means that schools in 17
any local school administrative unit in a county have been closed eight days per year during any 18
four of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions, energy shortages, power failures, 19
or other emergency situations. 20
The required opening and closing dates under this subsection shall not apply to any school 21
that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003 -2004 school year or to 22
any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003 -2004 school year for a system of 23
modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar. 24
Notwithstanding the required opening and closing dates under this subsection, a local board 25
of education may align the calendar of schools in the local sch ool administrative unit with the 26
calendar of a community college serving in the city or county in which the unit is located by 27
starting the calendar on the same day as the college or any day thereafter." 28
SECTION 2. G.S. 115C-174.12(a)(4) reads as rewritten: 29
"(4) All annual assessments of student achievement adopted by the State Board of 30
Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11(c)(1) and (3) and all final exams for 31
courses shall be administered within the final 10 instructional days of the 32
school year for year-long courses and within the final five instructional days 33
of the semester for semester courses. Exceptions shall be permitted to 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 51-First Edition
accommodate a student's individualized education program and section 504 1
(29 U.S.C. § 794) plans and for the administration of final exams for courses 2
with national or international curricula required to be held at designated times. 3
A local board of education that has implemented a school calendar that 4
concludes the fall semester prior to December 31 shall be permitted to 5
administer assessments prior to the conclusion of that semester." 6
SECTION 3. This act applies only to Caswell County Schools, Chapel Hill-Carrboro 7
City Schools, and Orange County Schools. 8
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with 9
the 2025-2026 school year. 10