Voucher School Transparency Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 816

Short Title: Voucher School Transparency Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Rubin, Ball, Prather, and Brockman (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 8, 2025
*H816-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO INCREASE A CCOUNTABILITY AND RE PORTING STANDARDS FO R 2
NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS RE CEIVING OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS AN D 3
TO REQUIRE THE STATE AUDITOR TO ANNUALLY REVIEW AUDITS OF AT 4
LEAST THREE NONPUBLI C SCHOOLS RECEIVING OPPORTUNITY 5
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
8
PART I. ACCOUNTABILI TY AND REPORTING FOR OPPORTUNITY 9
SCHOLARSHIP SCHOOLS 10
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-562.5 reads as rewritten: 11
"§ 115C -562.5. Obligations of nonpublic schools accepting eligible students receiving 12
scholarship grants. 13
(a) A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall 14
comply with the following: 15
(1) Provide Annually provide to the Authority documentation for required tuition 16
and fees charged to the student by the nonpublic school. 17
(2) Provide to the Authority a criminal background check conducted for the staff 18
member with the highest decision-making authority, as defined by the bylaws, 19
articles of incorporation, or other govern ing document. For all teachers, the 20
nonpublic school shall adopt a policy requiring criminal history checks under 21
G.S. 115C-332. Each nonpublic school shall apply its policy uniformly in 22
requiring applicants for employment to be checked for a criminal hist ory 23
before the applicant is given an unconditional job offer. A nonpublic school 24
may employ an applicant conditionally while the board is checking the 25
person's criminal history and making a decision based on the results of the 26
check. The nonpublic school may adopt a policy providing for periodic checks 27
of criminal history of teachers. A no npublic school shall indicate, upon the 28
inquiry by any other public school unit or nonpublic school in the State, as to 29
the reason for an employee 's resignation or dismis sal, if an employee 's 30
criminal history was relevant to the employee 's resignation or dismissal. 31
Information provided to the Authority in accordance with this subdivision is 32
otherwise privileged information and is not a public record but is for the 33
exclusive use of the Authority. 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 816-First Edition
(3) Provide to the parent or guardian of an eligible student, whose tuition and fees 1
are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant, an annual written 2
explanation of the student's progress, including the student's scores on 3
standardized achievement tests. 4
(4) Administer, at least once in each school year, tests as provided in this 5
subdivision. Test performance data shall be submitted to the Authority by July 6
15 of each year. Test performance data reported to the Authority unde r this 7
subdivision is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 8
Tests shall be administered to all eligible students enrolled in grades three and 9
higher whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship 10
grant as follows: 11
a. The nationally standardized test designated by the Authority in grades 12
three and through eight. 13
b. The ACT in grade 11. 14
c. A nationally standardized test or other nationally standardized 15
equivalent measurement selected by the chief administrative officer of 16
the nonpublic school in all other grades four and higher. For grades 17
four through seven, the nationally standardized test or other equivalent 18
measurement selected must measure achievement in the areas of 19
English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. For grades nine, 20
10, and 12, the nationally standardized test or other equivalent 21
measurement selected must measure either (i) achievement in the areas 22
of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics or (ii) 23
competencies in the verbal and quantitative areas. 24
(5) Provide to the Authority graduation rates of the students receiving scholarship 25
grants grants, including four -year cohort graduation rates, in a manner 26
consistent with nationally recognized standards.Title I of the Elementary and 27
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and any associated federal 28
regulations. 29
(6) Contract with a certified public accountant to perform a financial review, an 30
audit, consistent with generally accepted methods of accoun ting or any other 31
comprehensive basis of accounting recognized by the American Institute of 32
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for each school year in which the 33
school enrolls 70 or more students receiving scholarship grants or scholarship 34
funds awarded by the Authority. accepts students receiving one hundred 35
thousand dollars ($100,000) or more in scholarship grants awarded under this 36
Part. If a school accepts students receiving less than one hundred thousand 37
dollars ($100,000), it shall contract pursuant to this subdivision for an audit 38
every three years. A nonpublic school shall report the results of an audit 39
conducted under this subdivision to the Authority and the State A uditor by 40
December 31 of the year in which the audit is conducted. 41
(7) Maintain a school facility within the State where in -person instruction is 42
provided. This subdivision does not prohibit a school from offering 43
remote-only courses of instruction in addition to in-person instruction. 44
(8) Provide the following information annually to the Division: 45
a. Name and address of the school, including physical location address. 46
A school with more than one physical location shall establish a 47
separate notice of intent for each physical location and shall provide 48
all information required by this subdivision for each physical location. 49
b. The name of the owners and chief administrator. 50
c. Number of students in attendance at the school as of October 1. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 816-First Edition Page 3
d. All attendance records of students receiving scholarship grants from 1
the previous school year. 2
e. The percentage of teachers with a teacher license. 3
f. Whether the nonpublic school is accredited and, if so, the identity of 4
that accreditor. 5
g. Documentation of a competed fire inspection in the previous 365 days. 6
h. Curriculum used by the nonpublic school for each grade level. 7
i. The number of students receiving scholarship grants for the first time 8
who attended a public school unit in the previous school year. 9
j. The number of students receiving scholarship grants who attended a 10
public school unit in the previous school year. 11
(9) To the extent permitted by federal law and to the extent this information can 12
be provided without permitting the personally identifiable information of a 13
student to be revealed, report to the Authority on the following information: 14
a. The number of children enrolled at the school who are recipients of 15
scholarship funds and who have a disability and an Individualized 16
Education Plan (IEP). 17
b. If there are any children enrolled at the school who are recipients of 18
scholarship funds and who have a disability and an IEP, whether the 19
nonpublic school is educating each child in compliance with his or her 20
IDEA, as defined in G.S. 115C-106.3(6), and applicable policies 21
adopted by the State Board of Education for local school 22
administrative units under Article 9 of Chapter 115C of the General 23
Statutes. 24
(10) Comply with the requirements of Article 8C of this Chapter, including the 25
following: 26
a. School Risk Management Plan. – The nonpublic school , in 27
coordination with local law enforcement agencies, shall adopt a 28
School Risk Management Plan (SRMP) relating to incidents of school 29
violence. In constructing and maintaining these plans, the nonpublic 30
school shall utilize the School Risk and Response M anagement 31
System established pursuant to G.S. 115C-105.49A. These plans are 32
not considered a public record as the term "public record" is defined 33
under G.S. 132-1 and shall not be subject to inspection and 34
examination under G.S. 132-6. 35
b. Schematic diagram s and school crisis kits. – The nonpublic school 36
shall provide schematic diagrams and keys to the main entrance of 37
school facilities to local law enforcement agencies, in addition to 38
implementing the provisions in G.S. 115C-105.52. 39
c. School safety exercises. – At least once a year, the nonpublic school 40
shall hold a full school -wide lockdown exercise with local law 41
enforcement and emergency management agencies that are part of the 42
school's SRMP. 43
d. Safety information provided to the Department of Public Safety, 44
Division of Emergency Management. – The nonpublic school shall 45
provide the following: (i) schematic diagrams, including digital 46
schematic diagrams, and (ii) emergency response information 47
requested by the Division for the SRMP. The schematic diagrams and 48
emergency response information are not considered public records as 49
the term "public record" is defined under G.S. 132-1 and shall not be 50
subject to inspection and examination under G.S. 132-6. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 816-First Edition
(b) A nonpublic school that accepts students receiving scholarship grants shall not require 1
any additional fees based on the status of the student as a scholarship grant recipient. 2
(c) A nonpublic school enrolling more than 25 students in any grade whose tuition and 3
fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant shall provide and retain information on 4
student test performance in each grade with more than 25 students, as follows: 5
(1) Report to the Authority on the aggregate standardized test per formance of 6
eligible students in grades three, eight, three through eight and 11. Aggregate 7
test performance data reported to the Authority which does not contain 8
personally identifiable student data shall be a public record under Chapter 132 9
of the General Statutes. Test performance data may be shared with public or 10
private institutions of higher education located in North Carolina and shall be 11
provided to an independent research organization selected by the Authority 12
for research purposes as permitted by the Federal Education Rights and 13
Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. 14
(2) Retain standardized test performance data for eligible students in all other 15
grades and annually certify to the Authority compliance with the requirements 16
of subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this section. 17
…." 18
SECTION 1.(b) Section 3J.23 of S.L. 2024-57 reads as rewritten: 19
"… 20
"SECTION 3J.23.(b) The Office of Learning Research at The University of North Carolina, 21
as established by Section 2A.8 of this act, shall study and report the following to the Joint 22
Legislative Education Oversight Committee by December 31, 2025: 23
(1) For the purpose of comp aring student performance, recommendations for 24
nationally standardized tests for use in third grade and through eighth grade 25
that would be appropriate for administering to (i) students in nonpublic 26
schools who are receiving Opportunity Scholarships beginni ng with the 27
2026-2027 school year and (ii) students attending schools in public school 28
units. To the extent practicable, the Office of Learning Research shall 29
recommend only one test for use in third grade and one test for use in eighth 30
grade. 31
(2) Alignment between the nationally standardized tests selected pursuant to 32
subdivision (1) of this subsection and the standard course of study for third 33
grade and through eighth grade, respectively, including a crosswalk between 34
the standards assessed by the nationa lly standardized tests and the standard 35
course of study. 36
(3) Feasibility of developing a through -grade assessment for third and through 37
eighth grade that would meet the following criteria: 38
a. Assess mastery of the standard course of study. 39
b. Consist of mu ltiple testing events throughout the year that are 40
aggregated into a summative score. 41
c. Replace the current end -of-grade assessments for third and eighth 42
grade. 43
d. Yield data that can be used with the Education Value -Added 44
Assessment System (EVAAS). 45
e. Comply with federal law. 46
"SECTION 3J.23.(c) The State Education Assistance Authority shall designate as the 47
nationally standardized assessments to be administered by nonpublic schools, in accordance with 48
G.S. 115C-562.5(a)(4), the tests recommended by the Office of Learning Research at The 49
University of North Carolina for use in third grade and through eighth grade in accordance with 50
subsection (b) of this section. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 816-First Edition Page 5
…." 1
SECTION 1.(c) Notwithstanding G.S. 115C-562.5(a)(1), for the report required 2
pursuant to G.S. 115C-562.5(a)(1) for the 2025-2026 school year, the nonpublic school shall also 3
provide documentation for required tuition and fees charged to students receiving scholarship 4
grant funds under Part 2A of Article 39 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes by the nonpublic 5
school for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. 6
7
PART II. REQUIRE THE STATE AUDITOR TO AN NUALLY REVIEW AUDITS OF 8
AT LEAST THREE OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP SCHOOLS 9
SECTION 2. G.S. 147-64.6(c) reads as rewritten: 10
"(c) Responsibilities. – The Auditor is responsible for the following acts and activities: 11
… 12
(24) The Auditor shall review every year at least three completed audits of 13
nonpublic schools that are reported to the Auditor pursuant to 14
G.S. 115C-562.5(a)(6). The Auditor shall report to the Joint Legislative 15
Education Oversight Committee no later than March 15 of each year on the 16
results of this review , including the uses of taxpayer funds by the nonpu blic 17
schools and academic outcomes of students receiving scholarship grants under 18
Part 2A of Article 39 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes." 19
20
PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE 21
SECTION 3. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 22
law. 23