The Hometown Opp. for Mentoring Educators Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 912

Short Title: The Hometown Opp. for Mentoring Educators Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Winslow, Paré, Willis, and Biggs (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H912-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CREATE THE HOMETOWN TEACHER GRANT PROGRAM, CALLED THE 2
H.O.M.E. (HOMETOWN OPPORTUNITIES FOR MENTORING EDUCATORS) ACT. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. Article 17D of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 5
adding a new section to read: 6
"§ 115C-269.33. Hometown Teacher Grant Program. 7
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions shall apply in this section: 8
(1) Eligible student. – A student of a local school administrative unit who eith er 9
attended school for five years at a school in, or graduated from a high school 10
in, the local school administrative unit. 11
(2) Eligible teacher. – An eligible student who agrees to remain employed as a 12
teacher in a school in the same local school administrative unit where qualified 13
as an eligible student. 14
(3) Program. – The Hometown Teacher Grant Program. 15
(b) Program Established; Participation. – The Department shall establish the Hometown 16
Teacher Grant Program. The purpose of the Program is to provide gra nts to local school 17
administrative units to award funds for salary supplements for eligible teachers. The Department 18
shall establish criteria for participation in the Program. The Department shall adopt standards to 19
ensure that only eligible teachers recei ve an award of funds under the Program. Local school 20
administrative units shall submit to the Department a list identifying the number of eligible 21
teachers participating in the Program each year pursuant to a process to be established by the 22
Department. 23
(c) Agreement; Award. – To the extent funds are available for the Program, funds shall 24
be awarded to an eligible teacher who enters into an agreement to remain employed as required 25
by this section. Eligible teachers shall receive a salary supplement each month in the amount of 26
five hundred dollars ($500 .00) as long as the eligible teacher remains in compliance with the 27
agreement. 28
(d) Promotion. – Local boards of education receiving grants under the Program shall 29
make efforts to promote the Program to high school students. 30
(e) Report to the General Assembly. – The Department shall report no later than May 15, 31
2026, and annually thereafter while funds are awarded under the Program, to the Joint Legislative 32
Education Oversight Committee regarding the Program, including at least the following 33
information: 34
(1) Funds awarded under the Program, including the following: 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 912-First Edition
a. Demographic information regarding eligible teachers. 1
b. Number of award recipients by local school administrative unit. 2
(2) Placement rates, incl uding the number of eligible teachers who have been 3
employed in the same local school administrative unit in which they were 4
eligible students. 5
(3) Recommendations to improve the Program and increase the number of 6
teachers in North Carolina." 7
SECTION 2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 8
Public Instruction the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in recurring funds for each fiscal 9
year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium for administration of the Program enacted by Section 1 of 10
this act. 11
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to eligible teachers 12
entering agreements to participate in a program established in this act on or after that date. 13