Turning High-Achieving Students into Teachers.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 943

Short Title: Turning High-Achieving Students into Teachers. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Ball, Pittman, Cohn, and F. Jackson (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
*H943-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO IMPROVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEACHER 2
PIPELINE. 3
Whereas, teacher effectiveness is the most important factor in delivering positive 4
student outcomes; and 5
Whereas, North Carolina is experiencing an increasing crisis of recruitment and 6
retention of highly qualified teachers; and 7
Whereas, there is a particular need for diverse, high -quality teachers, especially in 8
low-performing schools and rural schools; and 9
Whereas, the North Carolina Teacher Cadet P rogram (NCTCP) is a successful 10
program that encourages high -achieving high school students to attend college and eventually 11
teach in North Carolina public schools; and 12
Whereas, building early interest in the teaching profession is critical to building a 13
robust teacher pipeline; and 14
Whereas, NCTCP actively engages in the following strategies: 15
(1) Maintaining strong partnerships with higher education institutions, including 16
The University of North Carolina, and collaborative relationships with local 17
boards of education. 18
(2) Offering a curriculum developed by highly qualified, licensed public school 19
teachers, including high school honors credit, approved by the Department of 20
Public Instruction. 21
(3) Providing learning through hands-on teaching methods and field experiences 22
delivered by educators who are required to complete teacher cadet curriculum 23
training; and 24
Whereas, the NCTCP has a well-regarded and established record of helping rural and 25
economically distressed counties to GROW THEIR OWN TEACHERS from students who were 26
born, raised, and received a high school education within the same county; and 27
Whereas, the NCTCP has quickly transitioned to an online program and is able to 28
operate flexibly in response to changing learning conditions; and 29
Whereas, in recent school years, about twenty -one percent (21%) of public school 30
teachers identified as persons of color, and the NCTCP enrolled a substantially greater portion 31
of teacher cadets who identified as persons of color at forty-two percent (42%); and 32
Whereas, the NCTCP Program has also successfully addressed the shortage of male 33
teachers by having about twenty-five percent (25%) of enrollees identify as male; Now, therefore, 34
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 943-First Edition
SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 1
Public Instruction the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for 2
each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium to be provided to the nonprofit organization known 3
as the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children to be used for the North Carolina 4
Teacher Cadet Program. The funds shall be used for the following services related to expansion 5
of the educator pipeline: 6
(1) Statewide curriculum training workshops for teachers with options for 7
in-person and online ongoing support. 8
(2) Expansion of services in counties designated as development tier one areas. 9
For schools located in counties identified in this subdivision, the North 10
Carolina Teacher Cadet Program shall prioritize schools with th e highest 11
teacher attrition rate from the 2022-2023 school year. 12
(3) Continued development and training for persons in underrepresented teaching 13
demographics, including cadets who are male and cadets who are persons of 14
color. To the extent possible, the training shall draw on past and current cadets 15
who are classroom teachers, postsecondary students pursuing a degree in 16
education, and seniors in high school. 17
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 18