Revise Math Graduation Requirements.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 1035

Short Title: Revise Math Graduation Requirements. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Garson (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S1035-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CHANGE HIG H SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 2
MATHEMATICS TO FOLLO W CERTAIN MATHEMATIC S PATHWAYS ADOPTED 3
BY THE STATE BOARD O F EDUCATION, TO REQU IRE MATHEMATICS 4
PATHWAYS TO BE INCLUDED IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLANS, TO REQUIRE 5
THE STATE BOARD OF E DUCATION TO ADOPT RU LES FOR CERTAIN 6
MATHEMATICS PATHWAYS FOR GRADUATION, AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS 7
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TO IMPLEMENT THE 8
PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT. 9
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 10
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-83.31 reads as rewritten: 11
"§ 115C-83.31. Exit standards and graduation requirements. 12
(a) The State Board of Education shall require the following for high school graduation: 13
… 14
(4) Passing grades in a sequence of four mathematics courses consistent with the 15
following: 16
a. NC Math 1. 17
b. NC Math 2. 18
c. Two additional mathematics c ourses required as part of one of the 19
following pathway-aligned options adopted by the State Board: 20
1. College preparatory pathway. 21
2. Career and technical education (CTE) pathway. 22
3. Quantitative reasoning and statistics pathway. 23
4. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) 24
pathway." 25
SECTION 2. G.S. 115C-158.10(c) reads as rewritten: 26
"(c) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules establishing minimum requirements 27
for career development plans and shall require local boards of education to provide access to all 28
career development plans through a designated electronic application. Career development plans 29
shall include at least the following: 30
… 31
(3) Alignment of academic courses and extracurricular activities with the 32
student's identified career interests, including the following: 33
a. Inventory of aligned courses in middle and high school in grades six 34
through 10, and development of best strategies for course selection in 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 1035-First Edition
grades 11 and 12 to achieve identified career interests, including 1
courses that may lead to college credit. 2
b. Available record of the following: 3
1. Completed Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, 4
Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education 5
(AICE), and dual-enrollment courses that may lead to college 6
credit in high school. 7
2. Extracurricular activities. 8
3. Awards and recognitions. 9
c. Pathway-aligned s equences of mathematics courses adopted by the 10
State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-83.31." 11
…." 12
SECTION 3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for pathway -aligned 13
sequences of mathematics courses to be offered in high schools in the State by July 1, 2027. The 14
State Board shall consult the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina and the 15
State Board of Community Colleges to ensure that all pathways align with the University of 16
North Carolina minimum admission standards, No rth Carolina Community Colleges System 17
expectations, and workforce and industry needs. Pathway-aligned sequences of courses adopted 18
pursuant to the requirements of this section shall not apply to students who have been identified 19
as a child with a disability in accordance with Article 9 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes 20
and whose IEP team has determined cannot satisfy the standard state graduation requirements. 21
The State Board shall adopt the following pathway-aligned sequences of mathematics courses: 22
(1) A college preparatory pathway designed for students planning to attend a 23
four-year college or university that includes NC Math 3 and another high level 24
mathematics course, such as the following: 25
a. Precalculus. 26
b. Advanced functions. 27
c. Advanced Place ment, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge 28
Advanced International Certificate of Education level mathematics 29
courses. 30
d. Equivalent courses as determined by the State Board. 31
(2) A career and technical education (CTE) pathway designed for students 32
planning to pursue workforce or technical careers that includes the following: 33
a. Applied math or integrated mathematics courses aligned to CTE 34
programs. 35
b. Courses that incorporate algebra, statistics, and quantitative reasoning 36
in real-world contexts. 37
(3) A quantitative reasoning and statistics pathway designed for students planning 38
to pursue careers in fields that require data literacy and applied mathematics 39
that includes the following: 40
a. NC Math 3 or an equivalent course approved by the State Board. 41
b. Statistics, data science, or quantitative reasoning courses. 42
(4) A science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pathway designed for 43
students planning to pursue careers in STEM fields that includes NC Math 3 44
and another high level mathematics course, such as the following: 45
a. Precalculus. 46
b. Calculus. 47
c. Other advanced mathematics courses approved by the State Board. 48
SECTION 4. Each local school administrative unit shall submit to the Department 49
of Public Instruction the number of students following eac h pathway at the conclusion of each 50
school year, beginning with the 2028 -2029 school year. The Department of Public Instruction 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 1035-First Edition Page 3
shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by March 15, 2034, 1
on the following: 2
(1) The number of students enrolled in each mathematics pathway. 3
(2) Post-graduation outcomes for students, disaggregated by pathway, to the 4
extent information is available. 5
(3) High school graduation rates disaggregated by pathway, to the extent 6
information is available. 7
SECTION 5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 8
Public Instruction the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 9
2026-2027 fiscal year to implement the provisions of this act. 10
SECTION 6. Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective July 1, 2028, and apply 11
beginning with students entering ninth grade during the 2028 -2029 school year. The remainder 12
of this act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 13