Transforming the High School Experience.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 2
SENATE BILL 579
Education/Higher Education Committee Substitute Adopted 4/30/25

Short Title: Transforming the High School Experience. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 26, 2025
*S579-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE NORTH CAROLINA H IGH SCHOOL REDESIGN 2
COMMISSION, TO ESTAB LISH VARIOUS COMPETE NCY-BASED LEARNING 3
PROGRAMS, AND TO PRO VIDE LEGISLATIVE INT ENT AS TO AMOUNTS AN D 4
USES OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THESE PURPOSES. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL REDESIGN COMMISSION 8
SECTION 1.(a) Commission Established. – There is established the North Carolina 9
High School Redesign Commission (Commission). The Commission shall be located 10
administratively in the Department of Public Instruction but shall exercise all of its prescribed 11
powers indep endently of the Department. The purpose of the Commission is to explore and 12
recommend changes to policies and systems governing high school and higher education that 13
will better prepare North Carolina students for success as they transition to higher educa tion or 14
the workforce. 15
SECTION 1.(b) Commission Membership. – The Commission shall consist of 15 16
members as follows: 17
(1) Two members appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of 18
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 19
(2) Two members appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of 20
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. 21
(3) One member appointed by the Governor. 22
(4) The State Superintendent of Public Instruction or his or her designee. 23
(5) The President of The University of North Carolina or his or her designee. 24
(6) The President of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities or his 25
or her designee. 26
(7) The President of the North Carolina Community College System or his or her 27
designee. 28
(8) The chief executive officers of each of the following organizations, or their 29
designees: MyFutureNC, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, BEST 30
NC, and SparkNC. 31
(9) One chief administrative officer or president of a community college 32
participating in a program, project, or initiative developed pursuant to this act 33
and one superintendent of a local school administrative unit participating in a 34
program, project, or initiative developed pursuant to this act or their respective 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 579-Second Edition
designees. These members shall be appointed by the chair of the Commission 1
elected pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. 2
SECTION 1.(c) The Commission shall elect a chair from the members appointed by 3
the General Assembly. Each member shall have one vote for the chair, except those members to 4
be appointed by the chair pursuant to subdivision (9) of subsection (b) of this section who shall 5
be appointed after a chair is elected. The Commission shall meet at least four times annually. The 6
Commission shall meet on the call of the chair or as additionally provided by the Commission. 7
A quorum is six members of the Commission. Members may not vote by proxy. 8
SECTION 1.(d) All members shall be appointed to terms for the entire duration of 9
the Commission. Any vacancy in a term shall be filled by the appointing authority fo r the 10
remainder of the unexpired term. 11
SECTION 1.(e) Commission Duties. – The Commission shall examine promising 12
practices in North Carolina and nationally to inform the Commission's recommendations. At a 13
minimum, the Commission shall consider the following: 14
(1) Flexible requirements for high school diplomas that are relevant to the 15
knowledge, skills, and abilities students will need for success in the future 16
workforce. 17
(2) Access to apprenticeships, internships, clinical experiences, and other 18
high-quality, work-based learning experiences while in high school. 19
(3) Opportunities for students to earn industry recognized credentials while in 20
high school. 21
(4) Partnerships between public school units and North Carolina Community 22
Colleges, The University of North Carolina, and North Carolina Independent 23
Colleges and Universities for the purposes of facilitating subdivisions (1) 24
through (3) of this subsection. 25
(5) Personalized pathways for students to satisfy core graduation requirements. 26
(6) Modular credit bearing alternatives to semester or yearlong courses. 27
(7) Competency-based alternatives to time bound courses. 28
(8) Strategies for extending learning beyond school walls at scale via community 29
connected experiences, including incorporating incentives for local businesses 30
to partner with schools. 31
(9) Uses of artificial intelligence to expand student opportunities to engage in 32
career exploration and work-based learning experiences. 33
(10) Alternative funding models to enable the development of a statewide learning 34
ecosystem that encourages subdivisions (1) through (9) of this subsection. 35
(11) Career exploration opportunities for students in middle school and the first 36
two years of high school that prepare students to engage successfully in a 37
redesigned high school experience. 38
(12) Evaluation of the programs, projects, and initiatives established by this act, 39
and any other competency -based education (CBE) programs or high school 40
redesign efforts taking place in the State. The Commission shall partner with 41
the Office of Learning Research at the North Carolina Collaboratory to 42
conduct these evaluations. 43
SECTION 1.(f) Meetings and Organization. – The chair shall designate one or more 44
of the organizations identified in subdivision (8) of Section 1(b) of this act to plan an d manage 45
Commission meetings and draft reports. Designated organizations shall provide administrative 46
staff for meetings. Funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction to be used to 47
contract with one or more organizations to plan and manage Co mmission meetings shall be 48
divided equally among the organizations designated by the chair unless otherwise agreed by the 49
chair and all designated organizations. 50
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Senate Bill 579-Second Edition Page 3
SECTION 1.(g) Report. – The Commission shall submit a report to the Joint 1
Legislative Educati on Oversight Committee by April 30, 2026, and annually thereafter. The 2
reports shall include all recommendations approved by a majority of Commission members and 3
a summary of any evaluations of the efficacy of any CBE programs and high school redesign 4
efforts implemented during the current school year. 5
SECTION 1.(h) The Commission shall terminate on June 30, 2030, or upon filing 6
of its final annual report, whichever occurs first. 7
8
PART II. COMPETENCY -BASED HIGH SCHOOL AN D HEALTHCARE AND 9
HIGH-TECH PATHWAYS PROGRAM 10
SECTION 2.(a) Program Established; Purpose. – There is established the 11
Competency-Based High School and Healthcare and High -Tech Pathways Program (Program). 12
The purpose of the Program is to create pathways that will utilize competency -based education 13
(CBE). Pathways will result in obtaining either an associate degree or an industry recognized 14
credential/certification/licensure based on the student's goal of employment or enrollment. 15
Students will decide their college or career track at the end of t heir junior year with an initial 16
emphasis on healthcare preparation. 17
SECTION 2.(b) Participants. – Mooresville Graded School District (MGSD) shall 18
partner with Mitchell Community College (MCC) to implement the Program. 19
SECTION 2.(c) Program Time Line. – MGSD, in collaboration with MCC, shall 20
contract with an organization with demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing 21
learner-centered, modular, and competency-based high school programs that align with emerging 22
healthcare and high -tech career pat hways. The organization shall have experience in 23
co-designing stackable credentials with public school units and higher education partners and a 24
documented track record of developing digital infrastructure that supports student -paced 25
progression, interdisciplinary learning, and real -world skill acquisition. This organization shall 26
assist in developing a framework for the Program, including course design, sequencing, 27
credentialing structure, and other elements necessary for personalized student progression during 28
the 2025 -2026 school year. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a pathway 29
provided by the Program by the 2027-2028 school year at the latest. 30
SECTION 2.(d) Program Flexibilities. – Notwithstanding any provision of law to 31
the contrary, the following flexibilities shall be available to Program participants: 32
(1) MGSD may offer Credit by Demonstrated Mastery assessments and CTE 33
Proof of Learning assessments outside of existing State testing windows. 34
(2) MCC may enroll MGSD students in community college courses prior to their 35
eleventh grade year without the student meeting the requirements for ninth 36
and tenth grade students pursuant to subdivision (4) of G.S. 115D-20. 37
(3) Students participating in the Program shall have access to all commun ity 38
college courses at MCC, regardless of pathway selection. 39
(4) MGSD may replace any high school graduation credit requirement, except 40
those outlined in this subdivision, with either community college courses 41
offered by MCC or locally developed CBE course s that are consistent with 42
the student's pathway. MGSD shall not replace any graduation credit 43
requirements in the following subject areas: 44
a. English. 45
b. Mathematics. 46
c. Science. 47
d. Social Studies. 48
(5) MGSD may operate any high school in the local school administrative unit 49
consistent with the flexibilities of a school operating under a restart model 50
pursuant to G.S. 115C-105.37B(a)(2). 51
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SECTION 2.(e) Selection of Third-Party Vendor. – MGSD shall select a third-party 1
vendor (Vendor) that is an educational support provider with a nationally recognized, 2
research-based instructional and leadership framework, including a High Reliability School 3
model, a taxonomy of educational objectives aligned to classroom strategies, and a system for 4
implementing personalize d competency -based education. The Vendor shall have published 5
extensively in peer -reviewed and practitioner literature, have an established track record of 6
working directly with K -12 schools and districts across multiple states, and offer professional 7
development services, implementation support, and instructional resources developed and led by 8
a founding education researcher with over four decades of influence in curriculum, instruction, 9
and assessment. 10
SECTION 2.(f) MGSD Partnership with Vendor. – MGSD shall partner with the 11
Vendor selected pursuant to subsection (e) of this section to develop standards -aligned 12
proficiency scales for all content areas in grades nine through 12 to ensure educators in the 13
participating schools have the tools necessary to successfully transition to CBE approaches. The 14
Vendor shall provide professional development and coaching to the schools in MGSD to ensure 15
educators can engage in learning about CBE approaches, including implementation of the 16
proficiency scales developed by MGSD. 17
SECTION 2.(g) Funding. – It is the intention of the General Assembly to appropriate 18
from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of up to two million 19
dollars ($2,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. These 20
funds would not revert but remain available until the end of the 2026 -2027 fiscal year. These 21
funds would be allocated to MGSD for the following purposes: 22
(1) To contract with experts in CBE and designing stackable credentials pursuant 23
to subsection (c) of this section. 24
(2) To hire one additional staff member at MGSD to oversee implementation of 25
the Program. 26
(3) To partner with a Vendor pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. 27
28
PART III. LIGHTHOUSE MATH PROJECT 29
SECTION 3.(a) Project Established; Purpose. – There is established the Lighthouse 30
Math Project (Project). The purpose of the Project is to increase the percentage of high school 31
students who are (i) eligible to complete college level mathematics upon graduation from high 32
school and (ii) able to complete college level math either through dual enrollment while in high 33
school or within the first year of college enrollment. 34
SECTION 3.(b) Project Participants. – Wake Technical Community College (Wake 35
Tech) shall partner with Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) for high school students 36
at East Wake High School and Knightdale High School to be eligible to participate in the Project 37
at the Wake Tech East campus of Wake Tech. Wake Tech and WCPSS shall partner with 38
SparkNC to align the Project participants' ongoing efforts at the Wake Tech East campus with 39
the design and implementation of the Project. 40
SECTION 3.(c) Project Commitments. – WCPSS, in collaboration with Wake Tech, 41
shall contract with Khan Academy, Inc. (Khan), for use of the artificial intelligence student 42
tutoring program, Khanmigo. Students enrolling at participating high schools shall have access 43
to Khanmigo from the time of enrollment in the high school and continuing through their 44
attendance at Wake Tech if the st udent chooses to enroll at Wake Tech East. Wake Tech shall 45
collaborate with Khan to do the following: 46
(1) Develop and deliver at least one Khanmigo -centered gateway college math 47
course to be offered to high school students at participating high schools to be 48
completed as a college level math course. This course shall also be available 49
to students who graduate from participating high schools and enroll in the 50
courses at Wake Tech East. 51
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Senate Bill 579-Second Edition Page 5
(2) Develop a Khanmigo-centered developmental math course sequence that will 1
be provided by Wake Tech faculty to students from participating high schools 2
in one of the following formats: 3
a. As part of a Career and College Promise Career Ready Pathway. 4
b. As supplement to a Career and College Promise Pathway. 5
c. As a summer brid ge program available to students prior to or 6
subsequent to their junior and senior years of high school. 7
d. As a community college course during the first semester of enrollment 8
at Wake Tech. 9
SECTION 3.(d) Modular Math Course – As part of the Project, Khan, in consultation 10
with Wake Tech and WCPSS, shall work to develop a self -paced, competency-based modular 11
math course with appropriate student diagnostics and student assessments based on the college 12
readiness math competencies provided as part of the Proj ect. It is the intent that students 13
successfully demonstrating college readiness math competencies will be eligible to enroll in 14
college level math courses. 15
SECTION 3.(e) Funding; DPI. – It is the intention of the General Assembly to 16
appropriate from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of up to five 17
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025 -2026 fiscal year to 18
contract with Khan for licenses for the Khanmigo application and to create the course developed 19
pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section. It is the intention of the General 20
Assembly that funds appropriated for the purposes laid out in this section shall not revert but 21
shall remain available to accomplish the purposes of thi s section until the end of the 2026 -2027 22
fiscal year. 23
SECTION 3.(f) Funding; NCCCS. – It is the intention of the General Assembly to 24
appropriate from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office the sum of up to 25
one million dollars ($1,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025 -2026 fiscal year to be used 26
to establish time-limited positions at Wake Tech. Two positions shall be assigned to work in each 27
participating high school to assist in the implementation of the courses offered by the Proje ct. It 28
is the intention of the General Assembly that funds appropriated for the purposes laid out in this 29
section shall not revert but shall remain available to accomplish the purposes of this section until 30
the end of the 2028-2029 fiscal year. 31
32
PART IV. COMMUNITY COLLEGE SEAMLESS SKILLS INITIATIVE 33
SECTION 4.(a) Initiative Established; Purpose. – There is established the 34
Community College Seamless Skills Initiative (Initiative). The purpose of the Initiative is to 35
create a competency -based education (CBE) model that seamlessly connects high school and 36
community college. By aligning learning experiences from high school with college -level 37
competencies, the Initiative shall enable students to explore career pathways, earn dual credit, 38
and fulfill computer sci ence requirements while gaining credentials of value in high -demand 39
technology employment sectors through college credit. 40
SECTION 4.(b) Initiative Participants. – Fayetteville Technical Community College 41
(FTCC) and Wilkes Community College (WCC) shall par tner to implement the duties of the 42
Initiative. 43
SECTION 4.(c) Initiative Commitments. – The Initiative shall commit to 44
accomplishing each of the following: 45
(1) Establish high-tech pathways that will integrate high school and community 46
college curricula for hands-on, project-based learning. 47
(2) Develop competency-based pathways that will create cross -curricular maps 48
for dual credit, fostering seamless transitions between secondary and 49
postsecondary education. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 6 Senate Bill 579-Second Edition
(3) Scale and replicate to be able to build a sc alable framework for rapid 1
implementation across North Carolina. 2
(4) Empower student ownership by enabling students to set long -term learning 3
goals and to manage and own their credentials with a digital wallet. 4
(5) Facilitate student work experiences to accelerate learning and transition 5
students into work through "learn & earn" work-based learning in partnership 6
with public agencies and private employers. 7
(6) Address workforce needs by developing and sustaining a comprehensive 8
talent pipeline of skilled workers for high -demand technology fields in 9
occupations that depend upon informational technology and operational 10
technology for operational success. 11
(7) Develop statewide resources, including a guidebook to facilitate model 12
replication and a new talent d evelopment model to accelerate learning using 13
CBE. 14
SECTION 4.(d) Digital Wallet. – The participants in the Initiative shall contract 15
with a third -party entity to create a secure, interoperable digital wallet platform capable of 16
issuing, storing, verifying , and sharing learner credentials, including microcredentials, 17
certifications, transcripts, and verified skill records. The platform shall allow for credential 18
portability across educational institutions and employers, support open standards for 19
interoperability, and ensure privacy and security in compliance with applicable laws. The 20
platform shall enable learners to manage a comprehensive, lifelong record of achievement that is 21
accessible, verifiable, and shareable with third parties through digital means. All credential and 22
learner data shall be owned and controlled by the student and shall not be stored in centralized 23
cloud infrastructure. 24
SECTION 4.(e) Support. – The North Carolina Community Colleges System Office 25
shall provide ongoing technical support to community colleges participating in the Initiative. 26
FTCC shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with WCC to jointly co -design the 27
Initiative. As part of this effort, the colleges shall engage an organization with demonstrated 28
expertise in designing and implementing learner-centered, modular, and competency-based high 29
school programs aligned with emerging and high -tech career pathways. The selected 30
organization shall have a history of co -designing stackable credentials with public school units 31
and postsecondary institutions and a proven track record of building digital infrastructure that 32
supports student -paced progression, interdisciplinary instruction, and authentic skill 33
development. The organization shall assist in the development of a compreh ensive framework 34
for the Initiative, including course design, sequencing, credentialing structure, and related 35
elements necessary to support personalized student progression during the 2025 -2026 school 36
year. 37
SECTION 4.(f) Funding. – It is the intention of the General Assembly to appropriate 38
from the General Fund to the North Carolina Community Colleges System Office the sum of up 39
to three million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($3,750,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 40
2025-2026 fiscal year to be allocated to FTCC and WCC for the purposes outlined in this section. 41
To the extent funds are appropriated for this purpose, the sum of up to two million seven hundred 42
fifty thousand dollars ($2,750,000) shall be allocated to FTCC and the sum of up to one mill ion 43
dollars ($1,000,000) shall be allocated to WCC. Funds allocated for the purposes outlined in this 44
section shall not revert but shall remain available until the end of the 2028-2029 fiscal year. 45
46
PART V. COMPETENCY -BASED EDUCATION AND H IGH SCHOOL REDESI GN 47
STRATEGIC NETWORK 48
SECTION 5. Mooresville Graded School District, Mitchell Community College, 49
Wake Technical Community College, Wake County Public School System, Fayetteville 50
Technical Community College, Wilkes Community College, and SparkNC shall colla borate to 51
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Senate Bill 579-Second Edition Page 7
create a Competency-Based Education and High School Redesign Strategic Network (Network). 1
The president of SparkNC, or the president's designee, shall serve as the chair of the Network. 2
The chair shall coordinate the operations of the Network and provide administrative and technical 3
support for the Network to the extent such support is necessary. The Network shall provide a 4
means for each entity to share what it has learned and developed regarding CBE and high school 5
redesign. The goals of the Network shall be to advance the goals of developing a CBE approach 6
to education across the State. 7
8
PART VI. OFFICE OF LEARNING RESEARCH EVALUATION 9
SECTION 6.(a) Study and Evaluation. – The Office of Learning Research at the 10
North Carolina Collaboratory shall study and evaluate the programs and initiatives established 11
pursuant to Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this act and report to the Joint Legislative Education 12
Oversight Committee by March 15, 2027, and annually thereafter, culminating in a final report 13
on March 15, 2030. Reports shall include at least the following: 14
(1) The total number of students engaging with these programs. 15
(2) The total amount of funds expended to implement, design, and operate the 16
programs. 17
(3) Effects on student achievement and learning outcomes. 18
SECTION 6.(b) Funding. – It is the intention of the General Assembly to appropriate 19
from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum 20
of up to four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 21
fiscal year to be allocated to the North Carolina Collaboratory for the Office of Learning 22
Research to conduct the study and evaluation required by this section. 23
24
PART VII. EFFECTIVE DATE 25
SECTION 7. This act becomes effective when the Current Operations 26
Appropriations Act of 2025 becomes law and if that bill appropriates funds for the purposes 27
detailed in each section of this act. 28