Community College Workforce Readiness Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 991

Short Title: Community College Workforce Readiness Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Lee, Overcash, and Barnes (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S991-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO APPROPRIAT E FUNDS TO SUPPORT N ORTH CAROLINA COMMUN ITY 2
COLLEGES AND TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE LAWS AFFECTING 3
NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGES. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
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PART I. NCCCS IDD WORKFORCE TRAINING EXPANSION 7
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115D-10.21(a) reads as rewritten: 8
"(a) The State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a community college training 9
program for up to 15 25 community colleges. The program shall provide opportunities for 10
micro-credentials or other credentials that lead to increased employment outcomes for 11
individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). To the extent funds are 12
appropriated for this purpose, the program shall improve the ability of participatin g community 13
colleges to offer training and educational components that include improving employability skills 14
and providing on-the-job training and apprenticeships with business and industry for individuals 15
with IDD. The goal of the program shall be to inf orm community colleges and address 16
cross-departmental supports within the individual community colleges on programs for 17
individuals with IDD related to at least the following: 18
(1) Establishing best practices for providing vocational training for individual s 19
with IDD. 20
(2) Providing financial and benefits counseling. 21
(3) Developing strategies on integrating assistive technology. 22
(4) Maximizing access, with supports, to credential and degree programs, 23
including micro-credentials that are established by the State Board. 24
(5) Identifying methods to increase orientation and integration of individuals with 25
IDD into the college community to the greatest extent possible. 26
(6) Determining a needs assessment, marketing, and evaluation to serve a broad 27
array of individual s with developmental and other similar disabilities or 28
learning challenges to assure adequate demand for new or existing programs." 29
SECTION 1.(b) Of the funds appropriated for North Carolina Community Colleges 30
System IDD Workforce Training Expansion in th is section, the Community Colleges System 31
Office shall use the funds as follows: 32
(1) The sum of six hundred forty thousand dollars ($640,000) in recurring funds 33
shall be used to create two positions to facilitate the creation of work -based 34
learning opportu nities and be dedicated to engagement with business and 35
industry partners statewide. These funds shall also be used for the expansion 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 991-First Edition
of Career and College Promise high school pathways and pre-apprenticeships 1
and work-based learning for individuals with in tellectual and developmental 2
disabilities. 3
(2) The sum of eight hundred ten thousand dollars ($810,000) in recurring funds 4
may be used for marketing evaluation, online resources, professional 5
development, and infrastructure support. 6
(3) The remaining funds shall be used to expand the program developed pursuant 7
to G.S. 115D-10.21, as amended by this section. 8
SECTION 1.(c) The Community Colleges System Office shall continue to provide 9
funds to community colleges participating in the program developed pursuan t to 10
G.S. 115D-10.21, as amended by this section, at the rate of one hundred ninety -four thousand 11
dollars ($194,000) per participating community college. 12
SECTION 1.(d) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community 13
Colleges System Office the sum of three million eight hundred fifty thousand dollars 14
($3,850,000) in recurring funds beginning with the 2026 -2027 fiscal year to implement the 15
provisions of this section. 16
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PART II. EXPEDITED TEACHER PIPELINE PATHWAY STUDY 18
SECTION 2. No later than Ma rch 15, 2027, ApprenticeshipNC shall report to the 19
Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on a plan to facilitate one or more expedited 20
pathways for apprenticeship candidates to enter the teaching profession. ApprenticeshipNC shall 21
develop the pla n in collaboration with the Board of Governors of The University of North 22
Carolina, the State Board of Community Colleges, the Department of Public Instruction, and 23
Teach NC. In addition, ApprenticeshipNC may, in its discretion, collaborate with representatives 24
of approved educator preparation programs, local school administrative units, and existing 25
apprenticeship programs. The plan shall include at least the following components: 26
(1) Options for an accelerated transition pathway that allows high school students 27
to earn college credits leading to a teaching license while participating in 28
structured, paid, or other experiential learning in the classroom, including 29
applicable program design and sequencing components needed to achieve that 30
goal. 31
(2) Maximize u sage and transferability of at least the following coursework 32
completion opportunities: 33
a. College transfer pathways provided through the Career and College 34
Promise Program that support entry into a recognized educator 35
preparation program. 36
b. Community college coursework leading to completion of an associate 37
degree related to teacher preparation. 38
c. Online or asynchronous coursework provided at a constituent 39
institution of The University of North Carolina leading to a bachelor's 40
degree. 41
d. Enrollment in an associate degree program or a bachelor's degree 42
program while serving (i) as a full -time employee in a public school 43
unit and (ii) as a teacher assistant or apprentice. 44
(3) Any legislative changes or appropriations needed to implement the plan. 45
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PART III. DIGITAL WALLET EXPANSION 47
SECTION 3.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community 48
Colleges System Office (System Office) the sum of four million nine hundred thirteen thousand 49
one hundred dollars ($4,913,100) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to be used 50
to expand access to digital credentials in all community colleges in the State. Funds appropriated 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 991-First Edition Page 3
in this section shall be used (i) to select a single CrMS vendor consistent with the requirements 1
of subsection (b) of this section and (ii) to pay for deployment costs and other costs associated 2
with implementing the CrMS, including developing and supporting digital infrastructure to be 3
used by the vendor and community colleges. Funds appropriated in this section shall no t revert 4
but shall remain available until the end of the 2027-2028 fiscal year. 5
SECTION 3.(b) Funds appropriated in this section shall be used to contract with a 6
vendor to provide a Credential Management System (CrMS) that meets the following criteria: 7
(1) Provides the capability to issue, manage, and verify digital credentials across 8
multiple widely adopted open standards, including World Wide Web 9
Consortium (W3C) Verifiable Credentials, OpenBadges, and AnonCreds, 10
within a single platform. 11
(2) Supports se cure, persistent communication channels that enable 12
authenticated, peer-to-peer interactions between parties. 13
(3) Meets or exceeds National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 14
Identity Assurance Level (IAL) 3 standards for identity proofing to ens ure 15
high-confidence identity verification. 16
(4) Is designed as a decentralized deployment operating as a network appliance 17
within the State's controlled cloud environment rather than as a multi -tenant 18
Software as a Service (SaaS) offering in order to ensure data sovereignty, 19
reduce long-term operational costs, and eliminate dependency on third -party 20
hosted infrastructure. 21
(5) Includes a noncustodial mobile digital wallet that enables individuals to 22
maintain sole control of their credentials. 23
(6) Includes con figurable, standards -based workflows that extend agency 24
processes directly to credential holders. 25
(7) Incorporates advanced capabilities for workforce matching, including 26
artificial intelligence driven analysis that aligns verified credentials with 27
employment opportunities. 28
(8) Includes trust and verification systems anchored using blockchain -based 29
mechanisms solely for publishing tamper -resistant public keys and service 30
endpoints, without storing any personally identifiable information or 31
credential data on-chain. 32
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PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE 34
SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 35