GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION LAW 2001-462
AN ACT TO PERMIT LOCAL FLEXIBILITY WITH REGARD TO THE REHIRING OF TEACHERS WHO LEAVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO TEACH IN CHARTER SCHOOLS, AND TO AUTHORIZE CERTAIN CHARTER SCHOOLS TO ELECT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TEACHERS' AND STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-238.29F(e)(3) reads as rewritten:
"(e) Employees. -
…
(3) If a teacher employed
by a local school administrative unit makes a written request for an
extended a leave of absence to teach at a charter school, the local
school administrative unit shall grant the leave. The local school
administrative unit shall grant a leave for any number of years requested by
the teacher, shall extend the leave for any number of years requested by the
teacher, and shall extend the leave at the teacher's request. leave for
one year. For the initial year of a charter school's operation, the local
school administrative unit may require that the request for a leave of
absence or extension of leave be made up to 45 days before the
teacher would otherwise have to report for duty. For subsequent years, After
the initial year of a charter school's operation, the local school
administrative unit may require that the request for a leave of absence or
extension of leave be made up to 90 days before the teacher would otherwise
have to report for duty. A local board of education is not required to grant
a request for a leave of absence or a request to extend or renew a leave of
absence for a teacher who previously has received a leave of absence from that
school board under this subdivision. A teacher who has career status under
G.S. 115C-325 prior to receiving an extended a leave of absence
to teach at a charter school may return to a public school in the local school
administrative unit with career status at the end of the leave of absence or
upon the end of employment at the charter school if an appropriate position is
available. If an appropriate position is unavailable, the teacher's name shall
be placed on a list of available teachers and that teacher shall have priority
on all positions for which that teacher is qualified in accordance with G.S.
115C-325(e)(2)."
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding the time limitation contained in G.S. 135-5.3(b), the board of directors of any charter school that received State Board of Education approval under G.S. 115C-238.29D on or after January 1, 2001, may elect to become a participating employer in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System in accordance with Article 1 of Chapter 135 of the General Statutes. The election authorized by this section must be made no later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act, and in accordance with all other requirements of G.S. 135-5.3.
SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to requests under G.S. 115C-238.29F(e)(3) that are made on and after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of November, 2001.
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
President of the Senate
s/ James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 11:50 a.m. this 16th day of November, 2001