NC H889

Directs the State Board of Education to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) and contract with a consultant to study the feasibility of extending teacher contracts from 10 months to 11 months for professional development purposes.

Specifies that extended-year contracts would be available to teachers with initial three-year licenses, master teachers, teachers in low-performing schools, and certain teachers with five-year licenses.

Requires the study consultant team to include the Superintendent of Public Instruction, one principal, and three teachers (elementary, middle, and high school), plus an independent third-party evaluator.

Mandates the final report include recommendations on implementation feasibility, master teacher definitions, integration with compensation models, professional development approaches, and evaluation metrics for student and teacher performance impacts.

Appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund for fiscal year 2017-2018 and sets deadline for RFP issuance by September 15, 2017, with final study results due April 15, 2018.