NC H117

Establishes a three-year School Calendar Flexibility Pilot Program allowing participating local school administrative units to set their own school opening and closing dates instead of following state-mandated dates.

Participating counties include Anson, Bladen, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Graham, Greene, Guilford, Martin, McDowell, Mitchell, Northampton, Robeson, Transylvania, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties; local boards may opt out and be replaced.

School opening dates must be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 10 and closing dates no later than the Friday closest to June 11, except for year-round schools; schools with modified calendars from 2003-2004 are exempt.

State Board of Education and Department of Commerce must annually collect data on actual calendar dates, student achievement impacts, summer internship effects, and economic impacts on tourism, reporting findings by November 15 each year to the School of Government at UNC Chapel Hill.

Program is effective upon enactment with pilot school years beginning in either 2019-2020 or 2020-2021, with participating units identified by February 1, 2020.