Senate Bill 899 - SCHOOLS Act Summary

• Allows local school boards to use remote instruction for makeup days and grants statewide school calendar flexibility, permitting opening dates as early as August 19 and closing dates adjusted as needed for instructional requirements.

• Increases principal salaries effective July 1, 2022, with a new pay schedule ranging from $71,574 to $115,617 annually based on school size and performance (achievement and growth scores).

• Creates the North Carolina Tutoring Fund administered by the Department of Public Instruction, funded by General Fund appropriations and unused Opportunity Scholarship Grant funds, allocated to schools based on average daily membership.

• Allows local school administrative units to apply for separate school codes to offer virtual instruction and repeals certain state employee retirement benefit restrictions effective retroactively to December 31, 2020.

• Modifies school performance reporting by separating achievement and growth scores into distinct metrics with corresponding letter grades (A-F), replacing the previous combined performance score system.