2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 115C-295.2. Powers and duties of the Commission.

§ 115C‑295.2.  Powers and duties of the Commission.

(a)       The North Carolina Teaching Standards Commission shall:

(1)       Develop and recommend to the State Board of Education professional standards or revisions to professional standards for North Carolina teachers.

(2)       Review the areas of teacher certification and recommend to the State Board of Education those areas that should be consolidated, redesigned, eliminated, or enhanced.

(3)       Consider current methods to assess teachers and teaching candidates, including the National Teacher Exam, the assessments of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and alternative methods of assessment and recommend to the State Board of Education the implementation of rigorous and appropriate assessments for initial and continuing certification that are valid and reliable measures of professional practice.

(4)       Evaluate, develop, and recommend to the State Board a procedure for the assessment and recommendation of candidates for initial and continuing teacher certification.

For purposes of this subsection, the areas of teacher certification include initial certification, continuing certification, and certification renewal, and do not include teacher education programs.

(b)       The Commission shall submit its recommendations under subsection (a) of this section to the State Board.  The State Board shall adopt or reject the recommendations.  The State Board shall not make any substantive changes to any recommendation that it adopts.  If the State Board rejects the recommendation, it shall state with specificity its reasons for rejection; the Commission then may amend that recommendation and resubmit it to the State Board.  The Board shall adopt or reject the amended recommendation.  If the State Board fails to adopt the Commission's original and amended recommendation concerning the implementation of assessments for certification and the procedure for the assessment and recommendation of candidates for teacher certification, the State Board may develop and adopt its own plan.

(c)       The Commission shall submit an annual report by December 1 of each year to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the State Board of Education of its activities during the preceding year, together with any recommendations and findings regarding improvement of the teaching profession. The State Board shall submit a report by April 15, 1998, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the current status of assessments for certification and any changes to the procedures for assessment and recommendation of candidates for teacher certification. (1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 18.12(b).)