Article 21.

Other Employees.

§ 115C-315.  Hiring of school personnel.

(a) Repealed by Session Laws 2025-25, s. 13(c), effective June 26, 2025.

(b) Election by Local Boards. - School personnel shall be elected by the local board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent.

(c) Prerequisites for Employment. - All professional personnel employed in the public schools of the State or in schools receiving public funds shall be required either to hold or be qualified to hold a certificate in compliance with the provision of the law or in accordance with the regulations of the State Board of Education: Provided, that nothing herein shall prevent the employment of temporary personnel under such rules as the State Board of Education may prescribe.

(d) Certification for Professional Positions. - The State Board of Education shall have entire control of certifying all applicants for professional positions in all public elementary and high schools of North Carolina; and it shall prescribe the rules and regulations for the renewal and extension of all certificates and shall determine and fix the salary for each grade and type of certificate which it authorizes: Provided, that the State Board of Education shall require each applicant for an initial certificate or graduate certificate to demonstrate his or her academic and professional preparation by achieving a prescribed minimum score at least equivalent to that required by the Board on November 30, 1972, on a standard examination appropriate and adequate for that purpose: Provided, further, that in the event the Board shall specify the National Teachers Examination for this purpose, the required minimum score shall not be lower than that which the Board required on November 30, 1972.

(d1) Repealed by Session Laws 2023-134, s. 7.27(d), effective July 1, 2023.

(d2) School Nurses. - The State Board of Education, in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, shall adopt rules to establish the qualifications and training required to be hired or contracted for as a school nurse subject to the following:

(1) The Board shall not require or impose a requirement that would require a school nurse to obtain a four-year degree.

(2) The Board shall require that a school nurse who meets all of the following criteria be paid under the certified school nurse pay scale as established by the Board:

a. Is a registered nurse licensed under Article 9A of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes.

b. Has at least two years of experience serving in a hospital or health clinic.

(e) Repealed by Session Laws 1989, c. 385, s. 3.

(f) Employing Persons Not Holding Nor Qualified to Hold Certificate. - It shall be unlawful for any board of education to employ or keep in service any professional person who neither holds nor is qualified to hold a certificate in compliance with the provisions of the law or in accordance with the regulations of the State Board of Education.  (1955, c. 1372, art. 5, s. 4; art. 18, ss. 1-4; 1965, c. 584, s. 20.1; 1973, c. 236; 1975, c. 437, s. 7; c. 686, s. 1; c. 731, ss. 1, 2; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1103, s. 9; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 975, s. 16; 1989, c. 385, s. 3; 2002-126, s. 7.41(a); 2023-134, s. 7.27(c), (d); 2025-25, s. 13(c), (d); 2025-60, s. 5(a).)