§ 115C-288. Powers and duties of principal.
§ 115C‑288. Powers andduties of principal.
(a) To Grade andClassify Pupils. The principal shall have authority to grade and classifypupils. In determining the appropriate grade for a pupil who is alreadyattending a public school, the principal shall consider the pupil's classroomwork and grades, the pupil's scores on standardized tests, and the besteducational interests of the pupil. The principal shall not make the decisionsolely on the basis of standardized test scores. If a principal's decision toretain a child in the same grade is partially based on the pupil's scores onstandardized tests, those test scores shall be verified as accurate.
A principal shall not requireadditional testing of a student entering a public school from a school governedunder Article 39 of this Chapter if test scores from a nationally standardizedtest or nationally standardized equivalent measure that are adequate todetermine the appropriate placement of the child are available.
(b) To Make AccurateReports to the Superintendent and to the Local Board. The principal shallmake all reports to the superintendent. Every principal of a public schoolshall make such reports as are required by the boards of education, and thesuperintendent shall not approve the vouchers for the pay of principals untilthe required monthly and annual reports are made: Provided, that thesuperintendents may require teachers to make reports to the principals andprincipals to make reports to the superintendent: Provided further, that any principalor supervisor who knowingly and willfully makes or procures another to make anyfalse report or records, requisitions, or payrolls, respecting daily attendanceof pupils in the public schools, payroll data sheets, or other reports requiredto be made to any board or officer in the performance of his duties, shall beguilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and the certificate of such person to teach inthe public schools of North Carolina shall be revoked by the Superintendent ofPublic Instruction.
(c) To ImproveInstruction and Community Spirit. The principal shall give suggestions toteachers for the improvement of instruction.
(d) To Conduct FireDrills and Inspect for Fire Hazards. It shall be the duty of the principal toconduct a fire drill during the first week after the opening of school andthereafter at least one fire drill each school month, in each building in hischarge, where children are assembled. Fire drills shall include all pupils andschool employees, and the use of various ways of egress to simulate evacuationof said buildings under various conditions, and such other regulations as shallbe prescribed for fire safety by the Commissioner of Insurance, theSuperintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. A copy ofsuch regulations shall be kept posted on the bulletin board in each building.
It shall be the duty of eachprincipal to inspect each of the buildings in his charge at least twice eachmonth during the regular school session. This inspection shall include cafeterias,gymnasiums, boiler rooms, storage rooms, auditoriums and stage areas as well asall classrooms. This inspection shall be for the purpose of keeping thebuildings safe from the accumulation of trash and other fire hazards.
It shall be the duty of theprincipal to file two copies of a written report once each month during theregular school session with the superintendent of his local schooladministrative unit, one copy of which shall be transmitted by thesuperintendent to the chairman of the local board of education. This reportshall state the date the last fire drill was held, the time consumed inevacuating each building, that the inspection has been made as prescribed bylaw and such other information as is deemed necessary for fire safety by theCommissioner of Insurance, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and theState Board of Education.
It shall be the duty of theprincipal to minimize fire hazards pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 115C‑525.
(e) To DisciplineStudents and to Assign Duties to Teachers with Regard to the Discipline,General Well‑being, and Medical Care of Students. The principal shallhave authority to exercise discipline over the pupils of the school underpolicies adopted by the local board of education as prescribed by G.S. 115C‑391(a).The principal shall use reasonable force to discipline students under G.S. 115C‑390and may suspend or dismiss pupils under G.S. 115C‑391. The principalshall assign duties to teachers with regard to the general well‑being andthe medical care of students under G.S. 115C‑307 and Article 26A of thisChapter.
(f) To Protect SchoolProperty. The principal shall protect school property as provided in G.S.115C‑523.
(g) To Report CertainActs to Law Enforcement and the Superintendent. When the principal haspersonal knowledge or actual notice from school personnel that an act hasoccurred on school property involving assault resulting in serious personalinjury, sexual assault, sexual offense, rape, kidnapping, indecent libertieswith a minor, assault involving the use of a weapon, possession of a firearm inviolation of the law, possession of a weapon in violation of the law, orpossession of a controlled substance in violation of the law, the principalshall immediately report the act to the appropriate local law enforcementagency. Failure to report to law enforcement under this subsection is a Class 3misdemeanor. For purposes of this subsection, "school property" shallinclude any public school building, bus, public school campus, grounds,recreational area, or athletic field, in the charge of the principal.
The principal or theprincipal's designee shall notify the superintendent or the superintendent'sdesignee in writing or by electronic mail regarding any report made to lawenforcement under this subsection. This notification shall occur by the end ofthe workday in which the incident occurred when reasonably possible but notlater than the end of the following workday. The superintendent shall providethe information to the local board of education.
(h) To Make AvailableSchool Budgets and School Improvement Plans. The principal shall maintain acopy of the school's current budget and school improvement plan, including anyamendments to the plan, and shall allow parents of children in the school andother interested persons to review and obtain such documents in accordance withChapter 132 of the General Statutes.
(i) To EvaluateCertified Employees and Develop Action Plans. Each school year, the principalassigned to a low‑performing school that has not received an assistanceteam shall provide for the evaluation of all certified employees assigned tothe school. The principal also shall develop action plans as provided underG.S. 115C‑333(b) and shall monitor an employee's progress under an actionplan.
(j) To TransferStudent Records. The principal shall not withhold the transfer of studentrecords, except as is provided in G.S. 115C‑403(b).
(k) To Sign DrivingEligibility Certificates and to Notify the Division of Motor Vehicles. Inaccordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education, the principal orthe principal's designee shall do all of the following:
(1) Sign drivingeligibility certificates that meet the conditions established in G.S. 20‑11.
(2) Obtain the necessarywritten, irrevocable consent from parents, guardians, or emancipated juveniles,as appropriate, in order to disclose information to the Division of MotorVehicles.
(3) Notify the Divisionof Motor Vehicles when a student who holds a driving eligibility certificate nolonger meets its conditions.
(l) To EstablishSchool Improvement Teams. Each school year, the principal shall ensure that aschool improvement team is established under G.S. 115C‑105.27 for thepurpose of developing, reviewing, and revising a school improvement plan. (1955, c. 1372, art. 17, ss.6, 8; 1957, c. 843; 1959, c. 573, s. 13; c. 1294; 1965, c. 584, s. 15; 1981, c.423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 975, s. 4; 1987, c. 572, s. 3; 1993, c.327, s. 1; c. 539, s. 883; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1995 (Reg. Sess.,1996), c. 716, s. 7.1; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 18.27; 1997‑443, s.8.29(t); 1998‑5, s. 7; 1998‑220, s. 13; 1999‑243, s. 7; 1999‑373,s. 2; 2001‑424, s. 28.17(b); 2005‑22, s. 5; 2009‑410, s. 1.)