House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes. Makes organizational and conforming changes, including to act’s long and short titles.

Section 1.

Requires the State Board of Education (Board) to remove its requirement that a student complete NC Math III as one of the four required math courses needed to graduate high school. Directs public school units to encourage all students to complete additional mathematics courses beyond the required courses and to encourage students interested in advanced degrees to work with counselors to determine a sequence of math classes that will make them competitive for higher education admission. Specifies that NC Math III and all other math courses existing on the effective date of this act will continue to be offered to all high school students (previously, required the Board to adopt a rule to modify the high school graduation requirements to require completion of NC Math 1 and 2 or equivalent courses and two additional math courses that align with the student's postsecondary plans and to require that NC Math and all other existing math courses continue to be offered by all high schools to the extent that there is sufficient student interest). Authorizes the Board to adopt emergency rules to implement Section 1 for the 2025-26 (was, required the Board to adopt a rule to require completion of an end-of-course test for NC Math 2 but not require completion of an end-of-course test for NC Math 3).

Section 2.

Expands the graduation requirements for social studies to include World History and US History, and Economic and Personal Finance in GS 115C-83.31 (exit standards and graduation requirements). Modifies the four credits required for mathematics so that it includes NC Math I and II, Computer Science, and a fourth math class aligned with the student's career development plan (was, a passing grade in a computer science course that fulfilled a credit that is not English, mathematics, science, or social studies). Requires a passing score on the US History test adopted by the Board, described below. Directs the Board to develop a US History test as part of its annual testing program in GS 115C-174.11(c) from the pool of publicly available questions used for the civics test given by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as part of the naturalization interview and test issued by USCIS. Applies beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the 2026-27 school year.

Section 3.

Instructs the Board to develop a plan to remove licensing barriers for individuals who were licensed or eligible to be licensed to teach the described computer science classes prior to the courses becoming mathematics courses. Authorizes a public school unit to allow any licensed teacher, regardless of licensure area, to teach those courses if the public school unit determines the teacher possesses the necessary content knowledge to effectively teach the course. Expires June 30, 2028.

Section 4.

Amends new GS 115C-81.37 requiring local boards of education to enroll students in high school math courses so that students scoring at or below the described levels at the end-of-grade or end-of-course exam will be enrolled in the specified foundations of NC Math I or NC Math II (previously, required the Board to develop a course of study for high school mathematics courses that spreads the content standards of NC Math 1 and NC Math 2 into four separate courses, as described, along with setting out an enrollment schedule). Specifies that students scoring Level 3 or above on the eighth grade math end-of-year test shall be encouraged not to take Foundations of Math I before NC Match I in high school and those scoring Level 3 or above on the NC Math I exam must be encouraged not to take Foundations of Math II before enrolling in NC Math II. Applies beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

Section 5.

Specifies a list of eight documents that students must now read as part of the Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letters from a Birmingham Jail, at least five essays from the Federalist Papers, and the Gettysburg Address in GS 115C-81.45. Expands the question topics on the end-of-course exam to include perspectives of the authors, and the relevant historical contexts at the time the documents were written. Applies beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

Section 6.

Requires UNC’s Board of Governors to adopt as the minimum mathematics requirements for admission to a constituent institution the mathematics requirements for high school graduation adopted by the Board. Applies beginning with applying for admission for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Section 7.

Repeals GS 115C-83.32(c) (citizenship proficiency high school diploma endorsements), GS 115C-218.85(c) (high school diploma endorsements), Section 5 of SL 2019-82 (requiring the Board to begin the process for review and revision of the standard course of study for social studies in grades kindergarten through 12 in the 2019‑2020 school year and revise the high school standard course of study, as described), and Section 1(b) of SL 2023-132 (concerning the high school computer science requirement).

Removes provisions that set out which classes were to be taken by students who completed Math 1 or Math 2 with a grade of C or lower.