If passed, House Bill 10 would require the N.C. Department of Transportation to maintain and repair roads, driveways, and entrances leading from public roads to all K-12 schools, including roads to and from free-standing public charter schools and their expansion buildings.
Republicans Reps. John Torbett, Gaston, and Paul Stam, Wake, the bill’s primary sponsors, introduced the measure in the special session of the General Assembly that convened Wednesday. The bill would put public charter schools on more equal footing with district public schools regarding certain transportation expenses provided by the state.
The bill also requires the state to build, pave, and maintain all public school bus driveways and parking facilities, including those owned or leased by charter schools.
This provision was not previously required.
But, the bill doesn’t include driveways, entrances, and parking facilities used by a charter school in multi-tenant facility, such as a shopping center or office building. This only applies to charter schools that opened or expanded after July 1, 2015. The bill would also require new schools, public or private, or any expansions to receive a written evaluation and recommendation from NCDOT, which has final approval.
This provision applies to improvements not located on the school property and requires the state to foot the bill on all costs including design. A city may require street improvements related to schools only regarding safe ingress and egress to a city street and the costs of any improvements will also be paid for by NCDOT.