Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA).

Removed all procedural metadata including committee names, specific revision dates, and edition numbers (e.g., 'Fifth Edition Engrossed') that were present in the draft version.

Added formal ratification language, signatures from the President of the Senate, Presiding Officer of the House, and the Governor, along with the official approval date.

Adjusted line breaks and spacing in the text of Section 116-209.111 to align with the final ratified format, while preserving the exact legal meaning of the requirements.

Added a specific deadline for the State Education Assistance Authority to establish necessary rules, set for July 1, 2026, or 120 days after federal regulations are published, whichever occurs later.

Corrected 'State Constitution' to 'North Carolina Constitution' for legal accuracy.

Updated document headers to reflect the Fifth Edition status and revised page numbering.

Removed all provisions regarding the restriction of student cell phone use during instructional time.

Added provisions allowing the State Education Assistance Authority to certify scholarship organizations for a federal tax credit under section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code.

Added requirements for the Authority to publish and maintain an annual list of qualifying scholarship granting organizations.

Changed the effective date from the 2025-2026 school year to when the act becomes law.

Added new statutory sections defining the Authority's powers and the compliance requirements for participating in the federal tax credit program.

Added specific subsections clarifying that the cell phone ban allows exceptions for educational use, individualized education programs, and documented medical conditions.

Updated the bill version number from Edition 2 to Edition 3 and adjusted line spacing and indentation in the text.

Added explicit exemptions for remote charter academies and remote academies defined in specific General Statutes.

Added an exemption for virtual charter schools participating in the pilot program authorized by prior legislation.

Added subsection labels (a), (b), and (c) to organize the policy requirements and exemptions more clearly.

Added a new requirement for school governing bodies to adopt a policy that eliminates or severely restricts student access to cell phones during instructional time.

Added a requirement for schools to notify parents of the adopted cell phone policy at the beginning of each school year.

Added an effective date clause stating the act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

Removed the specific amendment instruction to change a date to July 1, 2026, as the new bill establishes its own effective date and policy requirements.

The deadline for the State Education Assistance Authority to establish necessary rules was updated to July 1, 2026, or within 120 days of the publication of federal regulations, whichever is later.

The bill version identifier changed from House Amendment A1 to Senate Amendment A2, reflecting the bill's movement to the Senate.

The sponsor of the amendment changed from Representative Cotham to Senator Hise.

The amendment instructions were updated to reflect new page and line numbers for the proposed text insertion and deletion.

The specific text instructions for amending the cell phone policy (inserting new subsections and renumbering) were removed from this version of the amendment.

The location for the official signed copy changed from the House Principal Clerk's Office to the Senate Principal Clerk's Office.

Added a new subsection (b) allowing cell phone use during instructional time if authorized by a teacher for educational purposes, subject to parameters set by the school governing body.

Added an exception requiring cell phone use if mandated by a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 plan.

Added an exception requiring cell phone use to manage a student's documented medical condition.

Renumbered existing policy subsections from (b) and (c) to (c) and (d) to integrate the new exceptions into the statute.