Teacher Shortages, Assaults On Police Addressed In New Laws

Gov. Roy Cooper has signed bills that help public schools rehire retired teachers in hard-to-fill classrooms and increase prison time for someone who uses a gun to assault a law enforcement officer.

Cooper has announced he's enacted another dozen bills with his signature.

One measure signed on Thursday offers a way to hire former teachers without harming their state retirement benefits. The teachers could work in low-performing schools and those with a high percentage of students from low-income families. Math and science teachers would get higher salaries.

Another new law will more than double the minimum prison sentence to roughly three years for someone convicted of a firearm-related assault on a police, correctional, probation or parole officer. Such crimes will become a more severe felony starting Dec. 1.