Sunday, February 9, 2025

GOP looks to revise public education in NC with sweeping new measures

If approved, the omnibus bill — amended from the original Senate Bill 90 — could dramatically alter the way North Carolina’s children are taught for decades to come. (Port City Daily/File)

Less than a week after Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed an education bill, state Republicans returned Tuesday night with an even more expansive piece of legislation that now includes many elements from the “Parents Bill of Rights.”

The omnibus bill — amended from the original Senate Bill 90 — contains several tenets on public education long championed by the political right, but have rarely been passed into law on a statewide or national level. 

If approved, it could dramatically alter the way North Carolina’s children are taught for decades to come. 

For instance, it restricts students in elementary grades from being taught about gender identity and sexuality.

Its goal is to give parents more say over their child’s education, such as creating an exception to allow guardians access to a child’s library records. 

The bill also could expand “school choice” by further empowering charter schools and eliminating their oversight. Under the legislation, a charter school will no longer be under the purview of the state Board of Education

It would also dilute the power of the state BOE by creating an advisory committee to oversee what courses are allowable and make recommendations to the BOE. The General Assembly would appoint 12 of the 19 members of the panel, if the bill passes.

The revised version of the bill makes the following changes:

  • Establish a right for parents to appeal to Superior Court if they believe school officials have violated their fundamental right to raise their children as they choose; parents can win damages of at least $5,000 and attorney fees
  • Allow county school superintendents to be fired or lose pay after five successful claims that the superintendent violated the fundamental right to parent
  • Require parents to give consent to participation in a student well-being questionnaire or health screening form
  • Require licensed school personnel to inform parents if they believe the child is at imminent risk of suicide or is self-identifying as a gender different from the student’s biological sex
  • Clarify that referring to and raising a someone under 18 in a manner consistent with the child’s biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, would not by itself be considered abuse or neglect
  • Forbid districts from teaching fourth and fifth grades about gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality. Students would be taught about puberty and how the male and female reproductive systems work. The bill allows parent to opt in to those lessons
  • Clarify that charter schools are not governmental bodies subject to certain confirmations related to the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System
  • Establish the Standard Course of Study Advisory Commission to make recommendations to the State Board of Education regarding the standards and competencies of the courses of study
  • Create an exception to library record confidentiality to allow parents to access the library records of their child. It would also require public libraries to keep material deemed harmful to minors in an age-restricted portion of the library. Public libraries could lend books to minors only with written prior consent of the minor’s parents, which could be demonstrated by consent to receive a minor’s library card

A public hearing on the measure was scheduled for Wednesday before the House Rules Committee but was abruptly postponed because lawmakers needed more time to read the bill.

The original version of Senate Bill 90 authorized public schools to search students if there was reasonable suspicion he or she had violated school policy or state law. After being withdrawn on June 13, the legislation was resurrected by the Education Committee.

The bill contains many elements from Senate Bill 49, also known as the “Parents Bill of Rights.” Dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, Cooper vetoed it July 5.

“The rights of parents are well established in state law, so instead of burdening schools with their political culture wars, legislators should help them with better teacher pay and more investments in students,” Cooper said in a statement.

According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the 2021-2022 schools year had a teacher attrition rate of 7.78 percent, down half a percentage point from the 2020-2021 school year. 

Port City Daily reached out to area education boards and superintendents for feedback and insight on the proposed legislation, asking if there are concerns it would make it harder to retain educators. No one responded by press.

The outlet also reached out to Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), who co-sponsored both versions of Senate Bill 90, as well as Senate Bill 49, but he did not respond by press.


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