NC GOP proposes changes to school rules over discipline, transfers, superintendents, gender identity

CHARLOTTE — A trio of Republican state senators in North Carolina have introduced a slew of proposed rule changes at schools across the state.

There are 16 sections in a new bill filed late Tuesday in the North Carolina General Assembly, and they touch a wide range of topics: from library cards and wardrobes to fights, superintendent firings, sex education, and gender identity.

Some opponents of the proposed rule changes say they could open the door to abuse by special interest groups.

Republican state Sens. Michael Lazzara, Amy Galey, and Vickie Sawyer introduced the document to amend Senate Bill 90. You can read the full document at this link, but here’s a quick synopsis of each section:

Section 1 would clarify what methods can be used to search students on campus. It would also require that all searches of students be conducted in private by a school official and adult witness who are both “the same sex as the student being searched.”

Section 2 addresses the current law over discipline and would require public school bodies to “use best practices when enforcing discipline policies to avoid discriminating against students.” The current law says schools can’t use long-term suspension or expulsion for “inappropriate/disrespectful language, noncompliance with a staff directive, dress code violations, and minor physical altercations that do not involve weapons or injury” unless there are aggravating circumstances to justify treating them as serious violations. Section 2 would remove that language, potentially expanding discipline options for those violations. The section also says school officials would be “encouraged to use in-school suspension” instead of removing students from the building.

Section 3 would create a new advisory commission that would make recommendations to the State Board of Education over curriculum. The new commission would consist of the following members: 12 members appointed by the General Assembly, including 6 recommended by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and 6 recommended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; six members appointed by the Governor; and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The PResidents of the North Carolina Community College System, the University of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Chamber would serve as nonvoting members. While the SBE would be required to weigh the recommendations, it doesn’t have to adopt them.

Section 4 would change the standards for how students can be reassigned to another school. It would require students’ transfer requests to be granted unless one of a few factors apply, including:

• The school was at capacity for that grade level.
• The student did not meet eligibility criteria for enrollment.
• The student was currently suspended or expelled from school.
• The reassignment was for athletic purposes in violation for interscholastic athletic rules.
• The reassignment would violate a court order.
• The student had already been reassigned twice that year.
• The reassignment would violate the student’s individualized education program.

Section 5 changes the rules over sexual education programs. It would prohibit programs in fourth and fifth grade from including information on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality.

Section 6 would change how library books and instructional materials are selected. It would require public hearings for certain new materials, along with a new process for adopting library books.

Section 7 This section specifically mentions materials “that depict sexually explicit nudity or sexual activity” and would remove libraries from the list of organizations with legal protections for having those materials available for minors.

Section 8 This would let parents access library records for their children. Certain materials would be kept in an age-restricted section, and minors could only get those books with written consent from their parents.

Section 9 The section would repeal the authority for minors to consent to treatment for emotional disturbances, and it would only allow treatment if “the minor believed they were a danger to themself or to others.”

Section 10 Under section 10, parents would be given the right to appeal to a superior court for “violations of the fundamental right to parent.” Those violations aren’t clearly defined, but parents could get at least $5,000 plus court costs for winning an appeal against a school governing body.

Section 11 If a superintendent in a district loses five of those claims as written in Section 10, the superintendent will either be fired or have their salary reduced.

Section 12 Parents would have to give consent for students to participate in extracurricular activities

Section 13 Parents would have to give consent to student well-being questionnaires or health screening forms.

Section 14 Licensed school personnel would be required to inform parents if they believe the student is at imminent risk of suicide. The staff would also be required to inform parents if they believe the student “is self-identifying as a gender different from the student’s biological sex.”

Section 15 This section says that parents won’t be punished for abuse or neglect if they “raise a juvenile in a manner consistent with the child’s biological sex.”

Section 16 This section would say that charter schools aren’t part of the state, and therefore aren’t subject to a recent Supreme Court ruling that prohibited a Wilmington charter school from forcing girls to wear skirts.

The North Carolina legislative calendar shows that the House was set to discuss the proposed changes on Wednesday, but the hearing was withdrawn Wednesday afternoon. It’s currently awaiting another hearing in committee.

Before the bill was pulled from Wednesday’s hearing, several opponents expressed concern that the rules could be abused to harass superintendents. Several sections also deal with gender identity in a similar vein to a bill that was recently vetoed by Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper.

The legislative session is expected to last through July, so the bill could still come to a vote.

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