North Carolina school board adopts policies in defiance of state law on Parents' Bill of Rights

A North Carolina school board adopted new policies on Thursday that members acknowledge may not comply with a Parents’ Bill of Rights approved by lawmakers in August.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education cast the first of two votes to approve a series of policy changes that neglect to address specific aspects of the 2023 law regarding notification to parents of student pronoun changes and restrictions on discussions about gender identity and sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grade.

The vote Thursday came nearly three weeks after a legislative deadline of Jan. 1 for schools to implement provisions of the new law.

In published reports, Board Chairman George Griffin described the law Thursday as “morally wrong” and vowed to “stand up for what’s right” despite the potential legal ramifications of ignoring its requirements.

The school board has received letters from teachers, students and others about the new law, and potential policy actions.

Some school districts, such as Orange County Schools, have revised policies to allow administrators to consider whether informing parents about pronoun changes could lead to abuse, which the law allows. Chapel Hill-Carrboro board member Barbara Fedders suggested the district take the same route.

Board members instead directed administrators to draft guidance on how to protect students and teachers when educators are confronted with requests from students to change name or pronouns. Vice Chairwoman Riza Jenkins acknowledged that ignoring the law could result in a legal challenge that would waste limited taxpayer dollars.

The policy changes approved Thursday will bring the district in line with other requirements of the law that ban educators from encouraging students to hide information from their parents; allow parents to review student surveys and health questionnaires; and require a process for parents to challenge objectionable materials.