North Carolina public school districts that violate the state’s parental rights law could soon face real consequences under a newly proposed bill in the General Assembly. The proposed Curriculum Honesty, Compliance, and Child Safety (CHCCS) Act, sponsored by House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, would allow the state to withhold funding tied to central office administration from school districts that remain out of compliance with the Parents’ Bill of Rights.
The proposal follows legislative oversight hearings this week in which lawmakers stated that Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools continues to violate the Parents’ Bill of Rights law. The ongoing dispute with the district began during a contentious December oversight hearing and resurfaced this week with renewed concerns surrounding inappropriate library materials and the district’s refusal to fully comply with state law.
The Chatham Chair of Moms for Liberty, Amy Kappelman, attended the hearing and strongly supports this legislation.
“What we witnessed during the hearing was deeply troubling,” she said. “There was a blatant disregard for the rule of law by CHCCS Superintendent Rodney Trice. It became abundantly clear that accountability is desperately needed for school district leaders across our state.”
For many parents, this issue goes far beyond politics. It is about ensuring that school districts respect the fundamental rights of parents to direct the education, upbringing, and well-being of their children. Yet too often, districts continue advancing ideological agendas while creating policies that directly conflict with state law and undermine parental authority.
“For too long, some school administrators and school boards have acted as though they are above the law,” the Chatham Chair continued. “The Parents’ Bill of Rights exists for a reason, and districts that openly defy it should face meaningful consequences.”
Moms for Liberty applauds lawmakers for pursuing stronger enforcement measures, including allowing parents to pursue legal action against noncompliant districts and withholding administrative funding from districts that refuse to follow the law.
While much of the public attention is currently focused on Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, parents in other districts — including Chatham County Schools — still have serious unanswered questions about compliance and transparency.
In Chatham County, significant work had previously begun to improve transparency for families by posting instructional materials and library information online. Efforts were also underway to have librarians and classroom teachers catalog books contained in classroom libraries so parents could better understand what materials were accessible to students. However, much of that work now appears to have stalled. Some information has reportedly not been updated, while other resources have been removed from district websites altogether.
To be fair, cataloging every classroom library across an entire school district is a significant undertaking that requires time and coordination. However, parents are now more than a year removed from when these efforts first began, and many are questioning why so little progress appears to have been made.
If parents were to walk into many schools today, there are concerns that portions of the Parents’ Bill of Rights still would not be fully implemented or followed.
Rather than assuming compliance, parents should continue asking important questions:
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What portions of the Parents’ Bill of Rights have been fully implemented?
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What transparency measures have been discontinued or removed?
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What progress has been made in cataloging classroom library materials?
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What accountability measures are in place to ensure compliance moving forward?
Moms for Liberty believes parents deserve transparency, honesty, and full partnership in their children’s education. Accountability should not stop with one district. Every school system in North Carolina must be willing to follow the law, respect parental rights, and provide families with the transparency they were promised.
Moms for Liberty looks forward to continuing to work alongside parents and lawmakers, such as our 4th Annual Legislative Day on May 19th, to protect parental rights in NC.
Clips from the April 23rd Oversight Committee hearing can be viewed here. The entire hearing can be viewed here.
Read more here and here.
