North Carolina long pushed deaf children toward mainstream schools. Now lawmakers want to give parents more choices.
K-12 Education
Is Our Children Reading?
Lawmakers have awarded $4.5 million to a literacy program that does not align with current educational standards.
Public Money, Private Schools
Lawmakers plan to vastly expand Opportunity Scholarships, but questions about oversight, accountability, and what it will cost public schools remain.
‘This Is Work I Will Die For’
Lee A. Williams II took over as chief equity officer for Orange County Schools last year amid turmoil over how to address systemic discrimination.
Schoolyard Brawl
Orange County has been swept up in cultural clashes over education. Superintendent Monique Felder is the latest casualty.
The State’s Looming Constitutional Crisis
The long-running Leandro case has promised transformative investments in K-12 education. As a judge prepares to take action, the state is anticipating a constitutional impasse with enormous consequences for students and North Carolina’s system of checks and balances.
The Untouchable Student Vaccine Mandate
Federal regulators are poised to give full approval to a COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 16. That would turn the spotlight to an obscure—and seemingly reluctant—state commission in North Carolina that has the power to mandate vaccines for school children and college students.
Egos, Accountability, and High School Sports
A two-year legislative inquiry culminated last week in a bipartisan compromise over the state’s High School Sports Association. The very public fight mirrors a national debate over amateur athletics: Just how big should school sports be? And who gets to benefit?
The Making of a Mask Mandate
A fight over school mask mandates in a GOP county lauded for its high vaccination rate shows just how tough it is to lead a public institution in the midst of a fast-changing pandemic.