Moore County school board beats NCGA to the punch on parents’ rights

It appears that the gang in control at the Moore County Board of Education has much larger cojones than ANYONE in the North Carolina Speaker of the House’s office. Parents’ Rights legislation got killed off just prior to the November elections by Speaker Timmy.  (That’s the kind of thing that happens when one is fully-owned by EqualityNC’s Dan Gurley.)

Fortunately, for parents in Moore County, Bob Levy, David Hensley and the rest of the conservative team on the school board are getting the the job done.  Parents of Moore County Schools students are very, very close to  having some protection against the efforts by radical leftists to sexualize and / or groom their kids during the school day. 

The proposed Parents Bill of Rights made it past the board to Levy’s Policy committee.  Given the board’s 6-1 conservative makeup, it should have little problem making it into school system policy.

Here are some of the details of the proposed county schools’ policy:

I. Moore County Schools recognizes and respects parental involvement in their children’s education.  In discharge of that recognition it enacts the following policies:

A. Schools shall respect parents’ values and beliefs: Parents have the right to instill in and nurture values and beliefs for their own children and make decisions concerning their children’s education and upbringing in accordance with their customs, faith, and family culture.

The United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment, provides that parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, as the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly explained. See Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 65 (2000) (this right is “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by thisCourt.”); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 232 (1972) (“This primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate”); Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35 (1925) (the state may not interfere with “the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.”)

B. Schools shall defer to parents to make the best social and moral decisions with respect to their children: Parents are in the best position to work with their children and, where appropriate, their children’s health care providers to determine (a) what names, nicknames, and/or pronouns, if any, shall be used for their child by teachers and school staff while their child is at school, (b) whether their child engages in any counseling or social transition at school that encourages a gender that differs from their child’s sex, or (c) whether their child expresses a gender that differs with their child’s sex while at school.

C. Schools shall keep parents informed about their children’s well-being: To ensure parents are able to make the best decisions with respect to their child, school personnel shall keep parents fully informed about all matters that may be reasonably expected to be importantto a parent, including, and without limitation, matters related to their child’s health, and social and psychological Parents’ rights are affirmed by the United States Supreme Court that characterized a parent’s right to raise his or her child as “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.” Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 65 (2000).

D. Schools shall partner with parents: Parents are a child’s primary and most important educator. In partnership with parents, public schools, teachers, counselors, andadministrators also play an essential role in the education of children in Moore County Schools.

[Va. Model School Policies (2022)]

II. The Moore County Board of Education further finds and enacts as policy:

A. That parental involvement and empowerment is fundamental to the successful education of all students. Therefore we must strengthen partnerships among parents, Moore County Schools and all public school personnel. Therefore it is the policy of this District to fully support and cooperate in implementing a well-planned, inclusive, and comprehensive program to assist parents and families in effectively participating in their child’s In furtherance of this policy, the following added policies are adopted:

B. Except as prohibited by law or as stated elsewhere in this or other policies and regulations:

a. Parents have a right to inspect health and academic records created, maintained, or used by this District or any of its public school units or by his or her student. This includes but is not limited to both physical and electronic records.

C. Except as otherwise mandated by law, a student’s parent or guardian shall be notified in writing:

a. Prior to administration to students a copy of any student well-being questionnaireor health screening A parent shall be provided a copy of the form and must give written consent before the form is administered to the student for whom the parent has care, custody and control.

b. Prior to or contemporaneous with changes, notice of changes in services, or monitoring related to his or her child’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being or the school’s ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for that child.

c. Prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for or by a student in school records or by school personnel, or by the student and whether the change is formal, informal , official or unofficial.

D. All school personnel shall:

a. Encourage a child to discuss issues related to the child’s well-being with his or her parents.
b. Facilitate discussion of the issue with the child’s parent

E. However, the following exception applies to (D) above:

a. When a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in the child becoming an abused juvenile or neglected juvenile, as those terms are defined in G.S. 7B-101.

b. However, if this reason is invoked, this decision and the reasons for the decision shall be reduced to writing and submitted to both the school principal and the persons within the County Government who are responsible for the protection of abused and neglected children. This written report shall be held as confidential and available only to law enforcement, school, county or state social workers and appropriate administrators as directed by the superintendent of this school district

NC HB 755 (2021-proposed by the legislature but enacted into MCS Policy without regard to its final enactment by the State of North Carolina)

This is yet another example of how local action can trump inaction in Raleigh.