The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board will vote Tuesday on a new student health policy and three revised policies that will bring the district in line with a new state "parents’ bill of rights" law.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the 12-page list of requirements for schools, but the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly overrode his veto last week.
At a special meeting of the policy committee on Friday, board members reviewed the changes and approved a fast-track process for approval. There will be public hearings on all four policies before the vote on Tuesday.
Here’s what’s pending:
Student health
The new student health policy says principals will notify parents of any health services their children receive at school. It also requires parental permission for any health and well-being surveys given to K-3 students and bans “instruction on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality” in grades K-4. And it requires principals to notify parents about “any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school personnel.”
Board member Jennifer De La Jara asked CMS lawyer Hope Root if this would require schools to notify families if students simply want to use a nickname — for instance, if she wanted to be called Jennie.
Root said yes: “(You) must give notification to the parent prior to changing your name from Jennifer to Jennie.”
De La Jara said trans and nonbinary students could be endangered if school staff are forced to notify parents that they’re using a different name and pronouns. She noted that the policy exempts situations that would be likely to lead to neglect or abuse, and said she hopes educators can use that to avoid outing at-risk students.
At a public hearing Friday, Brooke Weiss, president of the Mecklenburg County chapter of Moms for Liberty, said she has seen some educators posting on social media that their classrooms will remain safe spaces for LGBTQ students. She said her group, which describes itself as a parents’ rights organization and supports the state bill, will be watching for educators who “want to keep secrets from parents.”
Library and classroom material
The policy on textbooks, library books and other instructional material is being heavily revised to spell out that parents have a right to review all such material. CMS lawyers said this will include material created by CMS or by individual teachers.
Once the policy is approved, it will fall to Superintendent Crystal Hill to create regulations on how parents can get access and object to material. The policy states that challenged material will remain in use until the question is resolved.
Members of Moms for Liberty and other parents' rights groups have become regular speakers at school board meetings in Charlotte and across the country, raising concerns about books they say contain inappropriate sexual content.
Sex education
The district’s policy on sex education is switching from one in which parents can opt to keep their children out of such classes to one in which students can participate only with parental consent.
Some board members voiced concerns that this would keep many students out of classes if consent forms aren’t returned, which could happen even if parents don’t specifically object to the classes.
“I am concerned with the logistics of getting an opt-in from a lot of our families, and there will be an equity issue,” board Chair Elyse Dashew said. “And I’m sure that despite Herculean efforts there are going to be students who will miss out on educational opportunities that they need.”
Board member Lisa Cline said CMS needs to be sure that alternative assignments are available “so that they’re not penalized if a parent says, ‘I don’t want my child to have this part of the curriculum.’ ”
Parent engagement
The policy on parent involvement is being revised to spell out a long list of required ways to encourage parent engagement. Board members said many of them, such as allowing medical or religious exemptions from immunization requirements, being allowed to request evaluation for the gifted program and having access to student report cards, are already done.
“There’s not a lot that’s changing,” member Dee Rankin said. “It’s just moreso policy being written to ensure that there’s alignment between us and the state. But a lot of these processes and procedures are already in place.”
However, some elements required by the state law are new. For instance, students can now take part in information surveys and data collection only if their parents opt in.
Reluctant approval
De La Jara was the only member of the board’s policy committee who voted against putting the new and revised policies on Tuesday’s agenda for a vote. She said she understands that CMS must follow state law, but thinks the new requirements are either unnecessary or harmful.
“These are solutions to problems that don’t exist,” she said. “We are giving purported rights to parents, over and over, that they have.” And she added that the state has created more work for school districts without providing more money.
Rankin and policy committee Chair Lenora Shipp said they share De La Jara’s concerns about the law but want policies in place to guide staff. “What I do support is ensuring that our district is protected, our teachers are protected and our students are protected,” Rankin said. “That’s why I’m voting for this.”
Cline, the CMS board’s only Republican, said she supports the law. It reinforces a lot of what CMS is already doing, she said, and “holds everyone accountable.”
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Sign up for the public hearings by emailing boardservices@cms.k12.nc.us by noon Tuesday. The meeting will stream live on the board’s Facebook page.
