By Brian Gwyn The General Assembly convened its short session on April 28, 2020, and adjourned sine die on Thursday, September 3. This means any additional legislative sessions for the year would require either the Governor to call the legislature back in session or three-fifths of the legislators in each chamber to request to come […]
By Kristopher L. Caudle On July 7, 2020, several states and boards of education around the country filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s (“Department”) new Interim Final Rule (34 C.F.R. § 76.665) governing distribution of funds provided by Congress under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and […]
By Michele Livingstone and Will Quick We are in unprecedented times with COVID-19 (Coronavirus). It is now more important than ever that we help our neighbors and those who are not as fortunate. I am confident that each of you is doing your part. Even in the best of times, however, over 1.5 Million North […]
By Brian Gwyn The Legislative Analysis Division of the General Assembly has now published its annual Summaries of Substantive Ratified Legislation for 2019. This publication includes: by subject area, summaries for the final edition of all substantive legislation of general applicability and certain local legislation having general import. The summaries are prepared by the nonpartisan […]
By Patricia Robinson The new Senate Bill 199, which was signed into law on November 7, 2019, has two provisions that all education attorneys need to be aware of: (1) a new requirement, effective December 1, 2019, that adults report potential violent or sexual offenses against child victims to law enforcement; and (2) a requirement […]
By Brian Gwyn This session, the General Assembly passed several bills that that will impact K-12 education. Here are some of the highlights: S.L. 2019-71 (SB 219) (Modify Teacher Licensing Requirements) S.L. 2019-110 (SB 399) (Rehire High-Need Teachers) S.L. 2019-154 (HB 362) (15-point Scale for School Performance) S.L. 2019-212 (SB 621) (Testing Reduction Act of […]
By Melissa Michaud Dear Members of the Education Law Section: Welcome to the 2019-2020 bar year! I look forward to working with you, our Council members, and committee chairs this year, and I want to thank our committee chairs for volunteering their time to invest in our Section. As we start the year, please mark […]
By Chelsea Sutton N.C. School Boards Association Assistant Legal Counsel Janine Murphy won the Ann L. Majestic Distinguished Service Award on April 12 from the North Carolina Bar Association’s Education Law Section. Allison Schafer, NCSBA legal counsel and director of policy, presented Murphy with the award at the section’s annual meeting held at the NC […]
By William Joseph Austin Jr. In a case that was already topical, the Fourth Circuit recently rendered an opinion that renewed the concept of Academic Freedom as legal doctrine based in the First Amendment. The case of Wood v. Arnold, 915 F.3d 308 (4th Cir. 2019), involved two statements concerning Islamic beliefs presented in a […]
The NCBA Education Section proudly presents its annual CLE day on Friday, April 12 in Cary. This year’s program is entitled “Change: How Cultural and Political Shifting Affects the Practice of Education Law.” Click here to view the program brochure. Click here to register. North Carolina’s social and political environment looks very different than it […]