EDITOR’S NOTE: The following are excerpts from North Carolina Superior Court Judge David Lee’s order, issued Monday June 7, 2021, concerning implementation of the “comprehensive remedial plan” to address the continued failure of the state to uphold its Constitutional right and meet its obligation to provide every child with access to a quality education. Read the full order here.
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“If the State fails to implement the actions described in the Comprehensive Remedial Plan – actions which it admits are necessary and which, over the next biennium, the Governor’s proposed budget and Senate Bill 622 confirm are attainable – ‘it will then be the duty of this court to enter a judgment granting declaratory relief and such other relief as needed to correct the wrong.’”
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“The Court has granted ‘every reasonable deference’ to the legislative and executive branches to ‘establish’ and ‘administer a system that provides the children of the various school districts of the state a sound basic education.’”
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“State funding for education has not kept pace with the growth and needs of the PreK-12 student body. … While the Defendants have implemented a number of promising initiatives since the Leandro II decision, this Court found that many of them were neither sustained nor scaled up to make a substantial impact.”
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“The Governor’s proposed 2021-2023 biennium budget, and the accompany bill, Senate Bill 622, presents a balanced budget that includes funding to implement the remedial measures identified in the first two years of the Comprehensive Remedial Plan. The court further understands that House Bill 946 (filed May 11, 2021), if passed, will fund and implement the first two years of the Comprehensive Remedial Plan.
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“It is hereby ORDERED that:
“B. The Comprehensive Remedial Plan shall be implemented in full …
“C. The State shall inform and engage its actors, agencies, divisions, and/or departments as necessary to ensure the State’s compliance with this Order, including without limitation seeking and securing such funds and resources as are needed and required to implement in a sustainable manner, the programs and policies set forth in the Comprehensive Remedial Plan;”
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“Based on the WestEd Report, the Court specifically found that due to the increase in the number of children with higher needs, who require additional support to meet high standards, the State faces greater challenges than ever before in meeting its constitutional obligations.”
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“This court examined the record again in 2018 and found that ‘the evidence before this court … is wholly inadequate to demonstrate … substantial compliance with the constitutional mandate of Leandro measured by applicable educational standards.’”
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“The CARES ACT funding and subsequent federal COVID-related funding is non-recurring and cannot be relied upon by the State to sustain ongoing programs that are necessary to fulfill the State’s constitutional obligation to provide a sound basic education to all North Carolina children.”
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“Failure to implement all of the actions in the Year One Plan will necessarily make it more difficult for the State Defendants to implement all of the actions described in the Comprehensive Remedial Plan in a timely manner.”