North Carolina Republicans have starved public schools for over a decade, state Democrats said last week, creating a mess of widespread staff shortages and limited resources.
Though Democrats have introduced more than 230 bills since 2011 to solve these problems, Rep. Julie von Haefen said in a news conference on Wednesday, Republicans blocked, buried, or voted against them all.
“This is my sixth year in the General Assembly and honestly what I’ve seen here in my time in the legislature is a failure to take care of the children of the state,” von Haefen said.
Republicans last year also diverted money from the public school system into private school vouchers and passed the Parents Bill of Rights, which, among other things, could force teachers to out LGBTQ students to their parents.
So Democrats introduced the Children’s Bill of Rights last week.
“Last year we passed a bill called the Parents’ Bill of Rights, but we seem to have forgotten the children. We heard kids first, but kids are being placed last behind the interests of corporations and the wealthy.”
The Children’s Bill of Rights says: Your child has the right to:
⭐High-quality childcare and early childhood education
⭐An inclusive and accountable public school
⭐A safe and healthy learning environment
⭐An excellent teacher
⭐A supportive principal
⭐Ample resources for their school
⭐Access to mental health services and fair discipline
⭐Nutritious breakfast and lunch
⭐Fair testing
⭐Training for education and work opportunities
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