Jones Files CHCCS Bill as NC Panel Presses Chapel Hill-Carrboro on Library Books

Overview

• House Republicans, during a Thursday oversight hearing, questioned Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools and House Majority Leader Brenden Jones said he filed the Curriculum Honesty, Compliance, and Child Safety Act.
• The bill empowers the state auditor and education department to investigate districts and allows the state to freeze central-office funds or a superintendent’s pay, while also requiring parental consent for student name or gender changes.
• Lawmakers said they found 153 copies of books on sexuality and gender identity in elementary libraries and they criticized guidance that lets staff skip parent notification under a “familial strain” exception.
• Superintendent Rodney Trice said the district follows the law because the cited books are library materials rather than classroom instruction and he noted parents can block titles, search catalogs online, and file formal challenges.
• Previous efforts to tighten school library rules stalled in the Senate and civil-liberties advocates warn new limits could trigger First Amendment lawsuits, even as an Iowa appellate ruling shows such restrictions can be enforced elsewhere.