School Law Bulletin #2000/10

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY enacted no bold new initiatives to improve public education in 2000. Instead it continued to support previously established efforts to improve both employee and student accountability, to recruit and retain teachers, and to target resources toward special populations, including students with limited proficiency in English, small school systems, and low-wealth school systems.

At the same time, the General Assembly decided to become directly involved in reducing paperwork for teachers and in taking steps to reduce the minority achievement gap. This involvement illustrates the ongoing search for the proper balance between state and local control of the daily operations of the schools.

This article outlines the 2000 legislative changes directed toward North Carolina’s elementary and secondary schools.