May 17, 2025

www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

71 Years Ago Today...Brown v. Board of Education

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional.

While the ruling did catalyze massive changes throughout the nation, including helping to propel the civil rights movement, the full potential of school integration was never fully realized. After school desegregation reached a high point in the 1980s, gains were lost. Our schools are rapidly resegregating and are now nearing late 1960s levels of segregation.

In North Carolina, reaction against school segregation was swift and strong. The Pearsall Plan and later legislation created the state’s first voucher program. It allowed families to receive an “education expense grant” for private school tuition for children assigned to integrated schools. 

The education expense grants were declared unconstitutional in the late 1960s, but the provisions in the Pearsall Plan slowed desegregation efforts across the state. Private schools called "segregation academies" opened in the 1960s and 1970s with the primary purpose of enrolling students whose families wanted to avoid segregated schools.

in 1971, Julius Chambers, a civil rights lawyer from Charlotte, successfully argued the landmark case Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling granted federal courts the power to order busing to force racial integration. This case ended government-sanctioned segregation in Southern schools.

Research has shown tremendous benefits of desegregation for students. School desegregation led to dramatic increases in graduation rates, college going, adult health status, and adult income for Black students and Latino students. It also resulted in increases in years of schooling that were sufficient to close the Black-White educational attainment gap.

What’s more, ALL students benefited. Initially feared academic declines never materialized, and students experienced the academic, social, critical thinking and problem-solving benefits of learning in a diverse setting.

But resistance to desegregation persisted. A 2002 ruling in Belk v Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (filed by a white parent to end the use of busing in CMS to achieve racial diversity) by the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals essentially dissolved the Swann desegregation order.

By 2022, nearly half of CMS schools were more than 90% students of color, compared to 1% in 1989 and 16% in 2002. A rise in charter school enrollment has further fueled resegregation, as these schools tend to be much more racially isolated than traditional public schools.

In 2014, North Carolina's newest taxpayer-funded private school tuition voucher program launched. Unlike the voucher program of the 1950s, segregation is not the stated purpose of the latest program. However, data reveals that the program now primarily serves white students (73%).

Reporting in 2024 identified 39 private schools that opened as segregation academies in North Carolina and are still operating. Many of these schools have received millions in taxpayer funds. Data from a 2021-22 federal survey (the most recent data available) reveals that some still have white student populations far greater than in the local public schools.

For example, the student population at Lawrence Academy in Bertie County was 97% white in 2021-22, while the student population of Bertie County Schools was just 10% white (data from the NC Statistical Profile). This highly segregated private school has received $2,363,213 in taxpayer-funded tuition from the state.

Northeast Academy in Northampton, Pungo Christian Academy in Beaufort, and Wake Christian Academy in Wake all follow a similar pattern. They serve a strikingly disproportionate number of white students as compared to their local school district. These "segregation academies" have received millions in tuition payments from the state (i.e., taxpayers).

Expansion of the taxpayer-funded private school voucher program (Opportunity Scholarships) to fund all families, regardless of income or prior public school enrollment, has worsened the segregation caused by charter schools.

Together, charter schools and vouchers have returned North Carolina to an era of state-funded segregation despite the promise and hope of Brown v. Board of Education.

The legislation creating the current state of school segregation can be changed by our lawmakers!

North Carolina's History of School Diversity

Public Schools First NC believes that school diversity still matters. We believe that the promise of Brown can be fulfilled in NC. We can have well-resourced, integrated schools, schools that ensure that all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, family income, or linguistic background, feel valued and supported.

We created four short videos highlighting NC's History of School Diversity and honoring North Carolinians who contributed to the cause of Black education and school integration. Watch the videos HERE.

Turn on captions with the CC icon at the bottom of the video player. To access all four episodes, click on the playlist icon at the top right corner (green arrow below) to select from the list of episodes

U.S. Bill Enlists Wealthy to Spread Private School Vouchers

Every single time voucher bills have been brought before voters, they have been soundly rejected. Just last year, voters in CO, KY, NE stopped voucher expansion efforts. As a result, voucher supporters and their billionaire funders are seeking a federal solution. 

Making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives is the Educational Choice for Children Act. The plan sets up a tax credit voucher system that pays out 100%, dollar-for-dollar tax credits to people who donate to private school voucher organizations. These organizations then dole out the money to families who want tuition money to pay for private school. 

This bill is simply a way for wealthy taxpayers to avoid paying taxes while funneling public dollars into private schools. 

Here are some key points from a brief on the bill by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy:

• The U.S House tax plan cuts charitable giving tax incentives for donors to most nonprofit groups while roughly tripling the incentive available to donors to groups that fund private K-12 school vouchers.
• Private school voucher donations will get preferential treatment over other charitable giving. Donors to children’s hospitals, veterans’ assistance groups, and other charities would receive no more than 35 cents in tax savings for each dollar donated, while donors to private K-12 school voucher groups would receive a full reimbursement (100 cents on the dollar).
• The bill creates a tax shelter for wealthy people by allowing private school voucher donors to avoid capital gains tax on their gifts of corporate stock. 
• Federal tax revenue is estimated to drop by $23.2 billion over the next 10 years and by $67 billion over the next 10 years if the bill's provisions are extended beyond its current four-year expiration date.
• Because state income taxes largely piggyback on federal law, the bill would also reduce state tax revenue by $459 million over the next 10 years as currently drafted, or by $1.1 billion over the next 10 years if it is extended beyond its four-year expiration date.

READ MORE

Legislative and SBE Updates

The NCGA convenes again on Monday, May 19. Bills that made crossover (May 8) are working their way through their respective chambers. On Thursday, the House started discussing their budget proposal in several committee meetings.

Details on salary increases will be shared with members next week. We will be watching. Keep an eye on the legislative calendar for action.

Monday, 4:00 the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House is scheduled to discuss the Senate budget proposal passed in April. (Livestream)

Below are some key changes proposed in the House budget for K-12 education:

• The cap on funding for students with disabilities would increase from 13% of the student population to 13.25%. The budget allocates an additional $10 million to pay for the increase.
• Fast growing, high performing districts may be exempt from some class-size limits in K-3.
• Adds $10 million to train middle school teachers on the science of reading.
• Prohibits schools from denying students the regular school meal if they have too much debt in their meal account.
• Requires elementary schools to provide visual and performing arts to all students.

Read more about the budget:

Slow rollout of NC House budget reveals cuts, partisan priorities

NC House budget calls for job cuts, tuition increase. What else they're proposing

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from mental illness.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) every May to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being.

SAMHSA has created a toolkit with resources and information to support individuals and communities who may need mental health support. Check it out HERE.

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US House Plan: Hurting North Carolinians' Wallets and

Well-Being

North Carolinians want their policymakers to keep rising costs in check and make their lives better — not worse.  Yet some policymakers continue to rig the rules so that the rich get richer, leaving the rest of us without the supports we all need in hard times — like help getting to the doctor or putting food on the table — and without the public institutions that keep our communities and economy on level ground, moving forward.

This week, US House Republicans advanced legislation for the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in the programs’ history. These proposals threaten both the well-being and wallets of North Carolinians:

At least $625 billion in Medicaid cuts, including new work requirements for people who are covered under the Medicaid expansion, red tape that will reduce coverage, and restrictions on how states like North Carolina raise money to pay for Medicaid, among other changes. READ MORE

Event NEXT WEEK: Autism Out Loud!

Today (Saturday) is the last day to register!To

Protect Public Schools—End Christian Nationalism

Wednesday, June 4th at 7pm at Greenwood Forest Baptist Church in Cary, NC.

Featuring Amanda Tyler of Christians Against Christian Nationalism

How to End Christian Nationalism by Amanda Tyler is the essential guidebook for Christians alarmed by the rising tide of Christian nationalism yet unsure how to counter it.

Christian nationalism is one of the primary threats against public education in America. Pastors for NC Children sees that many of the struggles our public schools face are rooted in Christian nationalism, including the rise of vouchers and defunding public education, book bans, limiting what can be taught in history and science, release time for religious education, posting the 10 Commandments in schools, chaplains replacing counselors, and more.

Learn more about the threat of this dangerous ideology and learn about how Amanda drew on her experiences, conversations with pastors and laypeople, research, Scripture, and her Baptist convictions to write her book. Book purchase and signing in the reception hall. 

REGISTER HERE (free)

Words to Remember

"It is immoral to defund public schools and then say that they're failing."

— Diane Ravitch, PSFNC Conference, September 2024

Help us support public schools!

Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused solely

on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents, teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each child for productive citizenship.

www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]