At the Every Child NC coalition, we are outraged by certain politicians and NC Supreme Court members, who have clearly demonstrated that they don’t believe every North Carolina student deserves a sound, basic education as required by our constitution.

These anti-public school politicians don’t want to invest a mere $677.8 million (just 2.2 percent) out of North Carolina’s massive $30 billion budget in our children, while leaving billions of dollars unspent. 

Through their unethical and unjust rehearing of the already-decided Leandro case, they are not only challenging our constitution – the very foundation our democracy is built on – but are doing so for the purpose of denying our children’s basic education rights. 

At Every Child NC, we will continue fighting for what we know our children deserve – from strong early childhood supports, well-trained teachers, mental health supports and bullying prevention programs to working air conditioning in our schools and classrooms that aren’t overrun with mold. 

Today, the State Supreme Court once again heard oral arguments in the Leandro school funding case. Despite the historic November 2022 ruling victory for children in our state, a change in the court’s political makeup led to an unethical and unjust rehearing of the case.

Today’s hearing was possible in part because the Senate majority leader’s son is ruling on the constitutionality of his father’s legislation. 

Simply put, certain North Carolina legislators don’t want to support our public schools. Our courts appear poised to go along with their unethical actions – despite the importance our constitution places on public education. They are degrading our judicial system’s integrity, all to deny our children the resources and opportunities our constitution requires.

At Every Child NC, we are a community-led, statewide coalition of organizations, parents, teachers and students who advocate for every child’s constitutional right to a sound, basic education. 

We care about this Leandro ruling because the Leandro Plan represents the bare minimum for upholding education rights and opportunities for children in our state. We’ll say that again. 

This is about the BARE MINIMUM of what our students deserve. 

Without Leandro funding, North Carolina children are going without. Many of our state’s students don’t have access to: 

• safe school buildings,
• school nurses and guidance counselors, 
• career training opportunities,
• AP classes, 
• well-trained teachers and principals,
• a safe, reliable way to get to school,  
• and more. 

By refusing to invest in the Leandro Plan, legislative majority leaders are saying North Carolina students do not deserve this bare minimum. Their actions violate the fundamental importance the North Carolina Constitution grants to educational opportunities for children. 

Instead of letting public education slip backwards, it’s time for North Carolinians to come together to do what’s right – ensure EVERY CHILD has access to the educational resources they need.

It all started in 1994, thirty long years ago. Parents, children and school leaders from five North Carolina school districts filed a lawsuit because they knew their students weren’t receiving an adequate education. In legal terms, they called it “a sound and basic education.” 

Further, it was determined that children weren’t getting a sound and basic education because the schools in their district had fewer resources. In 1997, the North Carolina Supreme Court agreed – and has consistently affirmed since then – that the state is violating this right to educational opportunity.

• Communities are losing. Often, wealthier counties have more money to dedicate to each student. This means that depending on your community, your children may lose out.

–  For example, Asheville City Schools dedicates about $14,266 to each student.
–  Across the state, in Hoke County, that number is nearly $5,000 LESS per student, per year. 

• Educators are losing. This means educators are often paid less in poorer counties, like the five Leandro districts (Hoke, Halifax, Vance, Cumberland, and Nash). They also have access to fewer resources.

–  Experienced teachers, principals and leaders have fewer incentives to work in these schools and face more challenging working conditions. 

–  When educators do choose to work in these districts, they don’t have as many supports such as training and professional development opportunities, access to technology, teacher assistants and more. 

• Students are losing. Some districts and schools have fewer resources and programs for kids than others, too. 

– Think of everything from up-to-date textbooks (that aren’t falling apart), AP classes, after-school programs, working air conditioning, safe drinking water, sports options, nurses and school counselors, just to list a few. 

Simply put – the Leandro defendants proved that North Carolina was leaving some of our students unprepared for college, the workforce, and success. This impacts not only our students, but our businesses and communities as a whole.  

The students, families and districts WON cases in 1997 AND 2022, proving that all North Carolina students haven’t been getting a sound and basic education. 

Fast forward to today. The North Carolina’s Supreme Court has ruled, not once, not twice, but three times that the state is violating our constitutional obligation to our students. You can learn more about Leandro’s long history, and these additional hearings, here. 

In November 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that all North Carolina children have a constitutional right to a sound, basic education – and that the Leandro Plan must be funded and implemented to uphold that right.

Yet today in an unprecedented, unconstitutional move, the Supreme Court’s new majority is  rehearing the case. This is something that has never been done before. 

Today, the NC Supreme Court met because certain legislators don’t believe our children, teachers and leaders deserve a sound and basic education. 

Despite what legislative leadership believes, all North Carolina students – our kids, grandkids, youngest community members and future workforce leaders – are guaranteed educational opportunities by our state constitution. 

We’re glad you asked! The state brought in an unbiased, fully independent organization called WestEd to work with N.C. State to complete an in-depth study on what kids and educators are experiencing in North Carolina schools. The WestEd team and its local partners: 

• reviewed years of legislation from the General Assembly, 
• gathered feedback from North Carolinians in 44 different counties, 
• spoke with nearly 1,300 educators and 60 other education stakeholders, and 
• met with leaders to understand our state’s history, including the Chair of the K-12 Education Standing House Committee, Rep. D. Craig Horn and the bipartisan State Board of Education. 

They shared a detailed plan (the Leandro Plan) for how to best support our students based on this research and community input, along with a recommended investment amount to make it happen. 

Now, legislative leadership refuses to invest just $677.8 million out of North Carolina’s massive $30 billion budget in our students. That’s just 2.2 percent of the total budget. They don’t want to invest this money, even though North Carolina already has it. As a matter of fact, North Carolina has BILLIONS we haven’t spent or dedicated to another cause. 

North Carolina consistently ranks at the bottom of all states in terms of how much of our economic output we invest in our schools. We could easily afford to fully implement the Leandro Plan in coming years with minimal school funding effort. 

The common-sense action steps outlined in the Leandro Plan ensure that our community works together to make sure every public school prepares each child for success in life. 

Our vision is that all students receive the funding and support they need to realize the educational opportunity that was promised to them. 

Our students and teachers have managed to accomplish amazing things even with their hands tied by a chronic lack of investment. When our students and teachers have the funding they need, North Carolina will have public schools that provide world-class opportunities for all children.