Resources and Links​

Discipline Report Cover

The Children’s Law Clinic has released a new report that sheds light on discipline trends in North Carolina’s charter schools. The report, which is the first of its kind to focus specifically on charter school discipline in the state, revealed several key findings relating to the use of suspension among charters. It also uncovered correlations between the racial demographics of charter schools and their use of suspension. Clinic students Ryan Yang ’21 and Richard Yang ’22 drafted the report under the supervision of Supervising Attorney Peggy Nicholson.

The Children’s Law Clinic has released a report, School Vouchers in North Carolina, 2014 – 2020. It presents a detailed six-year review of the program, which provides taxpayer-funded scholarships to low and moderate-income students to assist with the payment of tuition at private schools. Included are up-to-date facts and figures about the cost, participation, academic outcomes, and evaluation of the program, as well as a program analysis and recommendations. The report points out the success of the program in providing a government subsidy to parents who prefer religious education for their children, but also reveals that the program has no accountability to the taxpayers who fund it. Due to the program’s design, the public has no window into whether the voucher program promotes academic progress or leaves the participating children far behind those who attend public schools.

Most homeschooled children in North Carolina get a good education from their parents. A few don’t. Under the current state law, those homeschooled whose education is neglected by their parents have no protection. This report, Protecting Homeschoolers, makes a modest proposal for a law change to protect homeschooled children in North Carolina from educational neglect.

The Duke Children’s Law Clinic has produced a comprehensive Guide for parents of children with special education needs. The Guide explains the special education law in clear terms so that parents can learn the vocabulary, navigate the special education system, and become an effective advocate for their children. The Guide is especially geared to assist North Carolina parents.

This report, issued by the Children’s Law Clinic, documents the practices of school districts in North Carolina as they affect the enrollment of immigrant children in the public schools. While the law is clear that immigrant children who live in North Carolina, including undocumented immigrant children, have a constitutional right to attend public school, our research showed that not all public school districts are meeting their obligations to facilitate the enrollment of immigrant children.

Links

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

School Systems in the Clinic’s Service Area

Support & Information for Parents and Advocates

Advocacy Organizations

  • The Center for Law and Education: A national organization working to bring about change in order to improve the education of low-income students: http://www.cleweb.org/
  • Council of Parent Advocates and Attorneys: A national organization that promotes collaboration between parents and educators with the goal of improving education for children with disabilities: http://www.copaa.net
  • Disability Rights North Carolina: A private, nonprofit organization offering legal representation to persons with disabilities in North Carolina: http://www.disabilityrightsnc.org/ 

Laws Affecting Children with Disabilities