North Carolina Parents’ Bill of Rights: Reviews, Opt-Ins, Grievances

North Carolina’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, enacted as Session Law 2023-106 and effective August 15, 2023, gives parents a defined set of rights over their child’s education, health care, and personal information in the state’s public schools. The law added two new pieces to the General Statutes: Chapter 114A, which covers broad parental rights over healthcare and personal data, and Article 7B of Chapter 115C, which covers what public schools must do.¹

Who the Law Covers

A “parent” under the statute is any person with legal custody of the child, which includes natural parents, adoptive parents, and legal guardians.¹

Article 7B applies to every “public school unit” in the state: traditional district schools, charter schools, regional schools, laboratory schools operated by UNC constituent institutions, and the state schools for the deaf and blind.² Private schools and homeschools are not covered by the education-specific provisions.

What You Can Review and Opt Into at School

N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.25 lists twelve enumerated rights, and schools must post the full list on their websites.³ In practical terms, you have the right to:

Consent to or withhold consent for reproductive health and safety education.
Seek medical or religious exemptions from school immunization requirements.
Review your child’s standardized assessment results.
Request an evaluation for a gifted program or for a disability identification.
Inspect and buy copies of textbooks and supplementary instructional materials used in your child’s classroom.
Obtain information about promotion, retention, and graduation policies.
Receive regular report cards showing academic performance, conduct, and attendance.
Participate in parent-teacher organizations.
Opt in before certain student data is collected.
Consent before your child takes a protected information survey.
See all available records of what your child has borrowed from the school library.

Textbooks and Supplementary Materials

N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.35 requires each public school unit to establish a procedure for parents to review the course of study and inspect all textbooks and supplementary materials used in the classroom, including periodicals and audiovisual resources.⁴ The procedure has to be available for in-person review at the school and posted on the school’s website. You can object to specific materials, and schools must also let you learn about the nature and purpose of any club or extracurricular activity offered at your child’s school.

Protected Information Surveys

Before a student can take a protected information survey, the school must obtain prior written or electronic parental consent under N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.65.⁵ Protected surveys ask about topics such as political affiliations, mental health, sexual behavior, illegal conduct, family relationships, religious practices, or income. Two narrow exceptions replace consent with an opt-out notice: surveys administered as part of the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, and the National or North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey.

Your Child’s Education and Health Records

N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.45(c) prohibits schools from blocking parents from reviewing their child’s education and health records created or maintained by the public school unit, whether on paper or digitally.⁶ That covers transcripts, disciplinary files, attendance data, and notes or assessments from school nurses, counselors, and therapists working on campus. The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides a parallel right for parents of students under 18 at any school receiving federal funds.⁷

Health, Well-Being, and Notification

At the start of each school year, N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.45 requires schools to tell parents about every health care service offered on campus and give parents a way to consent to each specific service. Agreeing to one service does not waive the right to see records or receive future notifications.⁶

Schools must also notify parents before or at the time of any change in services or monitoring related to their child’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being. For children in kindergarten through third grade, the school must share a copy of any student well-being questionnaire or health screening form before it is administered, and parents must consent before it is used.

Name and Pronoun Changes

Before any change is made to the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school staff, the school must notify the parent.⁶ School employees cannot discourage parental notification or involvement in decisions affecting a student’s well-being, and schools cannot adopt policies that encourage a child to withhold health or well-being information from a parent.

Restriction on Classroom Instruction in K Through 4

N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.55 prohibits instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality in the curriculum for kindergarten through fourth grade, whether the instruction comes from school employees or outside presenters.⁸ “Curriculum” is defined broadly and includes the standard course of study, locally developed content, supplemental instruction, textbooks, and other supplementary materials. If a student initiates a question, a teacher’s response does not violate the restriction. The restriction is limited to grades K through 4; it does not extend to the upper grades.

Rights Beyond the Classroom

Chapter 114A extends parental rights outside education. Under N.C.G.S. § 114A-10:⁹

Parents have the right to make health care decisions for their child unless otherwise provided by law.
Parents can access and review all medical records of their child, as authorized by HIPAA.
Schools and state agencies cannot create, share, or store a biometric scan of a child without prior written parental consent, with limited exceptions for court orders, security surveillance, and areas open to the public.
A child’s blood or DNA cannot be collected, shared, or stored without prior written parental consent, except by court order or legal mandate.
State employees generally cannot make video or audio recordings of a child without parental consent, with exceptions for court proceedings, academic activities, photo IDs, and security purposes.
If a state employee suspects a crime has been committed against a child, the parent must be promptly notified, unless law enforcement or child welfare is already investigating and notification would interfere.

When the School Can Withhold Information

The law carves out exceptions when a child’s safety is at stake. A parent’s right to access a child’s medical records is suspended when the parent is the subject of an investigation for a crime against the child or an abuse and neglect complaint.⁹

Schools can also withhold education and health records from a parent when a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in the child becoming an abused or neglected juvenile.⁶ School staff with a genuine safety concern are not required to notify a parent or hand over records when doing so could put the child at risk.

How to File a Grievance

N.C.G.S. § 115C-76.60 sets out the process when you believe a school has violated Article 7B. Start by telling the principal at your child’s school what the specific concern is. The school must have a procedure for resolving it within seven days.¹⁰

If the concern is still unresolved after 30 days, the school must give you a written statement explaining why. From there you have two options:

Request a hearing through the State Board of Education. The Board appoints a hearing officer who must be an active member of the North Carolina State Bar with experience in education or administrative law. The officer reviews the facts, considers information from both sides, and issues a recommended decision within 30 days. The State Board then approves or rejects that recommendation at its next regular meeting held more than seven days after receiving it. The school district pays the cost of the hearing officer.
File a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that the school’s practice violates Article 7B. If you win injunctive relief, the court must award you reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

These remedies exist alongside any other legal options under state or federal law. If the same conduct implicates FERPA, you can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights within 180 days of the incident.¹¹ The state and federal processes run independently, so pursuing one does not stop you from pursuing the other.

1
North Carolina General Assembly. Session Law 2023-106 – Senate Bill 49
2
North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 49 – Ratified
3
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 115C-76.25 – Parent Legal Rights for Their Childs Education
4
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 115C-76.35 – Public School Unit Policies to Increase Parental Involvement
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 115C-76.65 – Notification Requirements for Protected Student Information Surveys
6
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 115C-76.45 – Notifications of Student Physical and Mental Health
7
U.S. Department of Education. FERPA
8
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 115C – Article 7B
9
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 114A-10 – Parents Bill of Rights
10
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 115C-76.60 – Remedies for Parental Concerns
11
U.S. Department of Education. OCR Discrimination Complaint Form