Cole del Charco

Advocacy groups that lobby for the well-being of young children have written a letter to Governor Roy Cooper and N.C. Health and Human Services Director Mandy Cohen urging them to close all child care facilities.

Leaders of N.C. Early Education Coalition, NC Child, and N.C. Association for the Education of Young Children say that forcing employees of day-care facilities to work puts the health of kids, their families, and the workers themselves at risk.

North Carolina public school buildings are now closed until at least May 15, but educators are still working to teach students remotely. 

Wake County Public Schools is one of a number of districts across the state providing a website with online resources to give parents and students some guidance on how to maintain learning during this unprecedented time away from the classroom. You can find the website here. 

The rate of crime in schools has gone down for the third year in a row. Education leaders on the State Board of Education discussed the findings in their monthly meeting in Raleigh on Thursday.

Both the number of reportable crimes and the rate of crime on school campuses decreased in the 2018-19 year. The rate of crime decreased nine percent between 2018 and 2019.

It’s also the first year no school in North Carolina used corporal punishment, after the final two districts using it banned the practice after the 2017-18 school year.

The State Board of Education has renewed the charter for Kestrel Heights Elementary and Middle School in Durham. The school had sought a 10-year renewal, just a few years after having to close its high school because it awarded diplomas to students who had not completed the required coursework. Forty percent of its graduates were awarded these diplomas over several years.

How teachers end up in the profession, and how they progress in their careers, was a main focus of the State Board of Education's February meeting.

The State Board of Education and State School Superintendent are clashing again over a contract for a K-3 reading diagnostic tool.

The University of  North Carolina Board of Governors voted today for Interim UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz to step into the role permanently. 

The State Board of Education turned down a charter school application from a group that wants to serve indigenous students in Robeson County.

The difference between making and missing reporting deadlines for federal compliance can be slim. That’s why having personnel who do evaluations of exceptional children on staff is helpful. But many North Carolina districts can’t afford to.

Board of Education officials in Johnston County are struggling to fill an almost $9 million dollar budget shortfall.  The board will ask county commissioners for more money at the Dec. 2 meeting.

Harry Smith has announced he's resigning entirely from the UNC  System Board of Governors.

Smith stepped down as chairman in September but said at the time he planned to remain on the board.

On Monday, he said he's decided to relinquish his board seat completely in February to focus more on the private equity firm he started.

A new campus climate report shows that more than 20 percent of students surveyed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill experienced forceful or non-consensual sexual touching or penetration.  The survey was conducted at 33 leading research universities by the Association for American Universities.

Updated at 12:24 p.m.

East Carolina University's Interim Chancellor has been placed on administrative leave.

As Hurricane Dorian nears the North Carolina coast, shelters across the eastern part of the state are preparing for evacuees from coastal communities where the Governor ordered a mandatory evacuation.

At the Northgate Mall in Durham, state officials have turned a former Sears department store into a hurricane shelter. The group had set up more than 500 beds before noon and said it could add another 500 if needed.

In a letter to the State Board of Education, district superintendents say they need more time to train educators to use the new iStation program before using it to assess K-3 readers.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has named Thomas Younce as its new interim police chief.

The company that North Carolina K-3 schools used for reading assessments has filed a formal protest over the Read To Achieve contract it lost. 

It's the second time Democratic Governor Roy Cooper is proposing a budget to the General Assembly, but this time he has some negotiating power. Last time, the Republican legislature had a veto-proof majority, but now the two groups will have to find a compromise.

Teachers across the state of North Carolina who haven’t been able to pass a licensure exam could get an extension from the General Assembly.