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WUNC's American Graduate Project is part of a nationwide public media conversation about the dropout crisis. We'll explore the issue through news reports, call-in programs and a forum produced with UNC-TV. Also as a part of this project we've partnered with the Durham Nativity School and YO: Durham to found the WUNC Youth Radio Club. These reports are part of American Graduate-Let’s Make it Happen!- a public media initiative to address the drop out crisis, supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and these generous funders: Project Funders:GlaxoSmithKlineThe Goodnight Educational FoundationJoseph M. Bryan Foundation State FarmThe Grable FoundationFarrington FoundationMore education stories from WUNC

Senate Plan: NC Teachers Can't Engage In Political Activity On The Job

a teacher in a classroom
Bart Everson
/
Flickr/Creative Commons

A Senate committee approved a plan on Wednesday that would keep school employees from taking part in political activity during work hours.

Senate Bill 480 would prohibit school employees from campaigning for office while they're on the job or using any work resources, like telephones or computers, for political reasons.

Bill sponsors say state employees already follow similar rules, and that the measure is intended to mirror them. Currently, North Carolina’s 115 school districts abide by different rules for its employees.

“This bill does not prevent a teacher from running for office, holding an office, supporting a candidate or advocating for an issue,” clarified Sen. Andy Wells (R-Catawba).

The bill states that teachers can't use their position to "secure support or oppose candidates, parties, or issues in an election or to encourage student advocacy for or against issues of local, state or federal policy." 

The bill has an exemption for superintendents and principals, allowing them to advocate for and against policy issues. 

Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, raised questions about what the measure would mean for teachers who participate in school PTAs, which often discuss policy-related issues. Lawmakers said they’ll likely consider an amendment and consider related issues more closely in a Senate judiciary committee. 

Reema Khrais joined WUNC in 2013 to cover education in pre-kindergarten through high school. Previously, she won the prestigious Joan B. Kroc Fellowship. For the fellowship, she spent a year at NPR where she reported nationally, produced on Weekends on All Things Considered and edited on the digital desk. She also spent some time at New York Public Radio as an education reporter, covering the overhaul of vocational schools, the contentious closures of city schools and age-old high school rivalries.
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