Policies

In the fall of 2001, the Student Citizen Act of 2001 (SL 2001-363) was passed into law by the North Carolina State Legislature. This Act requires every local board of education to develop and implement character education instruction with input from the local community. With the passage of this Act, the state of North Carolina has affirmed that the development of character in our children is the cornerstone of education. We want to provide the leadership, resources, and support to develop ethical and caring citizens. NCDPI has developed several resources to assist districts and schools with character development efforts in the past. These resources were intended to help local boards of education, school systems, schools, and communities develop high-quality education plans and strengthen existing programs

A major component to bully prevention is recognizing it when it happens. There is a legal definition for bullying in North Carolina. According to the School Violence Prevention Act that was passed into law in 2009 (Session Law 212), bullying or harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Unwanted, aggressive, and potentially harmful behavior
• Motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristics such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics.
• Involves a real or perceived power imbalance