Last week, the Wake County Superior Court granted our motion for a temporary restraining order to stop unconstitutional legislation that attempted to transfer the constitutional powers and duties of the State Board of Education to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Earlier this week, Chief Justice Mark Martin assigned a three-judge panel to hear the case. The three-judge panel was scheduled to go forward tomorrow morning (Friday, Jan. 6) with a hearing on our motion for a preliminary injunction.
Yesterday evening, however, we were contacted by state officials about the possibility of postponing the hearing and continuing the temporary restraining order. We agreed to that request. Today, the parties submitted a consent order to the three-judge panel that will continue to block the legislation until the panel can consider the merits of our constitutional challenge. A signed and filed copy of the consent order will be available tomorrow (Jan. 6).
We are pleased that the legislation continues to be blocked, and that the status quo has been maintained for the Board, the public school system, and North Carolina’s 1.5 million students.
About the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction:
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides leadership to 115 local public school districts and 160 charter schools serving over 1.5 million students in kindergarten through high school graduation. The agency is responsible for all aspects of the state's public school system and works under the direction of the North Carolina State Board of Education.