Text of NC H 1043 (2026)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H D HOUSE BILL DRH30536-NGa-136A Short Title: CHCCS Act. (Public) Sponsors: Representative B. Jones. Referred to: *DRH30536-NGa-136A* A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 AN ACT TO AMEND PUBLIC SCHOOL UNIT REQUIREMENTS REGARDING CERTAIN 2 PARENTAL RIGHTS, TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN REMEDIES AND COMPLIANCE 3 ACTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 7B OF CHAPTER 115C OF THE 4 GENERAL STATUTES, TO PROVIDE FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACCESS TO 5 SCHOOL PERSONNEL RECORDS, TO ADD A RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STATE 6 AUDITOR TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS INTO VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 7B 7 OF CHAPTER 115C OF THE GENERAL STATUTES BY PUBLIC SCHOOL UNITS, 8 AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THOSE PURPOSES. 9 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 10 11 PART I. TITLE 12 SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Curriculum Honesty, 13 Compliance, and Child Safety (CHCCS) Act. 14 15 PART II. AMEND PUBLIC SCHOOL UNIT REQUIREMENTS 16 SECTION 2.1. G.S. 115C-76.25(a) is amended by adding the following new 17 subdivisions to read: 18 "(13) The right to consent to official changes to their child's name, gender 19 designation, or identity within school records. The school shall not change 20 these without first receiving consent from a parent. 21 (14) The right to access the educational records, as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, 22 of their child. These include counseling records, intervention records, 23 behavioral and support plans, and communications with third parties 24 regarding the student." 25 SECTION 2.2. G.S. 115C-76.45(a) reads as rewritten: 26 "(a) The governing body of a public school unit shall adopt procedures to notify a parent 27 of the following: 28 (1) At the beginning of each school year, notice of each health care service offered 29 at his or her child's school and the means for the parent to provide consent for 30 any specific service. A parent's consent to a health care service does not waive 31 the parent's right to access his or her child's educational records or health 32 records or to be notified of changes in his or her child's services or monitoring. 33 (2) At the beginning of each school year, procedures to exercise the parental 34 remedies provided by G.S. 115C-76.60. 35 H.B. 1043 Apr 23, 2026 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Page 2 DRH30536-NGa-136A (3) Prior to administration to students in kindergarten through third grade, a copy 1 of any student well-being questionnaire or health screening form and the 2 means for the parent to consent to the use of the questionnaire or form for his 3 or her child. 4 (4) Prior to or contemporaneous with changes, notice of changes in services or 5 monitoring related to his or her child's mental, emotional, or physical health 6 or well-being and the school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning 7 environment for that child. 8 (5) Prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school 9 records or by school personnel, notice to the parent of the change.change and 10 receive parental consent for the change pursuant to G.S. 115C-76.25(a)(13). 11 The following are examples of changes in name use by school personnel: 12 a. Teacher or administrator, by request of the student, calls a student by 13 a name other than the student's first or middle name. 14 b. Teacher or administrator uses a name other than the student's first or 15 middle name on any certificate, award, or other document. 16 (6) Prior to the school taking action involving sensitive matters related to the 17 child, schools shall provide written notice to parents of the sensitive matter. 18 The following is a nonexhaustive list of sensitive matters related to a child: 19 a. The child receiving counseling services related to the student's 20 sexuality or gender identity. 21 b. Referral to outside service providers related to the following: 22 1. Mental health of the student. 23 2. Emotional well-being of the student. 24 3. Sexuality or gender identity of the student. 25 c. Classroom or school-wide discussions regarding gender identity." 26 SECTION 2.3. G.S. 115C-76.55 reads as rewritten: 27 "§ 115C-76.55. Age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade. 28 Instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality shall not be included in the 29 curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade, regardless of whether the 30 information is provided by school personnel or third parties. For the purposes of this section, 31 curriculum includes (i) the standard course of study and support materials, (ii) locally developed 32 curriculum, (iii) supplemental instruction, (iv) any electronic, print, or non-print resources for 33 independent use by students and school personnel and not used as part of the standard course of 34 study for any grade or course, and (v) textbooks and other supplementary materials, but does not 35 include responses to student-initiated questions. Teachers teaching students in kindergarten 36 through fourth grade shall not use any third-party resources for instruction, including 37 instructional materials, supplementary materials, or websites, except those provided by the public 38 school unit." 39 40 PART III. REMEDIES AND COMPLIANCE ACTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF 41 ARTICLE 7B OF CHAPTER 115C OF THE GENERAL STATUTES 42 SECTION 3.1. Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 43 adding a new Part to read: 44 "Part 2. Legal Remedies. 45 "§ 115C-76.10. Remedies for violations of this Part. 46 (a) Civil Remedies. – In addition to any other remedies or procedures provided by law, 47 for any violation of this Article, a parent may bring a cause of action against the public school 48 unit for any of the following forms of relief: 49 (1) Declaratory relief. 50 (2) Injunctive relief. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 DRH30536-NGa-136A Page 3 (3) Damages of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. 1 (4) Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. 2 (5) Any other appropriate relief as determined by the court. 3 (b) Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies. – Prior to filing a legal challenge pursuant 4 to subsection (a) of this section, a parent shall exhaust all administrative remedies available 5 pursuant to this Chapter." 6 SECTION 3.2.(a) Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended 7 by adding a new Part to read: 8 "Part 10. Investigative Authority and Public School Unit Accountability. 9 "§ 115C-76.150. Authority to investigate violations of this Article. 10 (a) The following entities may conduct independent investigations into noncompliance 11 with this Article: 12 (1) The Department of Public Instruction. 13 (2) The Office of the State Auditor. 14 (b) An entity referenced in subsection (a) of this section may perform any of the following 15 functions as part of an independent investigation pursuant to subsection (a) of this section: 16 (1) Conduct audits. 17 (2) Review public school unit policies and records, not including student 18 information protected pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy 19 Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. 20 (3) Interview personnel employed by the public school unit, including 21 contractors, temporary, or interim employees. 22 (4) Issue formal findings of noncompliance with this Article. 23 (c) A formal finding by an entity referenced in subsection (a) of this section of 24 noncompliance with this Article triggers the accountability measures provided in 25 G.S. 115C-76.155. Concurrence by another entity referenced in subsection (a) of this section is 26 not required. 27 "§ 115C-76.155. Public school unit accountability measures. 28 Upon a formal finding by an entity referenced in subsection (a) of G.S. 115C-76.150 of 29 noncompliance with this Article by a public school unit, the following shall occur: 30 (1) The entity that issued the formal finding of noncompliance shall issue notice 31 to the following entities: 32 a. The noncompliant public school unit. 33 b. Each other entity referenced in subsection (a) of G.S. 115C-76.150. 34 c. The State Board of Education. 35 d. The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. 36 e. The Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. 37 (2) The noncompliant public school unit has a cure period of 45 days from the 38 date that the formal finding of noncompliance is received by the noncompliant 39 public school unit during which the public school unit shall take steps to cure 40 its noncompliance, as stated in the formal finding issued pursuant to 41 G.S. 115C-76.150. The State Auditor may grant a single 30-day extension to 42 the cure period upon submission by the public school unit of evidence of 43 substantial progress toward a cure of the noncompliance to the State Auditor. 44 For purposes of this section, "cure" means submitting documented evidence 45 demonstrating corrective action for each instance of noncompliance found 46 during investigations conducted pursuant to G.S. 115C-76.150. The following 47 is a nonexhaustive list of types of evidence that may be submitted to the State 48 Auditor as proof of cure: 49 a. Revised public school unit policies that correct any policies that are 50 noncompliant with this Article. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Page 4 DRH30536-NGa-136A b. Resolutions or minutes adopted by the governing body of a public 1 school unit showing it has corrected all instances of noncompliance 2 with this Article. 3 c. Updated public-facing materials that are compliant with this Article. 4 d. Training records that show faculty and staff have been trained in a 5 manner compliant with this Article. 6 e. Evidence of the removal of any of the following that are noncompliant 7 with this Article: 8 1. Support material. 9 2. Locally developed curriculum. 10 3. Supplemental instruction. 11 4. Electronic, print, or non-print resource for independent use by 12 students and school personnel and not used as part of the 13 standard course of study for any grade or course, whether held 14 in a formal school library or in a classroom. 15 5. Textbook or other supplementary material. 16 f. Affidavit submitted under penalty of perjury by the superintendent that 17 all actions listed in this subdivision have been completed. 18 (3) The State Auditor shall review any evidence of cure submitted pursuant to 19 subdivision (2) of this section within 30 days of receipt. The State Auditor 20 shall make a determination as to whether a noncompliant public school unit 21 has made sufficient changes to comply with this Article based on any evidence 22 of cure submitted by the public school unit. If a public school unit does not 23 submit evidence of cure prior to the end of the cure period, the State Auditor 24 shall issue a determination that the public school unit has not made sufficient 25 changes to be compliant with this Article. A determination that the public 26 school unit has not made sufficient changes to be compliant with this Article 27 by the end of the cure period pursuant to subdivision (2) of this section shall 28 lead to the withholding of State funds pursuant to subdivision (4) of this 29 section. The State Auditor shall send notice of the determination to the 30 following entities: 31 a. The Department of Public Instruction. 32 b. The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. 33 c. The Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. 34 d. If the noncompliant public school unit is a local school administrative 35 unit, regional school, or laboratory school, the superintendent of the 36 public school unit, as defined in G.S. 115C-76.1. 37 e. If the noncompliant public school unit is a residential school, the 38 superintendent of the residential school, as defined in G.S. 115C-76.1, 39 and the Director of the Budget. 40 (4) Beginning with the end of the cure period, upon a determination by the State 41 Auditor that a noncompliant public school unit has not made sufficient 42 changes to be compliant with this Article, the entity responsible for allocating 43 funds to the public school unit shall withhold from the noncompliant public 44 school unit funding, or assess administrative penalties equivalent to the 45 amount to be withheld, until the State Auditor determines that the public 46 school unit is no longer noncompliant and provides notice to the entity. 47 Funding shall be withheld as follows: 48 a. For a local school administrative unit, funds from the central office 49 administration allotment. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 DRH30536-NGa-136A Page 5 b. For a charter school, regional school, or laboratory school, an amount 1 equal to the per pupil equivalent of the central office administration 2 allotment allocated to the school from the local school administrative 3 unit in which the charter school, regional school, or laboratory school 4 is located for each child enrolled in the charter school, regional school, 5 or laboratory school. 6 c. For a residential school operating under Article 9C of this Chapter, 7 upon receipt of notice from the State Board that a residential school is 8 noncompliant with this Article pursuant to subdivision (3) of this 9 section, the Director of the Budget shall withhold from the residential 10 school the percentage of funds allocated to the residential school 11 equivalent to the percentage of State funds received by the local school 12 administrative unit where the residential school is located from the 13 central office administration allotment when compared to the total 14 amount of State funds received by the local school administrative unit 15 where the residential school is located. 16 (5) A public school unit may continue to submit evidence of cure to the State 17 Auditor to show sufficient changes to be compliant with this Article beyond 18 the cure period. The State Auditor shall continue to evaluate evidence of cure 19 submitted by a public school unit until the State Auditor makes a 20 determination that the public school unit is compliant with this Article. 21 (6) Upon a determination by the State Auditor that a noncompliant public school 22 unit has made sufficient changes to be compliant with this Article after the 23 end of the cure period, any funds withheld shall be released to the public 24 school unit and any administrative penalties assessed shall be forgiven." 25 SECTION 3.2.(b) G.S. 115C-218.105(a2) reads as rewritten: 26 "(a2) The State Board shall withhold or reduce distribution of funds to a charter school if 27 any of the following applies: 28 … 29 (4) An entity submits a formal finding of noncompliance with Article 7B of this 30 Chapter by the charter school pursuant to G.S. 115C-76.150 and the charter 31 school does not provide sufficient evidence of cure to the State Auditor during 32 the cure period pursuant to G.S. 115C-76.155(2) resulting in the State Auditor 33 determining that the charter school is noncompliant pursuant to 34 G.S. 115C-76.155(3)." 35 36 PART IV. GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACCESS TO SCHOOL PERSONNEL RECORDS 37 SECTION 4. G.S. 115C-321(a) reads as rewritten: 38 "§ 115C-321. Confidential information in personnel files; access to information. 39 (a) All information contained in a personnel file, except as otherwise provided in this 40 Chapter, is confidential and shall not be open for inspection and examination except to any of the 41 following persons: 42 … 43 (7) The General Assembly or any committee of the General Assembly upon 44 issuance of a subpoena by the General Assembly or any committee of the 45 General Assembly for the personnel file." 46 47 PART V. RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE AUDITOR 48 SECTION 5. G.S. 147-64.6(c) is amended by adding the following new subdivisions 49 to read: 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Page 6 DRH30536-NGa-136A "(25) The Auditor may make independent investigations of public school units for 1 compliance with Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes pursuant 2 to G.S. 115C-76.150. 3 (26) The Auditor shall perform the duties required by G.S. 115C-76.155." 4 5 PART VI. APPROPRIATIONS 6 SECTION 6. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 7 Public Instruction the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 8 2026-2027 fiscal year to implement the provisions of this act. 9 10 PART VII. EFFECTIVE DATE 11 SECTION 7. This act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 12