Legislative

LEGISLATIVE TEAM

• Lucy Wilcox, Advocacy & Governance Director, lucywilcox@ncslma.org  
• Michelle Green, Legislative Coordinator, michellegreen@ncslma.org

SB49 became law on August 16, 2023. Commonly referred to as the Parents' Bill of Rights, this law will impact our school libraries in two significant ways.

115C-76.25(a). Parents have legal rights with regard to their child's education, including the following: (12) the right to review all available records of materials their child has borrowed from a school library. History is of course available in Destiny, but not every district has had that feature activated. Districts will now be required to have that feature activated, and information will be shared with parents on how to access their child's checkout history. 

15C-76.55 Age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade. Instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade, regardless of whether the information is provided by school personnel or third parties. For the purposes of this section, curriculum includes the standard course of study and support materials, locally developed curriculum, supplemental instruction, and textbooks and other supplementary materials, but does not include responses to student-initiated questions. In general terms, your K-4 read alouds and instruction should not include books or other materials related to gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality.