Conventional Non-Public Schools In North Carolina By Rod Helder, Director, NC Division of Non-Public Education

        North Carolina compulsory attendance law requires that all children who are at least age 7 but not yet age 16 attend school.  Article IX, Section 3 of the North Carolina Constitution states:

        There are currently only two "other means" of satisfying the State of North Carolina compulsory attendance law:  The child attending a conventional non-public school which meets the requirements for such a school; or, the child attending a home school (taught by the parent/guardian) which meets the requirements for that type of non-public school.  This article will discuss the first of these two alternatives to public school attendance -- conventional non-public schools.

        The NC Division of Non-Public Education is the official North Carolina state government agency authorized by law to deal with all non-public schools enrolling students of compulsory attendance age as well as related issues.  For agency history and purpose, consult the About Us section of this web site.
 

Evolution Of Regulatory Laws

        In 1977, Calvin L. Criner, who directed this agency for twenty-one years until his retirement, wrote an article entitled Non-Public Schools In North Carolina.  It details much of the earliest history of North Carolina's non-public schools.  A large portion of that article is available at this web site.

        Even though North Carolina's statewide compulsory attendance statutes date back at least as far as 1919, there were no state government general statutes prior to 1925 specifically governing non-public schools.  From 1925 until 1955, the only general statutes mentioning non-public schools were found in the compulsory attendance section.  The specific requirements at that time were minimal.  There was no non-public school state government agency.  Non-public schools usually answered to local boards of education.
 

Government Regulation Increases

        Soon after the 1954 US Supreme Court decision requiring public school integration, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the Pearsall Plan.  It was essentially a voucher program to provide funding for student attendance at non-public schools in order to avoid anticipated racial strife envisioned as a result of the public school integration mandate.  Since participating non-public schools would be the recipients of state government funds, the plan for the first time established a separate non-public school section of the North Carolina General Statutes.  There were a number of accountability standards including curriculum approval as well as teacher certification requirements.  See the Criner article for specifics.  The first North Carolina state government non-public school office was established in 1961 within the Department of Public Instruction.  The Pearsall Plan resulted in a major expansion of state government regulation of non-public schools.  During a press conference, as reported in the April 2, 1979 edition of the Raleigh News & Observer, then Governor James B. Hunt commented:

        The voucher portion of the Pearsall Plan was apparently never implemented although it remained a part of the North Carolina General Statutes for more than thirteen years until it was repealed in 1969.  However, the non-public school regulatory portion of the Pearsall Plan was not.
 

Non-Public School Unrest In The 1970's

        According to the Criner article, with the spreading of North Carolina public schools statewide by the 1930's, many non-public schools either closed their doors; were absorbed into the public school system; or, established college programs instead.  The number of non-public schools decreased and then remained relatively constant up through the 1950's.  Of those non-public schools operating in North Carolina today, less than 50 of them were founded prior to the 1940's.  In the 1960's and 1970's, however, parent demand precipitated a re-birth of the non-public school movement.  This renewed interest was driven primarily by three factors:

        The removal of prayer and Bible reading from the public schools resulted in the formation of numerous Christian schools.  Parents desiring an education for their children with a traditional religious perspective rather than with the changing philosophical perspective of the public schools demanded that ministers and religious leaders establish Christian schools.  As their numbers increased, Christian school leaders soon realized that the non-public school regulatory system (established as part of the 1955-56 era Pearsall Plan) was going to be a major obstacle to the operation of their schools.  They found themselves (like their counterparts in various other states and regions of the country) now being forced to accept public school standards, philosophies and requirements that conflicted with their religious beliefs and instructional system.  Their three main concerns were:  The concept of state approval of church ministries (specifically, the operation of their school ministries); teacher certification (NC was one of only six states requiring it of non-public schools); and student competency testing (NC was only one of two states requiring it).

        Christian school leaders, along with other non-public school leaders, approached members of the General Assembly sharing their concerns about the state's regulatory system.  The 1973 session saw the passage of Resolution 183 (Senate Joint Resolution 1485).  It established the Commission On Public And Private Schools.  Senator Thomas E. Strickland was appointed chairman of the eight member commission.  Committee membership included Dr. Ed Ulrich, one of the leaders of the state Christian school movement.  The Commission met on eleven occasions, all in open sessions.  On two occasions, its work generated so much interest that its meeting had to be moved to rooms with larger seating capacities.  The Commission was directed to investigate three areas:

        A copy of a petition to the General Assembly was presented to the Commission supported by 10,000 signatures seeking non-public school relief from any connection with public schools and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  After hearing testimony from a wide range of speakers representing varying perspectives and then deliberating on the issues involved, the commission released its report in 1975 with sixteen recommendations.

        The conflict continued, though, and problems worsened.  By the fall of 1977, a number of Christian schools refused to file their annual fall reports for approval; the Department of Public Instruction mailed its 195 page Course of Study to non-public schools setting forth minimum standards; and, it appeared that student competency test requirements would include non-public schools (which it later did).  At a public hearing in Raleigh concerning the forthcoming State Board of Education's vote to include non-public schools in its student competency test requirements, 1200 non-public school supporters showed up.  Of the 68 speakers at the hearing, only two spoke in favor of including non-public schools in the student competency testing program requirements.  In January 1978, several Christian school administrators appeared before the State Board of Education to renounce the concept of approval of church ministries.  At its March 1978 meeting, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to give the non-public schools three weeks to meet their requirements or face court action.  In April 1978, the Department of Public Instruction chose eleven non-public schools and others and filed a class action suit in court in an attempt to force compliance to state policies and requirements.  At the pre-trial hearing in Raleigh, a crowd of peaceful non-public school demonstrators estimated by law enforcement officials at 5,000 waited respectfully in front of the Wake County Courthouse.  A spirited four day July 1978 courtroom confrontation in North Carolina v. Columbus Christian Academy, et. al. resulted in statewide media interest.  Two other state Christian school leaders -- Pastors Kent Kelly and Dan Carr -- spent much time traveling the state educating the media and others as well as researching and writing about the issues involved in the conflict.  Several newspaper editorials supported the non-public school position.  Even national media attention was focused on the events.  Constitutional lawyer William B. Ball represented the Christian schools.  One of the non-public school leaders later wrote:  "In the North Carolina case, the State based its primary argument on an overriding compelling State interest in assuring 'the right of every child to an education'.  Our intention was to show, without question, that the State has proven its own inability to do this in the public schools."

        During the 1979 General Assembly session, non-public school leaders presented two Senate bills (383 and 526) for consideration in an attempt to resolve matters.  As a result of statewide media interest and considerable non-public school lobbying efforts by both the religious as well as the independent schools, both bills were ratified in late April and early May of 1979.  Together they comprise what is known today as Parts 1 and 2 of Article 39 -- North Carolina's non-public education statutes.  Senate bill 383 known as the "Christian School Bill" (Part 1 of Article 39) cleared the State Senate with a final 47-1 vote and the State House 90-16.  Its companion bill, Senate bill 526 (Part 2 of Article 39) passed the State Senate with a final vote also of 47-1 and a final State House vote of 69-32.

        Prior to final passage of the two non-public school Senate bills, the Greensboro Record in its lead editorial entitled "Deregulating The Schools" in its April 2, 1979 edition observed:

        The newly enacted non-public school statutes ultimately mooted the court case; de-regulated non-public schools; and, transferred the state government non-public school office from Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education jurisdiction to the Office of the Governor.  At the recommendation of non-public school leaders, Governor Hunt asked Calvin Criner to continue as head of the new non-public school office.  The office remained in the Office of the Governor until it was transferred on July 1, 1998 to the North Carolina Department of Administration, a department controlled by the Governor.
 

Today’s Conventional Non-Public School Laws

        Today, non-public schools are required to meet only the requirements of the North Carolina General Statutes -- Article 39 of Chapter 115C.  There are no non-public school administrative rules or regulations governing their legal existence.  These statutes do not address textbook or curriculum approval nor do they require teacher certification or school accreditation.  They do, however, require:  That building codes are met; annual nationally standardized testing; a high school graduation standard; a nine month school year; and, student attendance and immunization record maintenance.  The current statutes allow freedom to be more innovative in serving students and parents but at the same time empower the NC Division of Non-Public Education to perform annual on-site record inspections of each non-public school.  Each school is currently visited during its initial and second years of operation.  Follow-up visits are scheduled every second or third year thereafter -- provided a Non-Public School Annual Report form is filed voluntarily with the division during the years when a visit would otherwise not be scheduled.  Today's statutes make reasonable demands of the schools and are working well.  Since 1979, there has been no litigation involving conventional non-public schools.

        In 1997, the General Assembly created a student driving eligibility certificate program in an effort to curb public school "dropouts."  It began with the 1998-99 school year.  Simply stated, a person under age 18 who does not yet possess a high school diploma but desires a North Carolina drivers license, must acquire this special certificate from the principal of the North Carolina school in which the student is enrolled (public or non-public).  The principal will not issue a certificate to those students who are not making progress toward graduation.  The principal also has the authority to revoke the certificate at any time for unsatisfactory student grades.  The law was expanded starting with the 00-01 school year to empower principals to also withhold or revoke driving certificates for assaulting school personnel; and possession, use or sale of a weapon or drugs on a school campus.  The division assisted with the rules needed to administer this program.  The division's web site section Student Driving Eligibility Certificate Requirements outlines this program for non-public schools.
 

Statistics

        Since a state government non-public school agency did not exist until 1961, statistics are only available from that year to the present.  In a typical year, about 70% of today's non-public schools classify themselves as religious schools.  About 70% offer up to and including grades 7 and/or 8; about 55% offer up to and including grades 9 and/or 10; and, about 45% offer all grades up to and including 11 or 12.  There have been steady statewide enrollment increases each year since 1965 except for a decline from the 83-84 through the 88-89 school terms.

        During the 2000-2001 school term, 325 conventional non-public schools (including 28 new ones) were visited.  Division staff members drove 14,680 miles to conduct the visits and to inspect student nationally standardized test result scores and certain other records.
 

Observations About Schools

        Conventional non-public schools in North Carolina constitute a diverse group.  A statewide sampling includes:

        There are currently several conventional non-public school organizations based in North Carolina.

        Parents considering enrolling a child in a conventional non-public school are encouraged to read the article at this web site entitled Selecting A Non-Public School.

        Conventional non-public schools vary numerically in enrollment as well as philosophically.  Each has its own distinctives, has a clearly defined mission/purpose and caters to a specific type of educational clientele.  Each emphasizes unique characteristics about its program and is selective in its student admissions policies.  Most offer a quality education.  Parents (educational consumers) make great personal sacrifice -- paying taxes as well as tuition -- in order to provide their children an education consistent with their values, family practices and long-range goals for their children.  Most are very satisfied with the quality of the "finished educational product."  Conventional non-public schools have made significant academic gains in recent years.  Graduates of conventional non-public high schools operating in North Carolina have had no difficulty gaining admission to college, have usually succeeded well while there and are enjoying productive lives.

        In March 1998, the State Board of Education voted to end its school accreditation program effective June 30, 2000 for those non-public schools wishing to voluntarily participate in it.  As long as a non-public school is listed in the division's annual on-line publication of the NC Directory of Non-Public Schools, (indicative that the school is meeting state laws and is therefore a legally valid school) colleges and schools usually accept student transfer credits from North Carolina non-public schools.

        The Division of Non-Public Education does not gather information from non-public schools concerning their financing.  The schools are usually supported by tuition, gifts from interested friends and patrons as well as endowments.  Tuition cost information may be obtained by directly contacting the individual schools.  They are listed by counties in our NC Directory of Non-Public Schools.
 

Future Outlook And Trends

        We are often asked why there has been such an increased parental interest in non-public schools in recent decades.  The answer lies within the many changes that have taken place in the basic fabric of our American culture.  Some of these include transitions from:

• A religiously based to a secular based society;
• A stronger family structure to a weaker one;
• A disciplined to a permissive society; and,
• A weaker economy to a stronger one.

        Continued non-public school statewide growth is quite likely.  Increased government regulation will not be needed as long as non-public schools continue to produce or exceed the quality of its recent graduates.

        Historically, the State of North Carolina has NOT provided state government funds or services to non-public schools -- except Driver Education; however, it does provide limited state funding to private colleges and universities.  While vouchers for non-public school attendance have been discussed in recent sessions of the General Assembly, no future legislative action is expected.  Many educators and policy makers are concerned about the potential bureaucracy needed to administer such a program and a possible loss of public school funding.  Non-public school leaders are concerned that government funding usually brings with it more governmental control which in turn stifles independence, educational diversity, creativity and innovation.   Charter schools, however, are available in North Carolina.  They are privately operated public schools which have more operational independence than a typical public school.  State tax credits to parents for non-public school tuition may ultimately be considered in future legislative sessions.
 

Conclusion

        In North Carolina, relationships between state government and the conventional non-public school community have improved dramatically since the 1970’s.

        The general "rule of thumb" followed by the North Carolina General Assembly in recent years has been and continues to be:  No state funding or services to non-public schools; therefore, less government regulation is demanded.  Competition in the "educational marketplace" with public schools (which statewide currently enroll about 90% of the children of compulsory attendance age) will help insure consistent conventional non-public school quality in a more productive and efficient manner.

Published by:

NC Division of Non-Public Education
1309 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1309
(919) 733-4276
www.ncdnpe.org                                                                Heritage Page

April, 2001