Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its policy statement on corporal punishment in the public schools, calling for the practice to be abolished in all states by law and replaced by alternative forms of student behavior management.
The energy transition could help our democracy flourish. But, in North Carolina, powerful industries and their political allies are doing everything they can to roll back progress – wasting our money and keeping us locked into an outdated and polluting fossil fuel economy.
Imagine yourself in the following situation: Your children lack decent clothing and shoes and depend on reduced-price school meals to meet their weekly nutrition requirements.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking. More than two months ago in this space, I explained why a seemingly innocuous state House bill is actually a hugely dangerous example of big government treading in an area in which it has no rightful place.
What determines who knows best how to keep our communities safe? Is it a mandate from voters to prioritize certain policies? Is it expertise in law enforcement leadership?
In recent years, state courts have been rare bright spots in the fight against gerrymandering, with voters around the country successfully using state constitutions to challenge politically skewed voting maps drawn by both major parties.
In March, an appeals court affirmed the historic $75 million in damages that a jury granted to Henry McCollum and Leon Brown, brothers who were sentenced to death in Robeson County in 1983 and spent 30 years in prison for a murder they didn’t commit, and who’s case was plagued by systemic racism.
When compared to the current school year, total state funding for public schools would increase just 0.7 percent under the House budget.
North Carolina elected leaders have enacted several ineffective and misleading laws over the years, but when it comes to undermining public confidence in government and taking advantage of vulnerable people, the badly misnamed “education lottery” has to be near the bottom of any “worst of” list.
Two weeks ago, the UNC Board of Trustees arrived in Chapel Hill hellbent on launching yet another salvo in the campus Culture Wars.
