GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 570

Short Title:      K-12 Academic Freedom.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Speciale, Pittman, Ford, and Boswell (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to:	Education - K-12, if favorable, State and Local Government II

April 6, 2017

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ADOPT A POLICY OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

"(46) Duty to Ensure Academic Freedom. – The State Board of Education shall adopt a policy to be implemented by local boards of education to ensure academic freedom in the classroom. Nothing in the policy shall prohibit an educator from maintaining a safe and orderly classroom or a timely agenda. The policy shall include, at a minimum, the following elements:

a. Students and educators are encouraged to respect the ideological, political, religious, or nonreligious viewpoints held by all persons in the classroom.

b. Students and educators are permitted to engage in open dialogue, critical thinking, and the free exchange of ideas related to the content of the course.

c. A student shall not be discriminated against or mocked for the student's ideological, political, religious, or nonreligious viewpoints.

d. An educator shall not take a student's ideological, political, religious, or nonreligious viewpoints into account when evaluating the student's performance.

e. Educators may answer questions posed by students with openness and honesty."

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2017‑2018 school year.