The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed Senate Bill 49—Parents Bill of Rights. This act was voted on to enumerate the rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health of minor children. Pre-existing Board Policy and SCS practices address many of these rights. Citations to existing Board policies on the same subject matter are included below.

As more information and guidance about the Parents’ Bill of Rights is made available from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, we will post it on this page.

The Surry County Schools Board of Education maintains its commitment to honoring the rights of parents/legal guardians.  It is the belief of Surry County Schools that parents are the number one teacher for their children, and that parent involvement in our district is a critical function in the education of students.  This webpage contains important information relating to the rights of parents/guardians and the promotion of parental involvement in our schools.

According to the “Parents’ Bill of Rights (Senate Bill 49),” parents have legal rights with regard to their child's education, including the following:

1) The right to consent or withhold consent for participation in reproductive health and safety education programs, consistent with the requirements of G.S. 115C-81.30.

• SCS Practice: Parent permission letter sent home

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 3540 Comprehensive Health Education Program

2) The right to seek a medical or religious exemption from immunization requirements, consistent with the requirements of G.S. 130A-156 and G.S. 130A-157.

• SCS Practice: School nurses work with parents and NCDHHS

• Corresponding Policies: G.S. 130a-440 Health Assessments for Children in the Public Schools, SCSSB 4110

3) The right to review statewide standardized assessment results as part of the State report card.

• SCS Practice: Share results on district website and school websites via School Improvement Plans, via press release, present results to the Board of Education and School Leadership, link to school report cards available on NC DPI website

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 3410 Testing and Assessment Program

4) The right to request an evaluation of their child for an academically or intellectually gifted program, or for identification as a child with a disability, as provided in Article 9 of this Chapter.

• SCS Practice: Meet with parents to address the request. 

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 1310/4002 Parental Involvement, 3101 Dual Enrollment, 3420 Student Promotion and Accountability

5) The right to inspect and purchase public school unit textbooks and other supplementary instructional materials, as provided in Part 3 of Article 8 of this Chapter.

• SCS Practice:: Parents can access teacher resources and lesson plans on our learning management system (Canvas)

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 3210 Parental Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials 

6) The right to access information relating to the unit's policies for promotion or retention, including high school graduation requirements.

• SCS Practice: Parent Orientation, Parent Conferences, Report Cards, Progress Reports, At-Risk Letters

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 3420 Student Promotion and Accountability, 3460 Graduation Requirements, 3400-R Evaluation of Student Progress

7) The right to receive student report cards on a regular basis that clearly depict and grade the student's academic performance in each class or course, the student's conduct, and the student's attendance.

• SCS Practice: Quarterly Progress Reports, Report Cards, Parent Conferences, At-Risk Letters, Attendance Letters

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 1310/4002 Parental Involvement, 3400-R Evaluation of Student Progress

8) The right to access information relating to the State public education system, State standards, report card requirements, attendance requirements, and textbook requirements.

• SCS Practice: Report Cards, Attendance Letters, Student Handbook Information

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 1310/4002 Parental Involvement, 3400-R Evaluation of Student Progress, 4400 Attendance

9) The right to participate in parent-teacher organizations.

• SCS Practice: Set up parent sign-up stations at orientation, Provide notices of PTO/Booster meetings 

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 1310/4002 Parental Involvement, 1320/3560 Parent and Family Engagement, 5010 Parent Organization 

10) The right to opt in to certain data collection for their child, as provided in Part 5 of this Article and Article 29 of this Chapter.

• SCS Practice: Parent Permission Form Reviewed at Orientation

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 4720 Survey of Students

11) The right for students to participate in protected student information surveys only with parental consent, as provided in Part 5 of this Article.

• SCS Practice: Parent Permission Form Reviewed at Orientation, Survey Questions made available on SCS Website

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 4720 Survey of Students

12) The right to review all available records of materials their child has borrowed from a school library.

• SCS Practice: Parent can request a report from Media Specialist

• Corresponding SCSSB Policies: 3210 Parental Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials