CHAPEL HILL (September 02, 2025) – We challenge the NC Supreme Court to do the right thing for North Carolina’s children.

For nearly 30 years, North Carolina’s courts have delivered a clear verdict: every child deserves a sound, basic education guaranteed by our constitution and upheld by multiple Supreme Court rulings.

There are constitutional mandates that we cannot ignore.

•Article I, Section 15: “The people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.”

•Article IX, Section 2(1): the state must provide “a general and uniform system of public schools…”

•“Tuition shall be free of charge to all children of the State.”

Unlike other rights, the state constitution doesn’t just declare education, but it imposes a duty on the State to protect it. That is exactly what the court must do, building on earlier decisions in Leandro v. State (1997, “Leandro I”) and Hoke County Bd. of Educ. v. State (2004, “Leandro II”). As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Marbury v. Madison (1803), “it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”

These are binding constitutional mandates, written to guarantee every child, regardless of wealth or ZIP code, has access to opportunity. Vouchers and “school choice” may serve private preferences, but they do not meet the constitution’s requirement to guard and maintain a free, uniform public school system.

There’s a legacy of judicial integrity.

In 1997, Chief Justice Burley Mitchell authored the unanimous Leandro decision, declaring that the right to education “embraces a qualitative standard.” A system that fails to prepare students “to participate and compete in the society in which they live and work,” he warned, is unconstitutional.

In 2004, the Court reaffirmed that every child is entitled to “equal opportunity to receive a sound basic education.” As Chief Justice John Marshall once said, “This is a constitution we are expounding” — enforceable promises, not empty words.

The judiciary is independent for a reason.

Our founders anticipated moments like this. In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton described the judiciary as the “least dangerous branch,” tasked with upholding the constitution against political passions. Courts must have “complete independence” to be faithful to the people’s rights.

As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor warned, if courts abandon that role, they risk becoming “mere political arms” of whichever party holds power. The Leandro rulings exemplify the judiciary at its best — enforcing rights even when inconvenient. That integrity is now under test in North Carolina.

This moment is urgent.

In 2022, the NC Supreme Court ordered the legislature to fund two years of the Leandro remedial plan, which was a lifeline for students statewide.

Now many fear the court may discard precedent, ignore constitutional duty, and side with outside influencers over children. Such a decision would harm schools and undermine judicial independence.

This is the time for courage, not convenience.

We challenge the NC Supreme Court to:

•Defy expectations. Show you are not beholden to influencers, but to justice.

•Stand on the side of truth and law. Preserve the precedents that recognized education requires substance, not just access.

•Uphold the Constitution. Courts exist to protect rights, not betray them.

What’s at stake for our children?

•Classrooms need teachers, counselors, and resources.

•Rural and low-wealth students risk another generation denied opportunity.

•The legitimacy of our judicial system will suffer if precedent bends to politics.

If courts fail to enforce the right to education, then that right is nothing more than empty words. As Justice Anita Earls warned, “If our court cannot or will not enforce state constitutional rights, those rights do not exist.”

North Carolina Is watching.

History is watching. Parents, teachers, and citizens alike want to know: will justice prevail, or will outside influencers eclipse constitutional duty?

We challenge this court:

•Be independent when it counts most.

•Follow precedent. Declare what the law is.

•Make the right, honest, constitutional ruling — not the one a handful of cronies demand.

•Let this court’s “Leandro decision” be remembered as a courageous defense of our children’s future — not a cowardly surrender to power.

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To learn more about the history of the Leandro ruling, click here.