A parental rights organization is warning North Carolina families that some schools are allegedly disregarding state law governing instruction on “gender identity” and parental notification.
In a January press release emailed to Zeale, the United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE) said some teachers and administrators are ignoring provisions of the state’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which requires schools to notify parents if a student requests a change in name or pronouns. The same legislation also prohibits instructing students in kindergarten through 4th Grade about “gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality.”
“Parents, be warned. Teachers and administrators are ignoring state laws passed to protect children from harmful gender ideology,” USPIE Michigan chapter president and board member Melanie Kurdys said. “These people honestly believe it is their obligation to teach very young children that they can change the body they were born into.”
The warnings come amid ongoing scrutiny of the state’s Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, where lawmakers have questioned whether the district’s officials are fully complying with the law. According to CBS-affiliate WRAL News, local officials appeared before the North Carolina House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform on Dec. 10, 2025, amid accusations that the district has failed to implement Senate Bill 49, which became law in 2023 over a veto by then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.
During the hearing, Committee Chair and House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, a Republican, accused the district of selectively enforcing the law and “indoctrinating” students, WRAL reported. Jones cited past statements by Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board Chair George Griffin, who in January 2024 described the legislation as “discriminatory” and indicated the board would not enforce it to avoid legitimizing bias, according to the outlet. State Republican Sen. Phil Berger later shared a clip of Griffin making those comments.
WRAL also reported that in a February 2024 email, Griffin said the board voted to adopt the law as policy but excluded provisions related to classroom discussions and notifying parents about changes to a student’s pronouns.
Griffin and Superintendent Rodney Trice defended the district’s policies during the hearing, saying they are fully compliant with state law. They said the district has established guidelines for “guided conversations” with students before notifying parents about name or pronoun changes, according to The Federalist.
USPIE also pointed to a March 2025 ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court in the case of Happel v. Guilford County Board of Education, which affirmed parental rights as fundamental in matters of a child’s healthcare. The case stemmed from a dispute over a student being subjected to a COVID-19 shot without parental consent.
In its release, USPIE urged families dissatisfied with school policies to consider homeschooling while their children’s “innocence is still intact.”