Peter Rawitsch News Today

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Tuesday night's school board meeting demonstrated a bitter divide over a book outlining a history of racist ideas in America.

Some education advocates say more needs to be done to address underlying mental health issues.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The amendments that would further restrict the use of seclusion and restraint in New Hanover County Schools are now in writing; however…

At Tuesday’s New Hanover County School Board meeting, members voted 6 to 1, with Chair Stephanie Kraybill dissenting, to put a discussion on the agenda for the district’s policy on seclusion and restraint — and tackled a host of other issues, including the district's definition of 'fondling' and the controversial calendar debate.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Community complaints over using seclusion and restraint in New Hanover County schools continued last night as school board members received…

At the Tuesday, April 5, New Hanover County Board of Education meeting, board members voted unanimously to end the suspensions of students under 8 years old, except in the cases of weapons, drugs, and violent assaults. The new rule will be effective starting next school year.

The school board voted down a proposal to end out-of-school suspensions for some students starting at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

For the last year, advocates have called for a ban on suspensions of 4-to-7-year old students, with exceptions for extreme cases like gun and drug possession, and violence. Board members generally support ending the practice, but the majority argued that staff and administration need more time to develop disciplinary alternatives to suspension.

In just under a year, Love Our Children has grown from two passionate educators to dozens of advocates pushing to end out-of-school suspensions.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Coming off a difficult 2020, the freshly elected leadership to the New Hanover County Board of Education was hopeful they could regain the…