MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — North Carolina schools have seen a wave of new legislation impacting the classroom. They range from what kind of books teachers are allowed to have in the classroom to what kind of conversations they can have with students.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill said she recognizes politics’ place in education.
"I have an understanding of the way that politics plays into K to 12 education," Hill said in an exclusive one-on-one interview with WCNC Charlotte's Shamarria Morrison. "We have an elected school board. We have elected legislators, we have an elected governor."
Elected positions come with costs for education. Some are seen as positive others as negatives.
West Charlotte High School senior Malachi Thompson said students are not blind to the spotlight on education in politics.
"Oftentimes, we forget about the students' voices," Thompson said. "And all we do is remember the parents and the teachers, but students have stories too."
Sharing students’ stories is why Thompson is part of Superintendent Hill’s student advisory team.
"My first encounter with her where she asked me a question, she said, 'What do the students want?'" Thompson said.
Thompson said political decisions by the General Assembly have hurt his classmates.
"I share a classroom with some of our LGBTQ community, and they just don't feel safe," Thompson said.
Over the summer, state lawmakers filed multiple bills aimed at transgender youth ranging from sports to medical care. Previously stalled legislation that limited LGBTQ+ instruction in North Carolina public schools was also passed this year.
"They don't feel safe, they don't feel heard, they don't feel seen," Thompson said. "Most of our students don't feel seen in the classroom. So once we provide that opportunity for them to be seen, heard, and viewed, then they can feel comfortable to sit in their classrooms and learn."
Hill previously said the district will follow the law while making sure all students feel welcome.
Hill told WCNC Charlotte that her goal is to always put students first and to keep her hands out of politics.
"I think the best way to do that is keep the main thing, the main thing," Hill said. "Schools were designed and developed to impact positively. Student achievement. Plain and simple, right?"
The district has already seen a hiccup with new laws enacted by the N.C. General Assembly.
An email circulated to a few school principals telling them not to participate in Banned Books Week due to the Parents’ Bill of Rights. The mandate received international attention and CMS later backtracked on this email.
A district spokesperson told WCNC Charlotte in October, "We are not taking a position on banned book week as it is a site-based decision. It is not a violation or in any way associated with [the] Parents Bill of Rights. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns."
CMS has also seen a rise in controversial book challenges due to a provision in the Parent's Bill of Rights.
Another student of the superintendent's advisory team said he saw the impacts of the Parent's Bill of Rights immediately.
"It impacted me directly from the first day of school," Chase Howard, a CMS junior said. "My legal first name is David correct? But my middle name is Chase."
The Parents Bill of Rights is a wide-encompassing law, but one of its most controversial parts is requiring parents to be informed if their child wants to change their name or wants to use pronouns to refer to themselves.
"It's time that our state elected officials, focus back on focus back on what matters," Howard said. "Making sure CMS can provide for us not to making sure my parents know that I go by a name they told me to go by my whole life. That's none of your business."
The bill was one of many critics have said was aimed at LGBTQ youth.
"I can only imagine what LGBTQ+ kids have to deal with," Howard said. "You're already in a situation in which you're feeling like you're being shunned from the world. Now you have people, grown men, worried about you and your identity. Come on. That's unacceptable."
Hill said she won’t let politics get in the way of the well-being of students or their education.
"I refuse to allow our students, our school district to be in a political football, like we're not going to get, as much as possible, in the middle of that," Hill said.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.