A top North Carolina legislator yelled and threw a book Wednesday during a legislative hearing in which lawmakers grilled Chapel Hill school officials, accusing them of ignoring parts of a new law that governs discussions of gender identity in public school classrooms.
Officials of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools system, meanwhile, told lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee that they have complied with the 2023 law — which Republican sponsors titled the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” — and denied lawmakers’ allegations that they recommend books to elementary school students that would violate the law.
The GOP-led committee summoned the school officials to Raleigh after video footage emerged this year of the school board’s chairman, George Griffin, criticizing parts of the new law, which bans discussions of sexual orientation from kindergarten through fourth grade and requires educators to tell parents if their child is requesting to use a different name or pronoun than the ones listed in public records.
In the video, taken in January 2024, Griffin can be seen referring to the parts of the law as discriminatory and saying his district shouldn’t follow it. Griffin also stated in a February 2024 email to staff that the board had voted to adopt the new law as policy, with the exception of the provisions related to classroom discussions and notifying parents about a change in their child’s pronouns.
On Wednesday, Griffin said the district is complying with the law and apologized for any “misunderstandings” that his comments caused. The provisions that weren’t addressed by the board in February 2024 were later adopted as policy after the board directed the district’s administration to develop written procedures and guidance for staff, Griffin said. The district has said that the additional guidance complies with the law and goes above and beyond the language in the statute.
Tap to watch: Books thrown and tension high during hearing for ‘Parents Bill of Rights’, a look at how we got here
Griffin’s statements failed to satisfy some Republican committee leaders who accused him of lying or dodging their specific questions. State Rep. Brenden Jones, a Columbus County Republican who leads the committee, accused Griffin of giving a “middle finger to this legislature and to every parent in your district.”
Jones alleged that the district continues to ignore the law, citing a letter that was sent to the board from a parent of a student in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district.
The January 2024 letter says: “As a parent of a trans-identified kid, I was shocked to find my child’s chosen name on their eighth grade diploma and on Power School. We are supportive of our child and their exploration, but the school’s hyper affirmative approach actually places a wedge between parent and child and makes it much harder to take a wait and see approach.”
The law mostly went into effect by Aug. 15, 2023. It was unclear whether the child’s name was added to the system before or after the law went into effect. A spokesperson for House Speaker Destin Hall provided WRAL with a version of the letter that redacted the name of the sender.
The school system also provided a similarly redacted letter when requested by WRAL. Griffin responded to the email three days later, according to records provided by the district.
“Our top priority is ensuring the safety and wellness of all of our students,” Griffin said in his response. “At the same time, we want to be responsive and connected with parents of our students, and ‘keep parents in the loop.’ Please feel free to contact me should you want to discuss this in greater detail.”
Jones also asked Griffin and Trice about a book titled, “Santa’s Husband,” that Jones alleged was recommended to elementary school students in Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools. Trice started to respond — “I’m not aware that …” — and Jones interrupted.
“You’re the superintendent. You’re not aware of what’s going on in your school system? You don’t know what’s printed? It’s trash,” Jones said, tossing the book over his shoulder.
After the hearing, Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools refuted Jones’s allegation.
“We have once again searched our school and classroom libraries, and that book is not offered,” Andy Jenks, a spokesperson for the district. “CHCCS has not recommended this book for children of any age, as that would be a decision for parents to make for their own children.”
Democratic committee members took issue with their Republican colleagues’ tone. After Jones asked Griffin and Trice to answer a series of yes-or-no questions, state Rep. Amos Quick of Guilford County accused the chairman of treating the school leaders like toddlers.
“It was pretty good TV. There was book throwing, there was cussing, there was all of that,” Quick said, adding: “I had second hand embarrassment for the way this meeting was being conducted.”
Republican legislators warned Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools officials to comply with the law or face consequences.
State Rep. Jeff McNeely, R-Iredell, reminded Griffin and Trice that the county receives most of its funds from the state, adding: “there’s a darn good chance you may not get them.”
“Because of y’all, there’s going to be legislation that comes and it’s going to be pretty tough,” McNeely said. “Because we’re not going to put up with rogue school systems who have no money and will not comply with the laws of this state.”
WRAL emailed McNeely and asked about forthcoming legislation that could affect the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system. McNeely responded: “You will have to stay tuned.”
