Republican lawmakers confronted Chapel Hill‑Carrboro City Schools officials at a heated oversight hearing, accusing the district of violating North Carolina’s Parents’ Bill of Rights (SB 49). School leaders — including Chair George Griffin and Superintendent Rodney Trice — said the district is in compliance and later adopted procedures after initially withholding some provisions. Lawmakers pointed to an "LGBTQ Elementary Resources" link and several children’s books as evidence; the district denies those titles were offered as recommended classroom reading. The hearing highlights national debates over parental rights, school materials and implementation of gender‑identity policies.
Heated NC Hearing: Lawmakers Accuse Chapel Hill‑Carrboro Schools Of Violating Parents’ Bill Of Rights
Officials with North Carolina's Chapel Hill–Carrboro City Schools faced a grilling Wednesday at a hearing over their compliance with the state's Parents' Bill of Rights.
Republican lawmakers sharply challenged officials from Chapel Hill‑Carrboro City Schools at a tense North Carolina House oversight hearing, accusing the district of flouting the state’s Parents’ Bill of Rights (Senate Bill 49) and promoting LGBTQ‑themed books for young children.
School Board Chair George Griffin and Superintendent Rodney Trice appeared before the House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform to testify about the district’s compliance with SB 49, which was enacted in August 2023. The law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through fourth grade, requires parental notification about health services and requested name/pronoun changes, and gives parents the right to review instructional materials and opt in or out of sex‑related lessons.
Republican state Rep. Brenden H. Jones of North Carolina.
What Lawmakers Said
State House Majority Leader Brenden Jones accused district leaders of intentionally resisting the law and of misleading the public. Jones displayed several children’s books he said had been promoted on the district’s website — including Santa’s Husband, These Are My Eyes, This Is My Nose, This Is My Vulva, These Are My Toes, and It Isn’t Rude to Be Nude — and read passages he described as inappropriate for young children.
“You’re here today because you chose to wage war against the law,” Jones said. “You chose to deceive the public, and now you’re here because you got caught.”
District Response
Griffin and Trice repeatedly maintained that the district is in compliance with state law. In written testimony they said the district "has always been, and continues to be, in compliance with the law." Griffin apologized for earlier comments in which he called the bill "discriminatory" and acknowledged that the board initially withheld some provisions while administrators developed implementation procedures.
North Carolina Republicans accused a school district of violating the state's Parents' Bill of Rights with LGBTQ material for young students.
A district spokesperson told reporters the specific books cited by Jones were not offered in classrooms nor listed as recommended school reading, and emphasized the district’s commitment to parental involvement: "Chapel Hill‑Carrboro City Schools is committed to parental involvement in everything we do. As our testimony demonstrated, CHCCS is in compliance with the law."
Evidence And Follow‑Up
Jones’ office supplied a screenshot from October showing an "LGBTQIA+ Resources In Our District" link on the district website under an "Equity and Engagement" section. That link appears to have been removed, though some pages remain hosted on the site. Jones said an "Elementary Resources" page once linked to third‑party book lists that included the titles he highlighted; the district disputes that the titles were endorsed for classroom use.
The exchange underscores continuing tensions nationwide over how school systems implement state restrictions on instruction and parental‑notification rules related to gender identity, library and classroom materials, and the role of educators in addressing LGBTQ topics with young students.
