Submitted by Guest Wilm res (not verified) on Tue, 07/19/2011 - 9:20am.
THE NC constitution guarantees a free public education. You said there is no constitutional right to pre-K. You are correct, but there is also no explicit right to kindergarten, or 12th grade for that matter. The constitution doesn't specify what this guaranteed education consists of. That's up to the NC Board of Education to determine, and in this case, a judge thinks that the cutting of pre-k funding will deprive some children of this constitutional right to an education(a Republican judge no less).
When I was a kid, there was no kindergarten. So when they added kindergaretn to the public schools, was that constitutional? Same thing goes with 12th grade - when my grandparents came along, they graduated after the 11th grade. The point is, that the standards of education have changed over the years, as our world has evolved and advanced. Some children need early education to be at the level the public schools expect of their kindergarteners.
I will paraphrase things you have said in the past. The pre-k program complies with the law. If you don't like it, change the law. Otherwise, leave them alone.
THE NC constitution
THE NC constitution guarantees a free public education. You said there is no constitutional right to pre-K. You are correct, but there is also no explicit right to kindergarten, or 12th grade for that matter. The constitution doesn't specify what this guaranteed education consists of. That's up to the NC Board of Education to determine, and in this case, a judge thinks that the cutting of pre-k funding will deprive some children of this constitutional right to an education(a Republican judge no less).
When I was a kid, there was no kindergarten. So when they added kindergaretn to the public schools, was that constitutional? Same thing goes with 12th grade - when my grandparents came along, they graduated after the 11th grade. The point is, that the standards of education have changed over the years, as our world has evolved and advanced. Some children need early education to be at the level the public schools expect of their kindergarteners.
I will paraphrase things you have said in the past. The pre-k program complies with the law. If you don't like it, change the law. Otherwise, leave them alone.