Board attorney briefs school leaders on shifting Title IX, state law and new curriculum opt‑out rules

Richard Schwartz, an attorney for the school board, spent the meeting’s training session walking trustees through recent and rapidly changing federal and state developments affecting Title IX, student gender‑identity matters and new state curriculum and library rules. "Title IX prohibits discrimination in educational activities," Schwartz told the board as he summarized months of shifting regulations and litigation. The presentation covered new executive orders, pending U.S. Supreme Court cases on transgender athletes and a state law requiring new board policies for parental opt‑outs and library access.

Nut graf: The presentation signaled immediate policy work for local officials. North Carolina’s recent legislation and federal executive orders and court activity create legal uncertainty; the board was told to expect policy updates on student excusals from curriculum, searchable library catalogs, and rules on shared sleeping quarters for overnight trips.

Schwartz said federal Title IX guidance has flipped several times since 2020 and that, at present, 2020 regulations are again in force in many places after litigation and administrative changes. He described recent enforcement actions and resolution agreements the Office for Civil Rights reached with higher‑education institutions over athletic participation, and he reminded trustees that the Fourth Circuit remains bound by the Gavin Grimm decision on restroom access. He also noted the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear cases from Idaho and West Virginia addressing state bans on transgender athletes, with a likely decision next term.

On state law, Schwartz outlined the 2023 session law (SL 2023‑109) and more recent legislation (House Bill 805, later enacted as session law SL 2025‑84 after an overridden veto) that (as summarized during the briefing) will: require local boards to adopt policies allowing parents or guardians to request that a student be excused from curriculum that "conflicts with their or their parents' religious beliefs," require a web‑searchable catalog of school and classroom library holdings accessible from each school homepage, allow parents to restrict their child’s access to specific books or categories, and bar coed sleeping quarters on school‑sponsored trips unless parents give written permission.

Several trustees asked operational questions. Board members and staff discussed how classroom libraries should be inventoried for the new searchable catalog, and staff said the district already has public library‑catalog software for media centers and is working with teachers to document classroom collections. Trustees also asked about logistics and timelines; staff said policy work and software adjustments would proceed in the coming weeks and months and that the School Board Association’s policy service was expected to publish model language.

Ending: Schwartz warned the board that federal guidance, administrative directives and court rulings are in flux and that the district’s policy committee would need to act soon to develop the district’s policies on excusals, library access and overnight arrangements. He recommended the board wait for model policies from the state association while preparing district drafts for committee consideration.