New Hanover Schools to offer optional DPI 'citizenship' diploma endorsement; board seeks clarity on administration
Summary
District staff told the board an optional North Carolina Department of Public Instruction endorsement will allow high-school students to request an oral citizenship exam (10-question pool; must pass 6) to earn the endorsement; board members asked for clarity on voluntary participation and equitable administration.
District staff said the state’s new "citizenship" endorsement will be available as an optional add-on to high-school diplomas, and that students must request the oral exam to earn it.
The board heard that the endorsement is administered in the required civics and economic literacy course. Staff said the exam is administered orally, drawn from a 10-question pool, and a student must correctly answer six to receive the endorsement.
"So it is a new offering from DPI to be able to get that endorsement on your high school diploma," a district curriculum staff member said. "They will have the opportunity in that required graduation class to request to take the oral exam … they must pass 6 of the 10 in order to earn the endorsement on their high school diploma." (Quoted language drawn from staff explanation.)
Board members pressed for procedural details and protections. Dr. Tim Merrick asked whether participation is voluntary and whether students might be profiled; staff confirmed that students must opt in and teachers administer the oral exam on request. "That is accurate," Merrick said. "Students have to request to take it."
Board members also noted the endorsement is separate from the broader civic curriculum: one board member emphasized civic instruction already appears across K–5 counseling and social-studies classes and is not limited to the optional endorsement.
What’s next: staff said they will include the endorsement information in upcoming updates to the board and publish additional guidance; the board did not take a formal vote on implementation at this meeting.
