## Facts

- Low-wealth school districts led by the Hoke County Board of Education, along with parents and guardians, sued the State of North Carolina and the State Board of Education alleging a constitutional failure to provide children an equal opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.
- Prior precedent recognized a state-constitutional right to the opportunity for a sound basic education and described minimum competencies that education must provide.
- On remand, the trial court held extensive hearings focused on Hoke County and similarly situated low-wealth districts.
- The trial court found that at-risk children in those districts were not receiving the opportunity for a sound basic education and that existing state systems were not correcting persistent deficiencies.
- As part of its remedy, the trial court ordered the State to correct the failure and to expand educational services for at-risk children, including pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds.
- The State appealed, challenging party status, amendment of pleadings to include pre-kindergarten issues, and the scope of remedial authority.
- Plaintiff-intervenors cross-appealed, arguing the trial court improperly counted services supported by federal funds in assessing state constitutional compliance.

## Issues

1. Whether local school boards and parents were proper parties to seek declaratory and remedial relief concerning the State’s constitutional obligations for public education.
2. Whether the trial court properly allowed amendment of the pleadings to include claims and remedies involving pre-kindergarten services for at-risk children.
3. Whether the evidence supported findings that the State failed to provide at-risk children in Hoke County and similar low-wealth districts the opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.
4. Whether the trial court had authority to order remedial measures directed at curing the constitutional violation, including targeted expansion of pre-kindergarten programs.
5. Whether the trial court could consider educational services funded through federal programs when determining whether students had the required constitutional opportunity.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the trial court’s core determination that the State has an enforceable constitutional duty to provide every child the opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.
- The court upheld findings that the State failed to meet that duty for at least some at-risk students in Hoke County and similarly situated low-wealth districts.
- The court held school boards and parents were proper parties because a declaration of the State’s duties affects school boards’ roles and parents and students are direct beneficiaries of the constitutional guarantee.
- The court approved the trial court’s decision to permit amendment adding pre-kindergarten-related allegations as part of the same adequacy-based claim.
- The court upheld, in substance, the trial court’s authority to require the State to implement remedial measures, including targeted expansion of pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk children, while indicating implementation should respect policymaking discretion.
- The court rejected the cross-appeal and held the trial court could consider actual educational services available to students even when supported by federal funds.

## Legal Principles

- The State Constitution guarantees every child the opportunity to receive a sound basic education in the public schools, and this duty is judicially enforceable.
- A sound basic education includes minimum competencies in literacy, mathematics and science, knowledge of geography and history and basic political and economic systems, and academic and vocational skills sufficient for further education or employment.
- The constitutional obligation rests ultimately on the State; local school districts participate in implementation but cannot displace state responsibility for statewide adequacy.
- When a constitutional violation is found, trial courts may order equitable relief aimed at curing the deficiency; remedies may include targeted early-education interventions when supported by the record as necessary to secure the opportunity for at-risk children.
- In assessing whether the constitutionally required opportunity is provided, courts may consider the educational program actually available to students, including services supported by federal funds, without relieving the State of its independent constitutional duty.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed that the State failed to provide at-risk students in Hoke County and similar low-wealth districts the opportunity for a sound basic education and upheld judicial authority to order corrective relief, including targeted pre-kindergarten expansion, while allowing consideration of federally funded services as part of the educational opportunities students actually receive.


Hoke County Bd. of Educ. v. State, 358 N.C. 605, 599 S.E.2d 365 (2004)