Social politics are making inroads into public schools. State legislatures, particularly those controlled by Republicans, are mandating that elections for school boards become partisan, and they’re drafting legislation to censor books available in school libraries, the curricula taught in classrooms and even classroom conversations.

This is the second in a two-part conversation with board members George Sieburg and Amy Ray of the Asheville City Schools, and Ann Franklin and Amy Churchill of Buncombe County Schools. We dig into State Senate Bill 49—a so-called parents’ bill of rights when it comes to public education—along with efforts to erode public education while steering money to private schools. We also talk through the state-mandated redrawing of district lines for electoral purposes and a movement to merge the Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools Districts.

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