RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The Department of Public Instruction has posted its plan to address the long-running Leandro education legal case that was back in a North Carolina courtroom recently.

The department's post is below.

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Level I (Current Constitutional mandate) – includes initiatives and programs that the Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction currently provide so that students receive a sound basic education. This current level of support covers the following areas of work: competent, well-trained teachers and principals; curriculum and Standard Course of Study; testing and accountability; enhancing student achievement; federal programs; healthy schools; and school funding.

Level II – includes initiatives recommended for expansion to improve educational opportunities beyond the basic level. These include more pre-kindergarten education opportunities for at-risk children; school calendar flexibility; teacher recruitment, retention and compensation; professional development; support to schools regarding district and school transformation; implementation of effective models for improving low-performing schools and districts; access to digital tools, resources and courses; and expanding healthy school initiatives.

Level III – outlines additional initiatives intended to more fully address the non-academic needs of children who need assistance in taking full advantage of the sound basic education provided by the public school system. These initiatives include: family resource and youth service centers; birth to kindergarten services for at-risk children; statewide interagency cooperation to optimize services to children; and the establishment of an interagency advisory committee on public education that would be report to the State Board of Education.

“The State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction recognize that many students and schools in North Carolina would benefit from additional levels of support and assistance,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson. “That is why our 54-page plan for expanding services includes new support opportunities and the creation of an Interagency Advisory Committee on Public Education which will meet regularly to find ways to overcome the hurdles that some of our students face.”

The State Board of Education’s most recent expansion budget request also includes items that would support initiatives in the Level II and Level III portions of this plan, especially in the areas of services to lowest achieving schools, professional development, digital learning resources and technology.