Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Supreme Court Justices Consider N.C. Pre-K Case

Gavel, Court
SalFalko via Flickr, Creative Commons

North Carolina's Supreme Court justices heard arguments Tuesday morning over whether the state's pre-kindergarten program must be expanded to reach more children.

The justices listened to attorneys in the case over the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program, or N-C Pre-K for short. Legislative cutbacks have whittled down the number of children allowed to take part.

In 2011, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ruled the state could not restrict access to NC Pre-K. The state is appealing that decision, saying North Carolina children have no constitutional right to the program. But attorneys for the plaintiffs say those children do have that right.

Meanwhile, early childhood experts including Ellen Peisner-Feinberg at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute are watching the case closely.

["The data so far has shown that the program has continued to be a strong program in terms of quality and in terms of the guidelines and has continued to have positive outcomes for children," says Peisner-Feinberg.

It's not clear when the justices will release their opinions.
 

Jessica Jones covers both the legislature in Raleigh and politics across the state. Before her current assignment, Jessica was given the responsibility to open up WUNC's first Greensboro Bureau at the Triad Stage in 2009. She's a seasoned public radio reporter who's covered everything from education to immigration, and she's a regular contributor to NPR's news programs. Jessica started her career in journalism in Egypt, where she freelanced for international print and radio outlets. After stints in Washington, D.C. with Voice of America and NPR, Jessica joined the staff of WUNC in 1999. She is a graduate of Yale University.
More Stories