Public Comments Spotlight Student Safety, Discipline, and Communication Concerns at Wake County (NC) School Board Meeting
Speakers raised concerns ranging from student safety and discipline practices to transportation incidents and an abrupt shift to virtual learning at a high school
Raleigh, NC, Dec. 17, 2025 — Four speakers used the public comment period at Tuesday night’s Wake County School Board meeting to raise concerns ranging from student safety and discipline to administrative decision-making and communication with families.
The first speaker returned to an issue he said he had raised before, pointing to a lawsuit involving alleged sexual abuse and what he described as failures by school officials outside Wake County to report misconduct to law enforcement or state authorities. He argued that those omissions allowed a teacher to be later hired without a documented record of prior concerns. According to the speaker, warning signs were ignored, administrators handled matters that should have involved police, and a student victim was mishandled during the process. He told the board he plans to return to a future meeting to describe how the situation was ultimately resolved after another student came forward.
A parent of two students followed, describing what she said was a breakdown in basic procedure after a school bus-related incident. She said an incident report was not written until nearly a month later, leaving her family with conflicting explanations about what had occurred. The parent also described how her daughter was initially told she could not ride the bus home without parental notification or supervision, a decision she said added to the confusion. She credited a vice principal for later stepping in and providing support, but said the problem stemmed from inconsistent adult decision-making rather than student behavior. Board leadership said staff would follow up with the family after the meeting.
Another parent, whose child attends Crossroads Flex High School, questioned a decision to move students to full-time virtual learning beginning in January. She said families were notified only minutes before the public comments portion of the meeting. She asked why the change had not been communicated earlier or discussed publicly before students enrolled. She raised concerns about the mental health impact of returning to virtual instruction midyear. She said parents were willing to help identify an alternative space to continue in-person learning. A board member later said staff would engage with families and work toward a solution.
The final speaker, a parent of an elementary school student, said it took months to obtain his child’s disciplinary records. After reviewing them, he said the district could not fully account for the time his son spent removed from instruction or confined to a room. He raised broader questions about how seclusion is defined and documented, cited inconsistencies in official records, and described the emotional toll on his child. He told the board the issue was not limited to a single case and called for stronger oversight and accountability around disciplinary practices.
Note: While the board does not respond to public comments during the meeting, staff often follow up directly on speaker concerns.