Morrow, 53, of Cary, ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Wake County Board of Education in 2022. She served as an at-large Executive Team member of Wake GOP in 2021. Morrow taught civics, history, science and English for 10 years to high schoolers in parent-led “micro-schools.” She has a Bachelor of Science in nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill and worked as a nurse in Texas and a missionary in Mexico. She and her husband have five children.
The job:
The state superintendent of public instruction leads the Department of Public Instruction, administers a $17.2 billion budget, and oversees the state’s 115 school districts, including the more than 90 school-based health centers. The state superintendent serves on the N.C. State Board of Education as secretary and chief administrative officer, and belongs to the N.C. Council of State.
Our Q&A with Morrow:
NC Health News reached out to Michelle Morrow, whose campaign responded saying she would be happy to talk, but did not respond to subsequent emails. So, we researched each candidate who did not provide answers by searching their Congressional voting records and social media, going to events, tracking their public comments, searching their campaign websites and conducting searches of other media outlets.
What is your plan to address the mental health issues plaguing today’s youth, issues that can surface during school hours and can impact academic performance?
No response available. NC Health News could not find anything in the public record on this topic.
North Carolina schools are woefully behind recommended ratios for the number of health care professionals per student, from nurses to social workers to psychologists. What is your plan to address this?
Morrow did not respond to this question, but she has advocated for more funding for nurses. On her campaign website, she also said she “supports school officers over social workers to fight crime.”
How prepared are North Carolina’s schools to handle learning during a future pandemic? What lessons can we take from COVID-19, including what we should do differently? What do you think NC schools did well?
Morrow did not respond to this question, but she has posted about Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories and referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as “population control.”
While cigarette use has dropped among teens, other nicotine products such as vaping and now nicotine pouches are becoming increasingly popular. What role should schools play in tobacco/nicotine prevention? What’s your stance on students taking part in surveys such as the biannual Youth Behavioral Risk Survey (for background, the NCGA made this and other surveys opt in rather than opt out for parents)?
No response available. NC Health News could not find anything in the public record on this topic.
The Parents’ Bill of Rights law passed last year makes sex education an “opt-in” class, potentially leaving many students without instruction on STDs, pregnancy, sexual assault and more if parents don’t remember or understand that they have to sign up their child. Where do you stand on this change? How will you ensure that parents understand this change?
Morrow did not respond to this question, but she said on her website that she led the statewide petition and lobbied for the Parent’s Bill of Rights.
What, if anything, should school personnel do about students who come to them expressing that they’re transgender?
Morrow did not respond to this question. However, she said at several candidate events that she supported efforts to keep transgender females from participating in girls sports. She also expressed support for the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act on social media. The bill, passed into law last year, prohibits transgender female athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity and limits participation to teams matching people’s biological sex at birth. She also pushed for the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which requires schools to tell parents if their child asks to use a different name or pronouns at school. It also restricts instruction and discussion about gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms unless a child asks a question about it in the context of classroom activity.
Any other health-related issues connected to K-12 schools that you’d care to weigh in on?
No response available. NC Health News could not find anything in the public record on this topic.