Chapter 35: North Carolina

The state of North Carolina passed its first public school law in 1839, which established a funding system combining state and local funds. The state provided two dollars for every dollar local governments collected from taxes, an early form of matching fund with required local effort. The law further divided the state into districts with five schools per district and established a board of ‘superintendents’ to oversee each county’s schools. In 1852, the General Assembly established the Office of General Superintendent of Common Schools, the precursor to the Department of Public Instruction. After the Civil War, the 1868 state constitution provided for free education for all children. It established the State Board of Education, which had the authority to set state standards and regulated teacher licensure, among other duties.¹