Advocacy Bites: Recent Episodes
Save Our Schools NC
A Podcast about two accidental education advocates, what they've learned and how you can get involved in making your corner of the world a better place, whether you have one minute or one hour.
Renee and Susan discuss what bills made (and didn’t make) crossover, and how this represents a full-circle moment in their advocacy journeys. Notes: https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/h636
Show Notes: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-statements-on-autism https://autisticadvocacy.org/2025/04/leading-autism-organizations-release-joint-statement-on-upholding-scientific-integrity-and-supporting-the-autism-community/ https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/euthanasia-program https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2025/04/22/autism-what-to-know https://ejanc.org/2025/04/why-new-school-discipline-executive-order-should-be-ignored/ https://www.jacksonlewis.com/insights/does-employer-disparate-impact-liability-still-exist-latest-eo-pushes-eliminate-it
Renee and Susan talk about why everything in the NC government seems both expensive and poorly run. (Hint: it’s the legislature. It’s always the legislature).
Susan and Renee welcome a special guest to give us the scoop on SEL: what it means, what it looks like in schools, and why it makes extremists mad.
Susan and Renee talk about party politics (again) and the kind of fight they’re looking for in party leaders.
Susan talks about the latest threats to 504 and Renee highlights our Trans kids as well as our school boards actions.
Susan gives a breakdown of the Public School's Forum annual Eggs and Issues Event. Renee gives tips to help us all deal with the overwhelm of bad bills hitting us all at the same time. Show Notes: https://www.ncforum.org/
Renee and Susan celebrate the holidays with an episode about what’s been making them think and bringing them joy recently.
Books: Author Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice; and The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs Author Colson Whitehead The Underground Railroad Show: Star Trek Discovery, Severance Check out your Local Library and Indie Bookstores: In Raleigh, check out Quail Ridge Books, Trans Artist: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadeByMaxDesigns
Renee talks about how a right-wing candidate engineered a controversy at the school board to make herself a free campaign ad.
Renee and Susan discuss a variety of news/issues that have popped up, including the North Carolina legislature's determination to expand vouchers, the recovery from Hurricane Helene, the bad proposed Constitutional amendment on our ballot, and new (and, it turns out) highly orchestrated attacks on our public schools and trans kids. For the show notes: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/us/politics/trump-republican-transgender-ads.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2024/trans-sports-girls-florida-bans/
Susan and Renee look at Oklahoma and Louisiana and discuss the trend of religious instruction in public education as well as the changes in Title IX.
https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/we-fact-checked-what-oklahoma-law-says-about-teaching-the-bible-in-schools/ https://nondoc.com/2024/07/22/some-okc-metro-school-districts-spurn-ryan-walters-bible-directive-others-hesitant/ https://abcnews.go.com/US/enforcement-louisianas-ten-commandment-classroom-requirement-put-pause/story?id=112112612#:~:text=Louisiana's%20new%20law%20requiring%20all,legal%20battle%20over%20the%20policy. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-final-title-ix-regulations-providing-vital-protections-against-sex-discrimination
Renee and Susan discuss two of the most pressing budget items waiting on approval. While there was a little put forth for child care after the recording, the lack of a long term plan remains. https://www.wral.com/story/nc-lawmakers-rushed-dozens-of-bills-over-the-finish-line-what-s-next-for-the-high-profile-efforts-that-failed/21501173/ https://www.wral.com/story/nc-house-lawmakers-pass-67m-in-stopgap-funding-to-stave-off-child-care-cliff/21499071/
Renee and Susan revisit the ongoing efforts to ban books in school and local libraries.
Susan and Renee discuss how meaningful and important it is when all different kinds of people are involved in advocacy and leadership.
Renee and Susan discuss the final report of this year's Futurama Committee (spoiler alert: there's a lot of "we should think about" and almost no "we should do" in the report). Show notes: Committee report: 86920 (ncleg.gov)
Helpful tips for neurodivergent advocates. Susan talks about her personal experiences as a neurodivergent person in education advocacy and together, Renee and Susan talk about how everyone can do something in the work. Resources: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S5eipnnnSSIHGbUvdTEFqIrWiETFdD_o/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111501771460639390946&rtpof=true&sd=true
Susan and Renee sound the alarm (again) over Michele Morrow, the extremist running for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Show notes: https://saynotoextremistso.wixsite.com/my-site-1
Renee and Susan review the most recent developments in the Leandro case, why none of it is ok and why we're still hopeful and determined anyway. Show notes: Video of the February 22 rally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32uHt16uX_8 Roundup of press coverage of the Leandro hearing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C6If03hz7vkVGZqXygZHULAgpzXB_UUxaJlJ8cMgqmg/edit
Susan and Renee talk about what to expect in the upcoming legislative short session, what happened at the most recent meeting of the Futurama Committee, and what's at stake in the primary elections.
Show notes: https://www.ncleg.gov/Committees/CommitteeInfo/HouseSelect/218/Documents/17303
Susan and Renee discuss two issues in the news: the return of the Futurama Committee, and the debacle in Durham public schools.
Links to the documents considered by the Futurama Commitee: https://ncleg.gov/Committees/CommitteeInfo/HouseSelect/218/Documents/
Susan fills us in on a glimmer of hope for one type of school funding, where the legislature may actually be considering making things better. Article that inspired this episode: https://www.wunc.org/education/2024-01-08/state-education-officials-recommend-changes-to-special-education-funding-services?fbclid=IwAR2cLQMP4vYjHAy9a-vkxz4S6Bv6zWl8QCsKnWRDjSeUAv7a1CQSCx5o7ls Postcard event: https://www.facebook.com/events/775929144577012/?ti=ls And don't forget to vote for us in the Maggy awards! https://www.carymagazine.com/features/vote-now-for-the-maggy-awards/
Renee and Susan talk about what's coming in 2024 and what they think voters should look out for.
Susan and Renee welcome special guest Sarah Montgomery for a discussion of the importance of working in coalition. Resources: www.everychildnc.org
Susan and Renee discuss the importance of local press and provide some tips and how-tos for handling the press and writing Letters to the Editor.
Susan and Renee do a deep dive on the ties between the state lottery and education funding.
Show links:
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/12/1148167357/lottery-money-state-by-state-mega-millions-powerball https://themissouritimes.com/press-release-floor-leader-john-j-diehl-jr-proposes-putting-state-lottery-back-ballot-calls-games-dishonest-way-fund-public-education/ https://publicschoolsfirstnc.org/resources/fact-sheets/the-facts-on-the-nc-education-lottery/ https://youtu.be/9PK-netuhHA?si=RfoOu5Uw5AV46vkS
Susan and Renee dive into the deep need for school construction bond in NC, and what’s happened to previous efforts to pass one.
5 Year School Facilities Needs Report: https://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/education/2021/08/31/19852081/2109_BSOP_8_FNS_2020_Report_FINAL_-_2021-08-25_2755693hvsgnrblescr15gd3kacqoz-DMID1-5s26byplt.pdf Every Child webinar: Cracks in the Foundation: Facing NC's Public School Infrastructure Crisis. https://fb.me/e/53rSGIXFP
Susan and Renee break down S49, what it does and doesn’t include, and what to look for as schools try to make sense of it all.
Links:
https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/Senate/PDF/S49v4.pdf https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/school-leaders-want-delay-implementing-parents-bill-of-rights-requirements/
https://www.wunc.org/education/2023-10-04/nc-board-of-education-schools-parents-bill-of-rights-pronouns https://www.wfae.org/education/2023-08-23/cms-response-to-nc-parents-rights-bill-sparks-praise-and-calls-for-defiance
Susan and Renee share five action items to help determine which candidates are untrustworthy.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/party-flippers-democrats-becoming-republicans-00110334
Info about accessible voting: Accessible Voting - DRNC (disabilityrightsnc.org) Info about anti-voter bills: 5 Things to Know About This Week in North Carolina Politics (Aug. 28, 2023) - YouTube Voter ID Info: Voter ID — You Can Vote
Susan and Renee celebrate their 50th episode with a discussion of how civility is weaponized to stop discourse and to protect bad actors.
Renee and Susan highlight some education news coming from outside of NC, but that reflect trends we're either seeing here to expect to see soon.
Links:
Lawsuit aims to halt opening of St. Isidore, a Catholic charter school - The Washington Post
PragerU's whitewashing of Frederick Douglass is exactly how you indoctrinate children with falsehoods about Black history - TheGrio
Everyone needs a break once in a while, so Susan and Renee talk about the books, tv shows and podcasts that we use when we want some mental downtime.
Books Jesus and John Wayne: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books One Nation Under God: One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945, Revised Edition (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books Worm Loves Worm: Worm Loves Worm (Hardcover) | Quail Ridge Books Birchers: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right (Hardcover) | Quail Ridge Books A Libertarian Walks into A Bear: A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears) (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books Class Mom Class Mom: A Novel (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books Television Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Try for Free (paramountplus.com) Crime Scene Kitchen: Crime Scene Kitchen - Watch on FOX Podcasts Two Sides of the Spectrum on Apple Podcasts Bag Man: A Rachel Maddow podcast from MSNBC Maintenance Phase
In Part 4 of our series on privatization, Susan and Renee take on the idea of "competition" and why it can't work when applied to education. Plus, show notes, for once! Contact information for House Members, downloadable in Excel: House Member Information - North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov) Contact Information for Senate Members, downloadable to Excel: Senate Master Directory - North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov) The Book Susan mentions: The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books
Our series on vouchers continues with an exploration of the very different meaning of “accountability” applied to private schools as opposed to public schools.
In part 2 of our series on vouchers, Renee and Susan discuss why “school choice” really isn’t for most families.
Susan and Renee welcome guest Kris Nordstrom to talk about the (very bad) school funding overhaul bill filed by the GOP. Read Kris' report on the bill here: https://www.ncjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Senate-Bill-670-Policy-Brief-4-13-23.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f029d843-21dd-4fab-bb4a-3b514812d240
Renee and Susan provide an overview of the themes emerging at the General Assembly this year.
Renee and Susan talk about the toll that fighting against an endless stream of bad bills can take, and provide tip on how to stay ready to fight.
Renee and Susan talk about the recent demands that advocates not use the word Leandro at the legislature, and what that says about the people who set limits on why and when they'll listen to their constituents. Head here to send a note to your own legislators urging them to fund Leandro now: https://p2a.co/JRQd3gl
Susan and Renee discuss an exciting opportunity Susan had to discuss what we really need to make public schools succeed, and we muse about the goal of public education.
The NCGA is back in session! Want to visit your legislators? Susan and Renee give you the rundown on where to park, how to get around, and what to expect during your day on Jones Street. Show Notes: Parking Map: https://docs.google.com/document/d/136L6qw6p3B0xLzFPevr9EoU7zC67isNmkSpM7fRyDAI/edit?usp=sharing Legislative Building Map: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZU9I2HUbf2Z7M43zr3H8rP0QInqMyvNKpLCuXoGEAZM/edit?usp=sharing The NCGA Website: https://www.ncleg.gov/ Subscribe to Calendar Alerts: https://www.ncleg.gov/Subscribe/Calendars
Susan and Renee close out 2022 with our proposed New Year’s Resolutions for public education in NC.
Susan and Renee break down this month’s landmark Leandro victory and tell you why there’s reason for hope and optimism. Leandro decision: https://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=1&pdf=41895
Susan and Renee reflect on the things we are grateful for as we head into Thanksgiving week.
Renee and Susan debate the utility of “get over it” as advice for dealing with discomfort in advocacy.
Call to action: please submit comment about the teacher licensing proposal: https://tinyurl.com/PEPSCcontact
Susan and Renee discuss how schools are meant to keep all kids safe, and why that doesn't necessarily mean an SRO in every school.
Renee and Susan address the evergreen trope that schools have “bloated central offices” and plenty of money.
Debate with Tyler Swanson and Michele Morrow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukiCFy8LVM8&t=4159s&ab_channel=JustinPorter Wake League of Women Voters of Wake County School Board Candidate Forums https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtt_OGRr2C6w3kVzwmb09KQ
Renee and Susan visit the Leandro case (again) to update you on what went down at the NC Supreme Court. Susan also reflects on the Month of Action she helped plan. Resources for Leandro Resolutions: https://everychildnc.org/local-resolution/
National PTA: https://www.pta.org/
PTA Positions: https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions
For Fun Harper Valley PTA: https://youtu.be/aOZPBUu7Fro
The Futurama Committee is back again, and Susan and Renee have the scoop! We talk achievement and where NC stands on Principal training and pay.
For more info about Catherine Truitt's presentation to the Committee, read this: https://www.wfae.org/education/2022-08-02/superintendent-gives-nc-lawmakers-dramatic-but-flawed-data-on-early-reading-gains.
For info on Bob Luddy: https://indyweek.com/news/wake/millionaire-private-school-operator-maxing-out-campaign-donations/.
And here's the info on the August 27 Leandro Rally: https://fb.me/e/1KUjsEidf
Renee and Susan talk about voting for the 'meh' candidate. Coming off the primary you might not be thrilled about your ballot, but that doesn't mean you should sit out the election.
Link for those looking for a candidate meet and greet: https://www.mobilize.us/
Link for a local Cary Meet and Greet hosted by Susan Book: https://fb.me/e/3maGbgg9d
Susan and Renee welcome special guest Kim Mackey to talk about NC's newest proposal for teacher licensing and pay. Could teacher pay really be based on emojis picked by Kindergarteners? Should it?
Here's the link to the petition Kim Mentioned: https://bit.ly/3b0oec0
More info from Kim Mackey here: https://educatedpolicy.com/
Justin Parmenter's been mining the public records related to the proposal: https://notesfromthechalkboard.com/
Sometimes getting out the vote feels overwhelming, especially for introverts and neuro-diverse individuals. Renee and Susan give their tips and tricks to finding your niche during an election.
Places that need your help this election. Links:
The New Rural Project https://www.newruralproject.org
Down Home NC https://downhomenc.org/
The New North Carolina Project https://newnorthcarolinaproject.org/
Red Wine and Blue: https://www.redwine.blue
Susan and Renee discuss NC’s new (and terrible) Don’t Say Gay bill, which to our surprise, hasn’t had a vote in the House yet. To tell your legislators to vote against it, go here: https://p2a.co/kHZ6NdG. And we talk gun control and SROs.
Here is a link to the members of the legislature’s education committees: http://saveourschoolsnc.org/house-member-committees-north-carolina-general-assembly/
Renee and Susan talk about the rest of the Futurama Committee’s meetings and our concerns about the Committee’s limited vision for the future of education. The public comments for the Committee have closed, but you can email the chair, John Torbett, with your thoughts: John.Torbett@ncleg.gov
Renee and Susan discuss what's new (and what isn't) in the Leandro Case. And we take a side trip into why our court elections are so important.
Phone to action link: https://p2a.co/QqUq7ES?fbclid=IwAR26R19SsqWmnHIO_ebNFKMPdCzQkqt5oMStELZQU4ohUioCgxu1oOFuHto
Susan and Renee introduce our very first podcast guest! Lisa Kaylie joins us for a discussion of her experiences navigating public schools with an autistic student.
Susan and Renee walk you through how to evaluate a candidate’s website and where to look to learn if they support public education.
Susan and Renee discuss what happens when you lose. Plus, an update from the most recent meeting of the Futurama Committee.
Renee and Susan run down what happened (and what didn’t) in the first few meetings of the NCGA’s new education-related committee.
Renee and Susan discuss why it’s ok to dip your toe into advocacy instead of diving right in, and provide some good first steps for people who are just getting started.
Susan and Renee discuss Catherine Truitt's recent statements on the purpose of public education and why they think she's misguided.
Susan and Renee discuss why and how to get involved with your local political party. Links to party platforms: https://beaufort.nc.gop/nc_gop_platform
https://www.ncdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-NCDP-Platform-1.pdf
Susan and Renee discuss what to do when advocacy, well, bites. Plus Susan's booze and sports pairings.
Susan and Renee discuss the recent nationwide fervor to ban books and how it's showing up in NC.
Susan and Renee discuss the powers that school boards have (and don't) and why attending meetings is so important.
Susan and Renee talk about how the TV shows they've loved have shaped their worldviews and informed their advocacy.
It doesn't take an expert to be an advocate, but how do you navigate a system where it feels like everyone else is an expert? Renee and Susan discuss how they learned not to be intimidated and discovered they knew more than they thought (and, probably, so do you.) Plus, Leandro updates!
Susan and Renee provide a rundown of the Leandro case, which affirmed that every child in NC has a right to a sound basic education provided by the state. We talk about the history, what's happening now, and the truly bonkers response from legislative leadership.
Susan and Renee discuss why they started Save Our Schools NC and the Advocacy Bites podcast.