The Wilkes County Board of Education supports academic freedom for students and teachers. Academic freedom includes the right of students to learn freely and reach their own decisions and beliefs about conflicting points of view and to acquire the skills necessary to arrive at these independent conclusions. Academic freedom also encompasses the right of teachers in their field of expertise to pursue the search for knowledge in its many forms. Academic freedom allows and encourages licensed employees and students the opportunity to study, investigate, present, interpret, and discuss facts and ideas relevant to the classroom subject matter. Nevertheless, the facts and ideas must be appropriate to the maturity and intellectual and emotional capacities of the students. Academic freedom does not allow teachers to deviate from the use of the state-mandated curriculum and instructional guides.
Legal References: U.S. Const. amend. I; N.C. Const. art. I, 14; G.S. § 115C-36, -47
Cross References:
Adopted: January 9, 2006
Revised: April 4, 2011