{ "id": 4033617, "name": "HOKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Plaintiffs, and ASHEVILLE CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Plaintiff-Intervenors v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA; STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendants", "name_abbreviation": "Hoke County Board of Education v. State", "decision_date": "2012-08-21", "docket_number": "No. COA11-1545", "first_page": "406", "last_page": "418", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "222 N.C. App. 406" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.", "id": 14983, "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "268 S.E.2d 185", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 3, "year": 1980, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "189" }, { "page": "190" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "300 N.C. 708", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8564644 ], "year": 1980, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "712" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/300/0708-01" ] }, { "cite": "365 S.E.2d 700", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "701", "parenthetical": "If the issues before the court or administrative body become moot at anytime during the course of the proceedings, the usual response should be to dismiss the action." } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "89 N.C. App. 327", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8521864 ], "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "328", "parenthetical": "If the issues before the court or administrative body become moot at anytime during the course of the proceedings, the usual response should be to dismiss the action." } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/89/0327-01" ] }, { "cite": "599 S.E.2d 365", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 18, "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "391" }, { "page": "395" }, { "page": "395" }, { "page": "391-92" }, { "page": "392, 393" }, { "page": "393" }, { "page": "393, 394" }, { "page": "394" }, { "page": "393" }, { "page": "393" }, { "page": "393" }, { "page": "393" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "358 N.C. 605", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2987054 ], "weight": 9, "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "639" }, { "page": "645" }, { "page": "644-45" }, { "page": "639-40" }, { "page": "643" }, { "page": "642" }, { "page": "643" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/358/0605-01" ] }, { "cite": "488 S.E.2d 249", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "255", "parenthetical": "Leandro I" }, { "page": "255" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "346 N.C. 336", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 139626 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "347", "parenthetical": "Leandro I" }, { "page": "347" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/346/0336-01" ] }, { "cite": "2011 N.C. Sess. Laws 145", "category": "laws:leg_session", "reporter": "N.C. Sess. Laws", "weight": 4, "opinion_index": 0 } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 1038, "char_count": 28225, "ocr_confidence": 0.727, "pagerank": { "raw": 4.03580807328026e-08, "percentile": 0.1266077674798801 }, "sha256": "d20c4e28cc0cf82cb3f4e7a95d14e31e3cc1678212ce5169b15faaeb2d46f6ee", "simhash": "1:2d42e02e5666547a", "word_count": 4496 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T20:23:21.020165+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Chief Judge MARTIN and Judge STEELMAN concur." ], "parties": [ "HOKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Plaintiffs, and ASHEVILLE CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Plaintiff-Intervenors v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA; STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendants" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "ELMORE, Judge.\nThe State appeals from an order titled \u201cMemorandum of Decision and Order Re: Pre-Kindergarten Services of At-Risk Four Year Olds\u201d which mandates, in sum, that the State 1) not deny any eligible at-risk four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program and 2) not enforce specific provisions of the 2011 Budget Bill. We affirm in part, and dismiss in part.\nI. Background\nThe dispute between the parties of this appeal began in 1994, when plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment regarding the state constitutional requirements of \u201call North Carolina children to receive adequate and equitable educational opportunities!!]\u201d Since that time, the parties have debated the scope of such constitutional requirements, and the dispute between them has fluctuated through the many levels of our court system.\nHowever, the primary dispute relevant to this appeal began on 4 May 2011, when the North Carolina House of Representatives adopted a budget bill titled \u201cCurrent Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011\u201d (the bill). The bill provided \u201c[appropriations from the General Fund of the State for the maintenance of the State departments, institutions, and agencies, and for other purposes as enumerated . . . for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2013.\u201d See 2011 N.C. Sess. Laws 145 \u00a7 2.1.\nA section of the bill addressed a program called \u201cMore at Four (MAF).\u201d MAF was established by the General Assembly in 2001, to provide pre-kindergarten services to at-risk children in order to enhance their kindergarten readiness. The program was established, in part, as a reaction to a pair of rulings by our Supreme Court, Leandro I and Leandro II. In Leandro v. State, 346 N.C. 336, 347, 488 S.E.2d 249, 255 (1997) (Leandro I), the Supreme Court held that \u201cArticle I, Section 15 and Article IX, Section 2 of the North Carolina Constitution combine to guarantee every child of this state an opportunity to receive a sound basic education in our public schools.\u201d Article I is the \u201cDeclaration of Rights.\u201d Section 15 of that article states: \u201cThe people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.\u201d N.C. Const, art. I \u00a7 15. The Supreme Court then went on to set forth four minimum criteria for \u201ca sound basic education.\u201d These criteria were not static or set in stone for all time, but rather were qualified by phrases such as \u201cto enable the student to function in a complex and rapidly changing society!;]\u201d \u201csuccessfully engage in post-secondary education or vocational training!;]\u201d to be able to obtain \u201cgainful employment in contemporary society.\u201d Leandro, 346 N.C at 347, 488 S.E.2d at 255.\nLater, in Hoke Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. State (Leandro II), the Supreme Court established that \u201cthe State must help prepare those students who enter the schools to avail themselves of an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.\u201d 358 N.C. 605, 639, 599 S.E.2d 365, 391 (2004). The Supreme Court recognized that \u201ca sound basic education\u201d required the State to address the problem of \u201cat-risk\u201d prospective enrollees in the public schools, but reversed the portion of the of the trial court\u2019s order mandating a \u201c.pre-kindergarten\u201d program. Hoke Cty. Bd. of Educ., 358 N.C. at 645, 599 S.E.2d at 395. The Supreme Court left it to the legislative and executive branches of government to fashion an appropriate remedy. Hoke Cty. Bd. of Educ., 358 N.C. at 644-45, 599 S.E.2d at 395. Thereafter, MAF was enacted in 2001.\nThe bill called for MAF to be consolidated into the Division of Child Development, and for that division to be renamed \u201cthe Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE).\u201d The bill then directed DCDEE to \u201cmaintain the More At Four program\u2019s high programmatic standards.\u201d See 2011 N.C. Sess. Laws 145 \u00a7 10.7(a). Specifically, the bill mandated DCDEE to \u201ccontinue to serve at-risk children identified through . . . methods in which at-risk children are currently served\u201d and to \u201cserve at-risk children regardless of income.\u201d See 2011 N.C. Sess. Laws 145 \u00a7 10.7(f). However, the bill also mandated that \u201cthe total number of at-risk children served shall constitute no more than twenty percent (20%) of the four-year-olds served within the prekindergarten program.\u201d Id.\nOn 10 May 2011, before the bill became law, plaintiffs filed a motion in Wake County Superior Court requesting a hearing, in relevant part, to address how \u201cthe reduction in pre-kindergarten services for at-risk children in the House Budget\u201d would affect the children\u2019s rights under the State constitution to \u201ca sound basic education.\u201d On 20 May 2011, the trial court sent notice that it would hold a hearing on 22 June 2011 to assess whether certain provisions of the bill complied with Leandro II. Specifically, the trial court stated that the subject matter of the hearing would be, in relevant part, the prekindergarten services to \u201cat-risk\u201d children and \u201cthe obligation of the State of North Carolina, as set forth in Leandro II, Section V, to afford \u2018at-risk\u2019 prospective enrollees their guaranteed opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.\u201d\nOn 15 June 2011, the bill became law; however, the trial court proceeded with the hearing. Following the conclusion of evidence, the trial court issued an order on 18 July 2011 titled \u201cMemorandum of Decision and Order Re: Pre-Kindergarten Services of At-Risk Four Year Olds.\u201d In that order, the trial court mandated that\n1) The State of North Carolina shall not deny any eligible at-risk four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program (NCPK) and shall provide the quality services of the NCPK to any eligible at risk four year old that applies.\n2) The State of North Carolina shall not implement or enforce that portion of the 2011 Budget Bill, section 10.7.(f) that limits, restricts, bars, or otherwise interferes, in any manner, with the admission of all eligible at-risk four year olds that apply to the prekindergarten program, including but not limited to the 20% cap restriction, or for that matter any percentage cap, of the four year olds served within the prekindergarten program, NCPK.\n3) Further, the State of North Carolina shall not implement, apply, or enforce any other artificial rule, barrier, or regulation to deny any eligible at-risk four year old admission to the prekindergarten, NCPK.\n4) The Court is confident that the State of North Carolina will honor and discharge its constitutional duties in connection with this manner.\nThe State appeals from this order.\nII. Analysis\nThe State presents three arguments on appeal: 1) that the trial court exceeded its authority when it ordered the State to provide prekindergarten services to all at-risk four year olds in North Carolina; 2) that the trial court erroneously enjoined the implementation or enforcement of properly enacted legislative provisions regarding North Carolina\u2019s Pre-Kindergarten Program; 3) that the trial court\u2019s order cannot be upheld because it contains no appropriate findings of fact or conclusions of law. The State Board of Education, co-defendants, do not join the State in its appeal.\nA. Authority of order\nThe State first argues that the trial court exceeded its authority when it ordered the State to \u201cnot deny any eligible at-risk four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program.\u201d Specifically, the State contends that 1) there is no constitutional requirement for the State to provide pre-kindergarten services, 2) prekindergarten services are not a necessary remedy required to provide a sound basic education, and 3) the trial court lacked jurisdiction to mandate pre-kindergarten services on a state-wide basis. We will address the State\u2019s constitutional arguments together, as they relate to the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in Leandro II. We will then address the State\u2019s jurisdictional argument.\ni. Leandro II\nIn Leandro II the Supreme Court addressed, in part, the issue of \u201c \u2018at-risk\u2019 children approaching and/or attaining school-age eligibility\u201d and \u201cwhether the State must help prepare those students who enter the schools to avail themselves of an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education.\u201d 358 N.C. at 639-40, 599 S.E.2d at 391-92. There, the trial court had concluded that \u201c[i]t was ultimately the State\u2019s responsibility to meet the needs of \u2018at-risk\u2019 students in order for such students to avail themselves of their right to the opportunity to obtain a sound basic education[]\u201d and \u201cthat State efforts towards providing remedial aid to \u2018at-risk\u2019 prospective enrollees were inadequate.\u201d Id. at 640, 642, 599 S.E.2d at 392, 393.\nOn appeal, the Supreme Court concluded \u201c[t]o that point in the proceedings, we agree with the trial court[.]\u201d Id. at 642, 599 S.E.2d at 393. However, the Supreme Court reversed the portion of the trial court\u2019s order \u201crequiring the State to provide pre-kindergarten classes for either all of the State\u2019s \u2018at-risk\u2019 prospective enrollees or all of Hoke County\u2019s \u2018at-risk\u2019 prospective enrollees.\u201d Id. The Supreme Court reasoned that \u201csuch specific court-imposed remedies are rare, and strike this Court as inappropriate at this juncture\u201d because \u201cthe suggestion that pre-kindergarten is the sole vehicle or, for that matter, a proven effective vehicle by which the State can address the myriad problems associated with such \u2018at-risk\u2019 prospective enrollees is, at best, premature.\u201d Id. at 643, 644, 599 S.E.2d at 393, 394. However, the Supreme Court noted that it\nrecognizes the gravity of the situation for \u201cat-risk\u201d prospective enrollees in Hoke County and elsewhere, and acknowledges the imperative need for a solution that will prevent existing circumstances from remaining static or spiraling further, we are equally convinced that the evidence indicates that the State shares our concerns and, more importantly, that the State has already begun to assume its responsibilities for implementing corrective measures.\n358 N.C. at 643, 599 S.E.2d at 394.\nNow, it has been approximately eight years since the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in Leandro II. During this time, the State has had ample opportunity to develop a program that would meet the needs of \u201cat-risk\u201d students approaching and/or attaining school-age eligibility. The only program, evidenced in the record, that was developed by the State since Leandro II to address the needs of those students was MAF, a pre-kindergarten program. Thus, unlike the Supreme Court in Leandro II, we are not faced with the decision of selecting for the State which method would best satisfy their duty to help prepare those students who enter the schools to avail themselves of an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education. Rather, the State made that determination for itself when in 2001 it developed the prekindergarten program, MAF.\nThus, we do not deem it inappropriate or premature at this time to uphold an order mandating the State to not deny any eligible \u201cat-risk\u201d four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program. Under Leandro II, the State has a duty to prepare all \u201cat-risk\u201d students to avail themselves of an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education. Pre-kindergarten is the method in which the State has decided to effectuate its duty, and the State has not produced or developed any alternative plan or method. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court\u2019s order.\nii. Jurisdiction\nAlthough the State next contends \u201c[t]here is no jurisdictional basis in this case to mandate the provision of pre kindergarten services on a state-wide basis,\u201d the State mischaracterizes the mandate of Paragraph 1 of the July 2011 Order. The trial court did not order the State to provide pre kindergarten programs for all \u201cat risk\u201d four-year-old prospective enrollees in North Carolina; rather, the trial court\u2019s decree rejected those parts of the proposed 2011 legislation that sought to erect \u201cartificial barrier[s] or any other barrier[s]\u201d that would deny any \u201cat risk\u201d four year old prospective enrollee throughout the State his or her constitutional right to an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education by denying that child admission to an existing pre kindergarten program in his or her county. With this clarification in mind, we now examine whether the trial court acted within its authority to mandate the unrestricted acceptance of all \u201cat risk\u201d four-year-old prospective enrollees who seek to enroll in existing pre kindergarten programs in his or her respective county.\nIn Leandro II, 358 N.C. 605, 599 S.E.2d 365 (2004), the Supreme Court agreed with the trial court\u2019s conclusion that the State\u2019s efforts to provide remedial aid to Hoke County\u2019s \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees were inadequate to assist such students in availing themselves of their respective rights to an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education. See Leandro II, 358 N.C. at 642, 599 S.E.2d at 393. However, the Supreme Court could not ascertain foundational support for the trial court\u2019s order \u201ccompelling the legislative and executive branches to address that need in a singular fashion\u201d by \u201crequiring the State to provide pre kindergarten classes for either all of the State\u2019s \u2018at risk\u2019 prospective enrollees or all of Hoke County\u2019s \u2018at risk\u2019 prospective enrollees.\u201d Id. Although the Supreme Court recognized that, \u201cwhen the State fails to live up to its constitutional duties,\u201d and \u201cif the offending branch of government or its agents either fail to [remedy the deficiency] or have consistently shown an inability to do so, a court is empowered to provide relief by imposing a specific remedy and instructing the recalcitrant state actors to implement it,\u201d the Supreme Court also recognized that \u201csuch specific court-imposed remedies are rare.\u201d Id. at 642-43, 599 S.E.2d at 393. Consequently, the Supreme Court determined that the trial court\u2019s remedy was \u201cinappropriate at this juncture\u201d for two related reasons: 1) \u201c[t]he subject matter of the instant case \u2014 public school education \u2014 is clearly designated in our state Constitution as the shared province of the legislative and executive branches\u201d; and 2) \u201c[t]he evidence and findings of the trial court, while supporting a conclusion that \u2018at risk\u2019 children require additional assistance and that the State is obligated to provide such assistance, do not support the imposition of a narrow remedy that would effectively undermine the authority and autonomy of the government\u2019s other branches.\u201d Id. at 643, 599 S.E.2d at 393.\nNonetheless, in sharp contrast to the record that was before the Supreme Court in Leandro II, the record that was developed in the trial court and is now before this Court is replete with evidence, much of which was presented by the State, of the State\u2019s preferred\u2014 \u2014and, incidentally, only proposed \u2014 -remedial aid to \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees, as reflected in the following unchallenged finding by the trial court:\nThe bottom line, seven years after Leandro, II, is that the State, using the combination of Smart Start and the More at Four PreKindergarten Programs, have [sic] indeed selected pre kindergarten combined with the early childhood benefits of Smart Start and its infrastructure with respect to pre kindergarten programs, as the means to \u201cachieve constitutional compliance\u201d for at risk prospective enrollees.\nMoreover, the trial court found, and the State does not deny, that the State has touted the measurable statewide success and national recognition of its pre kindergarten program, and has demonstrated the commitment of both the executive and legislative branches to increasing the availability of Leandro-compliant pre kindergarten programs. For instance, the chairman of the State Board of Education and the state superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction submitted extensive action plans to the trial court chronicling the pre kindergarten program\u2019s to date and proposed future growth and expansion in order to fulfill the State\u2019s obligation to comply with the mandates first articulated in Leandro I. Additionally, the General Assembly enacted session laws that sought to standardize pre kindergarten program requirements statewide and allocated State funds to facilitate the continued success of pre kindergarten programs available to \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees across the State. In other words, based on the present record, it cannot be said that the trial court\u2019s order requiring the State to allow the unrestricted enrollment of \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees to pre kindergarten programs \u201ceffectively undermine[d] the authority and autonomy of the government\u2019s other branches,\u201d see Leandro II, 358 N.C. at 643, 599 S.E.2d at 393, since both the executive and legislative branches have evidenced their selection and endorsement of this \u2014 and only this \u2014 remedy to address the State\u2019s constitutional failings identified in Leandro II.\nFinally, the State urges that, if the trial court is authorized to order the unrestricted admission of \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees to existing pre kindergarten programs, such authority should only extend to those \u201cat risk\u201d four-year-old prospective enrollees who seek to enroll in programs in Hoke County. In light of the Supreme Court\u2019s footnotes 5 and 14 in Leandro II, we recognize that the State\u2019s assertion is not entirely without basis. See id. at 613 n.5, 633 n.14, 599 S.E.2d at 375-76 n.5, 388 n.14. Nevertheless, as the State concedes, it offered evidence to the trial court through its own witnesses attesting to the implementation and efficacy of the pre kindergarten programs made available to \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees statewide. Although the State opines that it chose to provide a broader remedy than that which was required to meet the needs of the parties at issue and urges this Court to limit the trial court\u2019s mandate to the \u201cat risk\u201d prospective enrollees of Hoke County, we are not persuaded that the record necessitates such restraint of the trial court\u2019s order. Accordingly, based on the record before us, we hold that the trial court acted within its authority to mandate the unrestricted acceptance of all \u201cat risk\u201d four year old prospective enrollees who seek to enroll in existing pre kindergarten programs across the State.\nB. Enjoinment of legislation\nThe State next argues that the trial court\u2019s order improperly enjoins the enforcement of section 10.7.(f) of the bill. We dismiss this argument.\nOn 17 May 2012, the House of Representatives introduced a bill titled \u201cAN ACT TO REPEAL THE PROHIBITION ON TEACHER PREPAYMENT, CLARIFY ELIGIBILITY FOR THE NC PRE-K PROGRAM, AND ENACT 2012-2013 SALARY SCHEDULES FOR TEACHERS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS.\u201d That bill, in part, entirely rewrote the language of section 10.7.(f) at issue here. On 11 June 2012, that bill was signed into law. As such, section 10.7.(f) is no longer in effect, and we need not address the State\u2019s issue regarding its enforcement. See Southwood Assn., LTD. v. Wallace, 89 N.C. App. 327, 328, 365 S.E.2d 700, 701 (1988) (If the issues before the court or administrative body become moot at anytime during the course of the proceedings, the usual response should be to dismiss the action.) (citations omitted). Accordingly, we dismiss this issue.\nC. Sufficiency of findings of fact/conclusions of law\nFinally, the State argues that trial court\u2019s order must be vacated and remanded because it lacks findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by our Rules of Civil Procedure. We disagree.\nAccording to our Rules of Civil Procedure, \u201c[i]n all actions tried upon the facts without a jury or with an advisory jury, the court shall find the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law thereon and direct the entry of the appropriate judgment.\u201d N.C. Gen. Stat. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 52 (2012). \u201cThe requirement for appropriately detailed findings is . . . not a mere formality or a rule of empty ritual].]\u201d Coble v. Coble, 300 N.C. 708, 712, 268 S.E.2d 185, 189 (1980). The rule exists because \u201c[effective appellate review of an order entered by a trial court sitting without a jury is largely dependent upon the specificity by which the order\u2019s rationale is articulated.\u201d Id. at 714, 268 S.E.2d at 190. \u201cEach step of the progression must be taken by the trial judge, in logical sequence; each link in the chain of reasoning must appear in the order itself.\u201d Id.\nHere, the trial court issued a detailed, twenty-four page order which very clearly articulates its chain of reasoning. The order begins by addressing the scope of the issues addressed at the hearing. It states that, \u201cthe major issue before the Court is whether or not the General Assembly\u2019s 2011 Budget Bill, Section 10.7 (a) through (j) ... is in conformity with the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Leandro II.\u201d The order then summarizes the decision of the Supreme Court in Leandro II. Then, after discussing procedural history and precedent, the order describes the history of the MAF program and summarizes the research of the effects of the program. Next, the order focuses on the issues raised by plaintiffs, specifically the allegations regarding Sections 10.7 (a)-(j) of the bill.\nFurther, in a separate section labeled \u201cDiscussion and Decision,\u201d the order contains the trial court\u2019s conclusions. Specifically, the trial court concluded that\n[based] on the record now before the Court, it appears that the State . . . has taken the prekindergarten program (formerly MAF) established for at-risk 4 year olds and reduced the number of slots available to at-risk 4 year old upwards of 80% without providing any alternative high quality prekindergarten option for at-risk 4 year olds at all.\n[T]his artificial barrier, or any other barrier, to access to prekindergarten for at-risk 4 year olds may not be enforced.\n***\nSimply put, it is the duty of the State of North Carolina to protect each and every one of these at-risk and defenseless children, and to provide them their lawful opportunity, through a quality prekindergarten program, to take advantage of their equal opportunity to obtain a sound basic education as guaranteed by the North Carolina constitution.\nThus, we conclude that the trial court\u2019s rationale in reaching its decision is specifically articulated in the order. The order provides a detailed summary or findings section, followed by a separate section of conclusions. As such, we are unable to agree with the State\u2019s argument with regards to this issue.\nAdditionally, we would like to emphasize that while MAF was the remedy chosen by the legislative and executive branches in 2001 to deal with the problems presented by \u201cat risk\u201d four year olds, it is not necessarily a permanent or everlasting solution to the problem. What is required of the State to provide as \u201ca sound basic education\u201d in the 21st century was not the same as it was in the 19th century, nor will it be the same as it will be in the 22nd century. It would be unwise for the courts to attempt to lock the legislative and executive branches into a solution to a problem that no longer works, or addresses a problem that no longer exists. Therefore, should the problem at hand cease to exist or should its solution be superseded by another approach, the State should be allowed to modify or eliminate MAF. This should be done by means of a motion filed with the trial court setting forth the basis for and manner of any proposed modification.\nIII. Conclusion\nIn sum, we affirm the trial court\u2019s order mandating the State to not deny any eligible \u201cat-risk\u201d four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program. Further, we dismiss the State\u2019s argument with regards to the enjoinment of legislation that has been repealed. Lastly, we conclude that the trial court\u2019s order contains sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law.\nAffirmed in part, dismissed in part.\nChief Judge MARTIN and Judge STEELMAN concur.\n. \u201c[M]ost educators seem, in agreement that an \u2018at risk\u2019 student is generally described as one who holds or demonstrates one or more of the following characteristics: 1) member of low-income family; 2) participate in free or reduced-cost lunch programs; 3) have parents with a low-level education; 4) show limited proficiency in English; 5) are a member of a racial or ethnic minority group; 6) live in a home headed by a single parent or guardian.\u201d Hoke Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. State, 358 N.C. 605, 637 n.16, 599 S.E.2d 365, 389-90 n.16 (2004).", "type": "majority", "author": "ELMORE, Judge." } ], "attorneys": [ "Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Solicitor General John F. Maddrey, for the State.", "Robert W. Spearman, Melanie Black Dubis, Scott E. Bayzle of PARKER POE ADAMS & BERNSTEIN, LLP, H. Lawrence Armstrong Jr., of ARMSTRONG LAW, PLLC, and Christine Bischoff of North Carolina Justice Center, attorneys for Hoke County Board of Education, et al.", "James G. Exum, Jr. and Matthew N. Leerberg of SMITH, MOORE, LEATHERWOOD, attorneys for State. Board of Educationj" ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "HOKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Plaintiffs, and ASHEVILLE CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Plaintiff-Intervenors v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA; STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendants\nNo. COA11-1545\n(Filed 21 August 2012)\n1. Constitutional Law \u2014 sound basic education \u2014 pre-kindergarten \u2014 restricted admission\nA trial court order mandating that the State not deny any eligible four-year-old admission to the North Carolina PreKindergarten Program was within the court\u2019s authority and was affirmed. Pre-kindergarten is the method by which the State has decided to meet its constitutional duty to prepare all at-risk students to avail themselves of the opportunity to obtain a sound basic education; the State has not produced or developed any alternative plan or method.\n2. Constitutional Law \u2014 sound basic education \u2014 remedy\u2014prekindergarten \u2014 jurisdictional basis\nAlthough the State argued that the trial court did not have a jurisdictional basis to mandate the provision of pre-kindergarten services on a state-wide basis, that was not what the court ordered. The court rejected only the parts of proposed legislation that would deny an at-risk four-year-old an opportunity to obtain a sound basic education by denying admission to an existing program in his or her county.\n3. Constitutional Law \u2014 North Carolina \u2014 sound basic education \u2014 remedy\u2014pre-kindergarten statewide\nThe trial court acted within its authority by mandating the unrestricted acceptance of all at-risk four-year-olds seeking enrollment in existing pre-kindergarten programs across the state. The record was replete with evidence that the State\u2019s preferred and only remedial aid to at-risk prospective enrollees was a combination of early childhood and pre-kindergarten services as its means of achieving constitutional compliance. Finally, although the State argued that the trial court\u2019s authority to order unrestricted admission of at-risk four-year-olds should extend only to Hoke County, the State offered evidence of the implementation and efficacy of pre-kindergarten programs statewide.\n4. Appeal and Error \u2014 injunction against enforcement of bill \u2014 bill revised \u2014 issue dismissed\nAn issue on appeal concerning the trial court\u2019s injunction against enforcement of a section of a bill involving prekindergarten was dismissed where that section of the bill was subsequently rewritten in another bill that was signed into law.\n5. Judgments \u2014 findings and conclusions \u2014 articulation of court\u2019s rationale \u2014 specific\nA trial court order concerning pre-kindergarten programs contained sufficient findings and conclusions where the order provided a detailed summary or findings section, followed by a separate section of conclusions. The trial court\u2019s rationale was specifically articulated.\n6. Constitutional Law \u2014 North Carolina \u2014 sound basic education \u2014 remedy\u2014not necessarily permanent\nThe More at Four (MAF) pre-kindergarten program was the remedy chosen in 2001 to deal with the problem of at-risk four-year-olds, but was not necessarily a permanent solution. The State should be allowed to modify or eliminate MAF by means of a motion filed with the trial court setting forth the basis and manner of any proposed modification.\nAppeal by the State from order entered 18 July 2011 by Judge Howard E. Manning, Jr., in Wake County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 5 June 2012.\nAttorney General Roy Cooper, by Solicitor General John F. Maddrey, for the State.\nRobert W. Spearman, Melanie Black Dubis, Scott E. Bayzle of PARKER POE ADAMS & BERNSTEIN, LLP, H. Lawrence Armstrong Jr., of ARMSTRONG LAW, PLLC, and Christine Bischoff of North Carolina Justice Center, attorneys for Hoke County Board of Education, et al.\nJames G. Exum, Jr. and Matthew N. Leerberg of SMITH, MOORE, LEATHERWOOD, attorneys for State. Board of Educationj" }, "file_name": "0406-01", "first_page_order": 416, "last_page_order": 428 }