NC Board of Education chair rips Border Patrol, closing US Education Department

T. Keung Hui, The News & Observer on Dec 3, 2025

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State Board of Education chair Eric Davis is speaking out against the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education and recent federal immigration enforcement actions in North Carolina.

At the start of Wednesday’s state board meeting in Raleigh, Davis gave a seven-minute speech warning about what he called the negative changes to public education being created by the federal government. Davis said closing the Education Department and conducting immigration raids are causing uncertainty for the state’s public schools and students.

“North Carolina has a long history of stepping forward in times of national uncertainty,” Davis said. “We’ve done it before and we will do it again, rooted not in politics but in our duty to every child who walks into a North Carolina public school classroom.”

Davis was appointed to the state board in 2014 by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. The former chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board was reappointed to the state board by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Davis defends Education Department’s role in education

The Trump administration has made shutting down the Education Department a priority.

President Donald Trump would need congressional approval to shutter the Education Department. So his administration has proposed what it’s called a “proof of concept” to shift education responsibilities to other federal departments.

“This plan could shift responsibility for administering more than $31 billion in federal education funding, including Title I and Title II, to agencies with no direct experience in K-12 education and with no demonstrated proof that this dismantling will improve the education of students across our nation, much less improve the efficiency of education,” Davis said.

Trump has said closing the Education Department would return control of education to the states. But Davis said the Education Department has been instrumental in improving the education of millions of Americans.

“If this is some form of experimental policymaking, I know of no parent who wants their child to be used in an experiment and subjected to such unproven education strategy.” Davis said.

Davis: Students in ‘survival mode’ due to Border Patrol

In November, the Border Patrol launched an enforcement operation in North Carolina that targeted the Charlotte area and the Triangle. School attendance dropped sharply in Wake County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Durham Public Schools during the increased federal presence.

“Families across North Carolina, particularly in Charlotte and Raleigh, have experienced fear and disruption from recent so-called immigration enforcement actions, which disrupt what the law requires, that we educate every student,” Davis said.

Davis pointed to a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that public schools are required to educate students regardless of their immigration status.

Democratic lawmakers have spoken out against the immigration operations. But many Republican lawmakers have praised them and House Speaker Destin Hall wants the Border Patrol to return to North Carolina, The News & Observer previously reported.

But Davis said, “We should care for the foreigner, for we all are at some point descended from someone from a foreign land.”

“Educators and parents have been clear: Children cannot learn when they are in survival mode,” Davis said. “Students cannot learn when they are afraid and when the security of their families is disrupted by our own government.”

Following Davis’ speech, state board member Olivia Oxendine asked for information on the number of excused and unexcused absences in the school districts impacted by the Border Patrol operations.