• North Carolina requires all primary school students to learn about health.north carolina outline image by Kim Jones from Fotolia.com
  
  The No Child Left Behind Act requires each state to set academic standards for students. In North Carolina, state agencies are responsible for allocating funds to schools as well as setting academic standards. North Carolina has laws regarding programs for impoverished students and students who do not speak English in primary schools, as well as laws regarding basic education, health education and the establishment of kindergarten programs.
  
  

Title I Schools

• Title I schools are schools that receive state funds to allow children in impoverished communities to receive the same education as children in wealthier districts. North Carolina law requires Title I funds to be used for programs to help children from low-income families catch up academically with wealthier peers. If, however, 40 percent or more of the children who come to a particular school are from low-income families, the school district may use Title I funds for programs that benefit all the students in the school.
  
  

Language Instruction for Limited English Proficiency Students

• North Carolina state law allocates funds to Title III: Language Instruction for Limited English Proficiency Students. These funds must be used for programs that help these children learn English. Children who do not speak English often fall behind in other academic subjects because of their limited language abilities, and must catch up in these subjects as well as learn English to further their academic ability.
  
  

Basic Education Program

• North Carolina state law says that all students in primary schools are entitled to the same basic education, including art, music and physical education as well as academic subjects. Students must be exposed to hands-on activities that help them learn. Educational activities also must be related to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, which sets academic goals for students in each grade level.
  
  

Health Education

• Students in North Carolina are required to learn about health starting in kindergarten. Teachers must provide age-appropriate instruction about mental and physical health, including education about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The law says all students must learn information related to reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases, although information about HIV/AIDS and abstinence are not required in primary school classrooms.
  
  

Kindergarten

• State agencies must allocate funds to schools to establish and maintain kindergarten programs. However, school districts are not required to offer kindergarten. The amount of allocated funds depends upon the average number of kindergarten students enrolled during the first three months of the previous school year.