Here are the NC school districts closing for the May 1 teacher rally in Raleigh
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- At least five school districts announced closures for the May 1 teacher rally in Raleigh.
- Districts cited many teacher leave requests and inability to provide student supervision.
- Previous NCAE protests in 2018 and 2019 also prompted widespread district closures.
Several school districts have canceled classes on May 1 because so many teachers have requested the day off to join a mass protest in Raleigh organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators.
The Durham school board voted Monday to make May 1 a teacher workday after more than 600 teachers, a quarter of their educators, requested the day off. At least five of the state’s 115 school districts have announced they’re closing on May 1.
“The school system cannot provide adequate supervision of students due to the volume of leave requests that have been submitted. I reviewed various options in lieu of closing schools,” Asheville City Schools Superintendent Maggie Fehrman said in a Facebook post explaining the May 1 closing. “With such a high number of staff out of the building on a single day, ensuring we can appropriately monitor students becomes exceedingly challenging.”
That list of protest-related school closures doesn’t include Wake County, which had scheduled a teacher workday for traditional-calendar schools on May 1 before NCAE announced the protest. The majority of Wake’s 203 schools use the traditoinal calendar.
Protest for more school funding
The protest could draw thousands of teachers to Raleigh to lobby state leaders for higher pay and more funding for public education. The protest will come a month after the N.C. Supreme Court threw out a 2022 ruling ordering the transfer of more money for schools in the Leandro case.
“This is our line in the sand,” NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly said in a press release. “We will not back down when it comes to ensuring our children receive the education they need and deserve. We will not back down in demanding qualified educators in every classroom and safe, well-resourced schools for every student.”
Some school districts with Republican school board majorities such as New Hanover County rejected making May 1 a teacher workday. GOP legislative leaders have criticized the protest.
“At a time when teachers should be preparing their students for critical exams, they’re instead keeping kids out of their classrooms,” Lauren Horsch, a spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger, said in a statement. “Changing a school calendar to capitulate to the far-left teachers union does nothing but harm the very students they claim to want to help.”
Past school closures due to teacher protests
The last two May mass teacher protests in Raleigh organized by NCAE also led to multiple school closures.
On May 1, 2019, at least 34 school districts representing a majority of the state’s public school students closed for the day.
On May 16, 2018, at least 42 school districts representing 68% of the state’s public school students canceled classes.
List of announced school closures, May 1, 2026
Here’s a list of the school districts that say they’ll close due to this year’s protest:
- Asheville City Schools
- Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
- Chatham County Schools
- Durham Public Schools
- Guilford County Schools
This list will continue to be updated. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 3:33 PM.
