Renee and Susan discuss the ongoing Leandro Case. In this episode of Advocacy Bites, hosts Renee Sekel and Susan Book confront a sobering question: What is the value of a constitutional right if it cannot be enforced? Sparked by national conversations with education advocates and legal experts, this episode delivers an unflinching examination of how justice is delayed—and effectively denied—in North Carolina's public education system.

Renee revisits the Leandro case, focusing on the 2022 Supreme Court decision and the years of inaction that followed after a partisan shift in the North Carolina Supreme Court. The discussion unpacks separation of powers, judicial authority, and how courts are increasingly using delay as a political tool, leaving students without the constitutionally guaranteed right to a sound basic education.

Susan connects the legal failures to real-world consequences: chronic underfunding, teacher shortages, rising classroom instability, special education breakdowns, and the growing risk as federal education oversight is dismantled. Together, they examine why counties are being wrongly blamed for failures that are constitutionally the state's responsibility—and why upcoming primaries and judicial elections may be the most consequential in years.

The episode closes with a direct call for civic engagement, ethical leadership, and basic human decency—reminding listeners that advocacy is not abstract, and language, elections, and accountability all matter.

🎧 In This Episode:

• What Leandro really decided—and why it still hasn't been enforced

• How partisan courts undermine constitutional rights

• Why delayed rulings are a form of injustice

• The real causes of classroom disruption and teacher burnout

• What voters must demand during primary season

• Why kindness, accountability, and advocacy are inseparable