Today in Bob Orr 101: Article I, Section 15 and Article IX, Section 2 of the state Constitution, which together guarantee every student the right to a "sound basic education."

In Hoke County Board of Education v. State in 2004, the Supreme Court found that low test scores showed that the state had failed to sufficiently educate the students in several counties.

Then-justice Orr wrote the majority opinion, citing the 1997 Leandro case, which defined a sound education as sufficient knowledge of math, science, geography, history, economics and politics as well as the skills to go to college or compete for a job.

Orr wrote that the time and money spent by the state during the decade-long case could have instead gone toward more teachers, books and programs.

"Ten classes of students as of the time of this opinion will have already passed through our state's school system without benefit of relief," he wrote. "We cannot similarly imperil even one more class unnecessarily."

Previously: Orr 101: Incentives at the Country Club

Bob Orr cited the constitution in one of his most passionate responses.

The former Supreme Court justice noted at today's debate that he wrote the majority opinion in the Hoke County Board of Education v. State case, which fleshed out the educational guarantees of the Leandro case.

He then noted that the state constitution puts the State Board of Education in charge of schools, something he has suggested changing. Only two elected officials sit on the board—the lieutenant governor and the state treasurer.

"If you think, as the other candidates have said, that we have a failing school system, that the dropout issue, the achievement gap issue has been neglected, then you need to ask what political leaders are accountable for that," he said.

Orr, who was sitting between Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore, put it more visually, pointing with his hands palms' up as he said the officials—"one to my left and one to my right"—have been on the board for seven years, so they bear responsibility for problems with public schools.

He earned applause from the audience, though moderator Gerald Owens then reminded Orr that the candidates were not supposed to attack each other personally in the debate.

"I'm just quoting the constitution," he said.

(For those keeping track, Orr mentioned the constitution 28 minutes and 36 seconds into the debate.)

Bob Orr brought up his court record today.

On the stump, the former Supreme Court justice has been known to cite the state constitution, but he's rarely brought up his decisions.

In a one-minute opening speech at the NAACP debate this afternoon, Orr cited three decisions: Leandro v. State, Hoke County Board of Education v. State and Stone v. Department of Labor.

The first two were natural fits for the setting, since they dealt with the rights of students to receive a good education, and schools will likely be a major area of discussion today.

The third was more interesting, since it dealt with the rights of family members of workers who died in a chicken plant fire to sue the state for negligence.

Bob Orr has released his answers to a teacher's survey as well.

The former Supreme Court justice's cited his role in Hoke County Board of Education vs. State, which argued that educating children is a "paramount" concern of government, and his previous endorsements by the N.C. Association of Educators.

On the issues, he said he doubts that school vouchers or the lottery are constitutional, but he said he would continue using lottery money for education until a court rules otherwise.

In contrast to the two Democrats, Orr said he would support increasing the cap on charter schools.

He also hedged on whether North Carolina's teacher salaries are competitive, saying he thinks that they are not competitive in poorer counties, but he's not sure that's true everywhere in the state. 

However, he also criticized the federal No Child Left Behind Act, saying that though it has done "a pretty good job in pointing out deficiencies," it has not produced "the desired results."

"I do believe that we know better how to address the education challenges in our state than the federal government does, regardless of which party is in power," he wrote.