School reopening mandate a vote away from governor; NC also working on summer program
A bill filed in the North Carolina House would provide a summer school program to help the state’s K-12 public school students catch up after a year of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
Another bill, to require in-person learning in the state’s K-12 traditional public schools, moved forward Tuesday. It is one vote away from the governor’s desk.
The summer school program would last six weeks and be held in person five days a week. It is targeted to help those students who are most at risk of falling behind after many months of remote instruction, but also open to any student who would benefit.
House Bill 82, called “Summer Learning Choice for NC Families,” is co-sponsored by House Speaker Tim Moore and being fast-tracked through the legislature. It will be discussed in a House committee on Wednesday. Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, told reporters on Tuesday that the fast timeline is to get it passed in time for local school districts to start planning for the program.
The bill requires school districts to identify and prioritize at-risk students for the program. Those at-risk students are not required to participate, however.
Students would be in school for five hours as well as time for lunch, which will be included, and physical activity time. Program plans are due to the Department of Public Instruction a month before the end of the school year. Charter schools are also encouraged to submit plans, according to the bill.
Teachers would get enhanced pay under six-week contracts to teach the summer school program, Moore said. He touted the $1.6 billion for schools reopening that the General Assembly appropriated in the latest COVID-19 relief bill, which Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law earlier this month. Moore also noted that teachers should be vaccinated by then. Teachers and other K-12 staff are next in line for vaccines, starting on Feb. 24.
Moore told reporters last week when the bill was still being drafted that lawmakers hoped it would become law by the end of March. He said they can’t just act like 2020 didn’t happen.
“We have to do something to make [students] caught up,” Moore said last week. “It’s not just about this one year — it’s building blocks. if you don’t have that foundation, particularly the younger children, you can’t advance to the next grade.”
Rep. Jeff Zenger, a Forsyth County Republican, said lawmakers have talked with school district superintendents about the bill.
“I don’t see anything in here that’s losing, it’s all winning, it’s all winning for our kids,” Zenger said.
The summer school program would also include enrichment activities for students like sports, art and music.
Schools reopening bill
Senate Bill 37, which passed both the House and Senate in previous forms, would require schools to offer an in-person instruction option. The newest version of the bill passed the Senate on Tuesday 31-16.
Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican and co-chair of the Senate education committee, said the new version resolved a detail both chambers worked out over the weekend. The bill adds that local school districts will create processes and have plans in place to address alternative work assignments for teachers at high risk for COVID-19, and give the same options for being a caretaker of a child who is at higher risk.
The new version still needs to pass the House, which is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday afternoon. Moore told reporters earlier on Tuesday that the new version of SB 37 could be voted on Wednesday.
A House member has also filed a local bill to require in-person learning in some North Carolina counties. Local bills do not need the governor’s signature to become law.
About 20 of the state’s school systems have not had any in-person instruction for almost a year, after schools were first closed by the governor in mid-March 2020. Schools were allowed to reopen in person starting in fall of 2020, with restrictions or online only. Most started online only. In October, elementary schools were allowed to reopen under Plan A, which has minimal social distancing. Other grades are currently allowed to be open under Plan B, which requires six feet of social distancing. All schools are under a mask mandate, as is the state.
A day after General Assembly Republicans filed the reopening bill, Cooper, a Democrat, urged all school systems to reopen under currently allowed plans of Plan A for elementary and Plan B for middle and high schools. Some have already started to do so.
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This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 12:48 PM with the headline "School reopening mandate a vote away from governor; NC also working on summer program."