School reopening deal with NC Gov. Cooper is close, Senate Republicans say
After months of disagreement between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers about how to reopen schools that have been in remote learning, GOP senators say the two sides are close to a compromise.
While most K-12 public school districts offer at least some form of in-person education, not all schools do, and not all of those which are open offer full-time, daily instruction.
Senate leader Phil Berger and Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican and co-chair of the education committee, told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that they are close to announcing an agreement with Cooper. That press conference, which came an hour before the governor’s own press conference, had already been postponed by a day. Berger said the postponement was due to ongoing discussions. He said he hoped they could have new legislation as soon as later Tuesday about reopening schools.
Ballard said they’re “moving in the right direction.” Cooper would only say he was in discussions with lawmakers and that he hoped for “a compromise bill soon,” but that he had not seen that legislation.
“I can’t talk about that right now because we are in discussions,” Cooper said.
Berger said he and Cooper have talked over the phone multiple times. He said they had not yet reached an agreement, and were waiting to share details until that happens.
Cooper first closed the state’s public schools in March 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic spread in North Carolina. Then in the fall of 2020, schools were allowed to reopen under Plan B, which requires 6 feet of social distancing, or Plan C, which is all-remote. Most schools started the year remote-only, but others opened with rotating cohorts of students to work out the necessary logistics for Plan B. In October, after continuing pushing from Republican lawmakers, Cooper allowed elementary schools to reopen under Plan A also, which allows full-time in-person instruction with minimal social distancing along with other restrictions in place, including a mask mandate.
After winter break, some school districts that had been open, closed — including the largest in the state, Wake County. Soon a schools reopening bill was filed, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and new studies opened the door for proponents of in-person learning.
The compromise could make the future of Senate Bill 37 “moot,” Berger said Tuesday. That bill would require school districts to offer a full-time, in-person instruction option — Plan A — to special needs students. It would also require schools to offer either Plan A or Plan B to all students. The latest state guidance calls for Plan A only for K-5 students, and Plan B for 6-12.
SB 37 passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support, then was vetoed by Cooper. The Senate held an override vote on March 1, but that failed to pass and the governor’s veto was sustained. It failed by just one vote, and Democratic Sen. Ben Clark of Fayetteville, a co-sponsor of the bill, was absent. So Senate Republican leadership said last week that they would hold the vote again.
Teachers, school support staff and child-care workers were moved up in vaccination priority, and have been able to be vaccinated since Feb. 24. The state’s vaccination plan is currently in Group 3, which is front-line essential workers.
Then this past week, the State Board of Education and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services updated its guidance to tell school districts to plan reopening. As of Monday, according to a spreadsheet maintained by the North Carolina School Boards Association, the state’s 115 school districts are all open in some format or planning to soon. But Berger said Tuesday that not all schools have reopened yet.
Local schools bill
Lawmakers in the state House are trying another tactic to get around Cooper’s veto power. Local bills do not need action from the governor.
The House Education Committee on Tuesday backed a local bill, House Bill 90, sponsored by Rep. Pat McElraft, an Emerald Isle Republican and the House deputy majority whip. It would allow 14 school districts to offer daily in-person classes to all grade levels. The districts covered are Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Carteret, Cleveland, Craven, Granville, Haywood, Jones, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Onslow and Yancey counties.
Lawmakers heard from Carteret County school leaders, parents and students who said the current state rules that limit them to a hybrid of online and in-person classes aren’t working. Carteret County Superintendent Rob Jackson told lawmakers they’re seeing increased drug use among teens.
“We can safely return our middle school and high school students to school,” Jackson said. “We would love to have that opportunity to send them back to school five days a week. They need to be there. The research is clear.”
The ABC Science Collaborative, which is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, said in early March that social distancing of 3 feet rather than 6 should be allowable if more than 90% of people in the schools are wearing masks.
Legislative staff warned that the bill could face constitutional challenges because local bills are not supposed to cover health issues.
“I just don’t see why we would vote for a bill that has the very strong possibility of being unconstitutional,” said Rep. Graig Meyer, a Chapel Hill Democrat.
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This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 3:22 PM with the headline "School reopening deal with NC Gov. Cooper is close, Senate Republicans say."