NC governor ‘strongly urges’ public schools to allow students back in the classroom
Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday he is “strongly urging” school districts to provide in-person instruction for all students — with coronavirus safety precautions in place — as pressure increases to reopen schools
“We’ve learned much more about this virus, and now it’s time to get our children back into the classroom,” Cooper said at a press conference.
“Students should still have the option of remote learning this school year if that is best for them,” Cooper said. “And teachers who are at risk should be providing that remote instruction. But students who are ready to return to the classrooms should have that chance.”
The Democratic governor’s comments come the day after Republicans in the General Assembly filed a bill to require North Carolina K-12 public schools to give students the option of in-person learning.
Cooper has said he wants schools to reopen as soon and as safely as possible but has concerns about Senate Bill 37.
While he said he did not want to issue an executive order either about schools reopening, school leaders have been asking the state for guidance for operating schools in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he said. Those decisions are “best made at a local level,” he said, and he hopes that local school boards will soon take action.
“I believe that many, if not all, of the school boards will look very carefully at this and will make the decision going forward to get students back into the classroom,” Cooper said.
Earlier Tuesday, Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Catherine Truitt said she and Cooper will “sing from the same songbook.” Truitt, a Republican elected in November, appeared at the press conference with Cooper.
“This is incredibly important for kids,” she said.
Cooper and Truitt sent a letter to the state’s school board members and superintendents to strongly encourage, but not require school districts to offer in-person instruction. The letter is also signed by Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, and Eric Davis, chairman of the N.C. State Board of Education.
A move to Plan A
As of October, school districts are only allowed to use Plan A, or daily in-person classes, in elementary schools, if their school boards allow them. Middle and high schools could have followed Plan B, which has moderate social distancing, or Plan C, which has online-only classes.
Some school districts, including Wake County, the state’s largest, closed schools in January as COVID-19 cases worsened. The Wake school board voted Tuesday to resume in-person classes the week of Feb. 15 with Plan A for PreK-3 students and Plan B for grades 4-12. Superintendent Cathy Moore said that more details on the return plan will be presented to the public Friday.
Durham Public Schools has been virtual since the beginning of the year and has planned to remain remote through the end of the school year.
The shift in guidance comes as research shows children, especially younger children, are less likely to contract and spread COVID-19, said Cohen at Tuesday’s press conference. Cohen also said if someone who is attending school has COVID-19, it’s unlikely they contracted it at school or passed it on to someone else at the facility.
“It comes down to strong public health safety measures in our schools,” Cohen said.
Eric Davis, chairman of the State Board of Education, said there are not enough students receiving the academic and social benefits of in-person instruction.
“The science is clear: It is safe to reopen our schools in accordance with the health protocols,” Davis said.
A toolkit prepared by N.C. health officials for local education leaders states that K-5 students should return to in-person classes five days a week and do not need to stay six feet apart.
Students in grades 6-12 should return to in-person classes five days a week “to the fullest extent possible,” according to the updated toolkit, and maintain six feet of social distancing. In some instances, according to the toolkit, this could mean limiting the number of students or staff allowed in a school to allow for distancing.
In a Wake survey of principals, no high schools said they could offer daily in-person instruction if they maintained 6 feet of social distancing. Only 5% of middle school principals said they could provide 6 feet of social distancing and have daily classes.
All schools must continue to require everyone inside to wear face masks and to take temperature screenings before entering.
The guidance also says districts should also offer remote learning options for students who face significant risks from COVID-19 and those who prefer remote learning.
Cooper said the state has seen a stabilization in COVID-19 cases, following a post-holiday surge, but people need to remain vigilant about basic precautions, like wearing a mask.
North Carolina reported 2,926 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest daily increase and the first time it has been under 3,000 since Dec. 27. DHHS has reported an average of 5,258 new cases per day in the past week.
GOP reopening bill
A key difference between the governor’s announcement Tuesday and proposed legislation is about making it required.
Senate Bill 37, “In Person Learning Choice for Families,” would require that Plan A (in-person learning option with minimal social distancing) be available for students who have an individualized education program. Special-education students have had some of the most difficult challenges using remote learning, school leaders and parents have said.
Other students would be required to be given the option of Plan A or Plan B, which has moderate social distancing, or both.
Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican and co-chair of the Senate Education Committee, called the “lost learning potential” a preventable COVID tragedy. The Senate Education Committee discussed the bill Tuesday before Cooper’s press conference.
“We can open up the schools safely,” Ballard said Tuesday.
The governor did not say if he would sign or veto the bill, which is still working its way through the legislature. It was approved by the Senate’s education committee on Tuesday.
If the bill passes, the reopening would go into effect on the first weekday that is 15 days after the bill becomes law. Another bill currently in the legislature that includes COVID-19 spending would provide $1.6 billion to help with schools reopening.
Senate Majority Whip Tom McInnis said in a committee meeting Tuesday that “these little kids sitting in front of these screens is criminal,” and that they need to be able to go back to school buildings.
The issue has previously fallen mostly along party lines, with Republicans pushing for months for students to be given the option of in-person instruction, and Democrats deferring to Cooper, who is a Democrat.
Others have expressed concern that teachers won’t be vaccinated when students return to the classroom. Teachers are in Group 3, the next phase of North Carolinians to be vaccinated. Cooper said Tuesday that teachers would remain in that category.
Cohen said it would likely be “a number of weeks” until Group 3 is able to access vaccines because there is still a high amount of demand among those who are at least 65 years old.
North Carolina Association of Educators President Tamika Walker Kelly said in a statement that schools need more help to reopen safely.
“If Governor Cooper feels so strongly about resuming in-person instruction quickly, then he should support educators and immediately bring the full weight of his office to bear to get all educators vaccinated by the end of this month, just as 25 other states have been able to do,” Walker Kelly said.
“In the meantime, we encourage local school boards to continue to make decisions that protect students and educators based on local conditions. Particularly in light of the emerging and increasingly virulent strains of COVID, it is more critical than ever to have a flexible approach that can be adapted to whatever situation next emerges,” she said.
Durham Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Pascal Mubenga said the district is monitoring the Senate bill as well as Cooper’s new recommendation.
“Our original Plan B prioritized younger students and does not align with the legislation, and we would need time to propose any adjustments to our Board,” Mubenga said in a statement. “Our priorities are staff and student health and safety, and student academic engagement and success.”
In Orange County, kindergarten and first-grade students returned to a hybrid schedule Jan. 25. County students in grades 2-12 are not expected to return to in-person classes until April 6.
The district posted a message to its website Tuesday evening addressing the governor’s statements and noting that officials continue to monitor the Senate legislation. Staff members also are preparing to bring back students for extended orientation sessions and small-group instruction this month, officials said.
“Should future state legislation mandate a different expectation, then the Orange County Board of Education will meet and adhere to those guidelines,” district officials said in the statement.
A Chapel Hill-Carrboro spokesman said Cooper’s updated guidance doesn’t change the pressure the school board has been under to make a decision about in-person classes. However, the board moved up the date for deciding when the bring back students by a couple of weeks to Feb. 4.
Vaccine progress
North Carolina providers have given nearly 796,000 first doses of vaccine, as well as 159,196 second doses. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require a second shot of the same vaccine in order to boost the recipient’s antibody production.
During a Monday appearance before the majority of the Council of State, Cohen said that North Carolina’s vaccination capacity could well outpace the 147,575 first doses the state is receiving from the federal government each of the next three weeks.
“We just don’t have enough supply to get to everybody, and it is frustrating across the board,” Cohen said Monday.
Tuesday, the Biden Administration announced that the federal government is increasing the number of doses available nationally to 10.5 million, up from 8.6 million the week of Jan. 25.
Cohen also announced Tuesday that vaccine will soon be available at some Walgreens locations in North Carolina through the Federal Retail Pharmacy program. Walgreens will receive what Cohen called “a very small amount” of the state’s allocation to vaccinate at locations that are still being determined.
A White House statement said vaccine could be available at select retail pharmacies as soon as Feb. 11.
North Carolina asked providers to scale up distribution in mid-January in an effort to use up every first dose of vaccine, an effort meant to ensure the state would continue to receive the same number of doses from the federal government. While that effort was successful, it resulted in some tension between the state and providers, who found themselves with scaled-up vaccination capabilities and a limited amount of vaccine.
During Monday’s meeting, Cohen said that she is hopeful a third vaccine joining Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech could help increase the supply nationwide.
Johnson & Johnson is expected to seek Food and Drug Administration emergency approval for its vaccine this month. Unlike the previously approved vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot.
T. Keung Hui, Tammy Grubb and Charlie Innis contributed.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 10:12 AM with the headline "NC governor ‘strongly urges’ public schools to allow students back in the classroom."
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