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Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen were joined today by education and health leaders to announce health and safety plans for K-12 public schools for the new school year. Schools will open for in-person instruction under an updated Plan B that requires face coverings for all K-12 students, fewer children in the classroom, measures to ensure social distancing for everyone in the building, and other safety protocols.
The State Board of Education (SBE) held its monthly meeting remotely on July 8-9. The pages that follow summarize highlights from the meeting and the Board’s actions for this month.
Lawmakers returned to Raleigh this week mainly to attempt overriding vetoes on several bills related to reopening businesses closed by Executive Orders due to COVID-19. At the request of NCASA, the State Board of Education and some other public school advocates, the N.C. House also took quick action to push forward legislation to clarify LEA flexibility to schedule remote learning during the first week of the 2020-21 school year.
The General Assembly was much slower-paced this week, as many legislators awaited Governor Cooper’s action regarding numerous bills approved during last week’s legislative marathon. The Governor signed into law several education-related bills yesterday, including Senate Bill 681 (=S.L. 2020-78), a 45-page policy omnibus bill that was quickly passed by legislators around 1 a.m. last Friday without much discussion.
