Raleigh, NC – The state Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to a measure that would force school districts across North Carolina to reopen its doors for students who want the option of personal learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the vote of 29-15 – two Democrats joined the Senate Republicans to support the measure – Senate Bill 37 now heads to the House. He is scheduled to go through two committees on Wednesday before the vote on Thursday, which means he may be on Governor Roy Cooper’s table by the end of the week.
Cooper expressed reservations about the bill, saying that decisions on reopening should be left to local school councils. Still, he asked districts last week to welcome more students into classrooms.
The project would give school districts two weeks to plan before safely putting students back in class, at least part time. It would also require the option of full-time face-to-face learning for all students with special needs and those with IEPs, or an individualized education program.
Schools would have to follow all safety guidelines, including 6 feet of distance for students in elementary and high schools.
The Wake County Public School System recently surveyed principals about whether they could keep students six feet away if they attended school daily or on a rotating basis.
For high schools, 85 percent said they could only do so if students attended the school in rotation. Only 5 percent said they could keep enough distance if the entire student body attended daily.
For high schools, 93 percent said they could keep 6 feet away if students attended on a rotating basis. None said they could do this if students came daily.
Experts at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that schools can reopen safely if distance and other safety protocols, including masks, are followed.
But some teachers resisted the reopening project, arguing that they should be vaccinated first to reduce the risk for themselves and their families.
Dr. Katie Jordan, a pediatrician at UNC Health, said that teachers have a legitimate concern.
“I think a study that looked at teachers and staff at schools said that about 50 percent are at higher risk for COVID complications,” said Jordan.
Research done in North Carolina schools last fall found no cases of students passing the virus on to teachers. But she noted that these studies were done in schools using a mix of classroom and online classes and a great deal of distance – not schools running at full capacity.