The plan put forward by Republican state legislators could still become law if enough Democrats who supported the bill decide to help overturn the governor’s veto.
“Students learn best in the classroom, and I strongly recommend all schools that safely open classroom teaching, and the vast majority of local school systems have done just that,” said Cooper. “However, Senate Bill 37 is insufficient in two critical areas. First, it allows elementary and high school students to return to the classroom, violating the guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services of the NC and the CDC. second, it hurts state officials to protect students and teachers during an emergency. “
READ SENADO BILL 37 (.pdf)
The Democratic governor said he told the legislature that he would sign the bill if these “two problems” were resolved. He appealed to school councils that have not yet done so to make the transition to face-to-face education, but opposed the state mandate that would force them to reopen about two weeks in advance. In some places, students were kept out of physical classrooms for 11 months, sparking protests among parents concerned about learning loss.
Cooper argued that the bill threatens public health as North Carolina struggles to get out of the pandemic.
“The project they just approved failed on both fronts,” said Cooper. “I will continue to discuss potential new legislation with the leaders of the General Assembly before taking action on the bill that I now have on my desk. It is critical for our teachers and students that we understand this right.”
Republicans said the North Carolina Educators Association opposed the bill, saying that teachers’ unions across the country are “exercising their political muscles” to suspend or minimize face-to-face education.
“While the governor boasts of vaccinating teachers after giving them a higher priority than cancer patients, he is vetoing this school reopening project because it offers school districts the flexibility to operate according to the plan that best suits your local needs, “said Sen. Deanna Ballard, R-Watauga, who co-chairs the Senate Education Committee and sponsored Senate Bill 37.
“With teacher vaccinations in full swing, there is no legitimate excuse for Governor Cooper and the NCAE far left to oppose the wide reopening flexibility that this project grants to school districts, “added Ballard.” The far left of the NCAE owns the governor’s mansion. Fortunately, Senate Bill 37 passed with sufficient bipartisan support to overturn Governor Cooper’s veto, and we hope to present it for an annulment vote. “
State House Mayor Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, also responded on Friday to Cooper’s veto.
“With this veto, the governor ignored desperate parents, policy experts and students who are suffering from their refusal to let them go back to the classroom,” said Moore. “The legislature worked hard to find common ground with the governor, but we have a constitutional duty to provide access to education for our students and will seek to override the veto on behalf of North Carolina families.”
The NCAE pushed for a higher priority on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution list, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not believe that the reopening of schools should be based on teacher vaccination. The reopening of Cooper’s management guidelines loosens restrictions for elementary school students, allowing children not to wear masks while sitting in classrooms. Stricter guidelines are in effect for primary and secondary schools.
The NCAE issued a statement supporting Cooper’s decision.
“North Carolina public school educators are eager to return to their classrooms as soon as it is safe to do so, but SB 37 is the opposite of a safe return to personal instruction,” said NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly. “By trying to impede the decision-making authority of local school councils and ignore the latest scientific guidelines, this bill would have unnecessarily jeopardized the health and safety of educators and students. The best action that all lawmakers can take it is now encouraging their communities to comply with safety protocols and encouraging vaccinations for all school staff. We thank Governor Cooper for vetoing this bill and look forward to working with him and the Legislature to work out a safe return to personal instruction. “
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Republicans accused Cooper of playing more for politics than science in the fight to reopen schools, citing studies done here in the Triangle, where a team of researchers from Duke and UNC found a very low transmission rate at school.
“Governor Cooper vetoed SB 37 to keep as many children imprisoned in failing virtual schools as possible, while actively negotiating with left-wing activists to leave thousands of convicted criminals out of prison,” said the director of communications for the NCGOP, Tim Wigginton. “Cooper is letting criminals get out of prison and locking our kids up in bad virtual schools.”
Cooper noted that 95% of districts plan to offer face-to-face instruction by mid-March, which represents about 96% of the approximately 1.5 million students in K-12 public schools.
At least 3,500 incarcerated people will be released in advance from North Carolina state prisons, according to NC NAACP and ACLU, after an agreement has been reached in NC NAACP v. Cooper, a lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations, three people incarcerated, and the spouse of one person incarcerated, contesting the conditions of confinement in North Carolina state prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the state has 180 days to release 3,500 people currently in its custody.
The Associated Press contributed.
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