Raleigh, NC The state Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a measure that would force school districts in North Carolina to reopen their doors to students who want the option to learn in person during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the vote 29-15 – two Democrats joining the Republicans in the Senate to support the measure – Senate Bill 37 now goes to the House. It is scheduled to go through two committees on Wednesday before a vote on Thursday floor, meaning it could be on Roy Cooper’s government by the end of the week.
Cooper expressed reservations about the bill and said reopening decisions should be left to local school boards. Yet he encouraged districts last week to get more students into classrooms.
The bill would give school districts two weeks to plan before getting students, at least part-time, safely back into the classroom. It also requires the possibility of full-time personal learning for all students with special needs and students with IEPs, or an individualized education program.
Schools must follow all safety guidelines, including 6-foot distance for students in middle and high schools.
The Wake County Public School System recently surveyed principals about whether they can keep students 6 feet apart when students go daily or on a turn.
For high schools, 85 percent said they could only do so if students attended the school in rotation. Only 5 percent said they would be able to maintain enough distance if the entire student body attended daily.
For high schools, 93 percent said they would be able to maintain a distance of 6 feet if students attended rotation. No one said they would be able to do it if students attended it daily.
Experts from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said schools can reopen safely if distance and other safety protocols, including masks, are followed.
However, some teachers have pushed back against the reopening bill, arguing that they should first be vaccinated to reduce the risk to themselves and their families.
Dr. Katie Jordan, a pediatrician at UNC Health, said teachers have a legitimate concern.
“I think one study that looked at teachers and staff in schools said that about 50 percent are at greater risk for COVID complications,” Jordan said.
Research done in schools in North Carolina last fall found no cases where students gave the virus to teachers. But she noted that the studies were done in schools with a mix of personal and online classes and a lot of distance – not schools that work at full capacity.