Education
Last Thursday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper laid out his budget recommendations for COVID-19 relief spending, which includes one time bonuses for teachers and school personnel, recovery for businesses and further efforts to stop the spread of the virus. Cooper’s budget recommendations for allocating federal funding comes as the Republican-led General Assembly already passed an…
Read MoreLast week, North Carolina Republican lawmakers announced that they are working on drafting legislation to reopen schools. From WRAL: The bill would likely require all public school districts to offer in-person learning but also give parents the option of virtual learning if they choose. Such a measure would attempt to force Gov. Roy Cooper’s hand,…
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In a news conference on Wednesday, North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and other top Republicans pushed for Governor Roy Cooper to move to Plan A with fully in-person classes. The move would result in a forced reopening of all schools across the state, being despite the level of COVID-19 spread in their communities.…
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Just a month ago, current and former faculty from across the UNC system sent a letter to top UNC System leadership and the UNC Board of Governors, urging them to join other university systems in making online instruction the default for the coming Fall semester as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Despite their concerns, the BOG…
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Just two days after Trump’s visit to Morrisville, Pence is visiting Thales Academy, a private school in Apex today. The private school reopened last week with in-person learning along with virtual learning. In an effort to continue the Trump administration’s push to reopen schools, Pence will join a roundtable at the academy to discuss how…
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Decisions on reopening schools is happening across the country as the Trump Administration has pressured governors to reopen schools his fall. With numerous threats to cut school funding for states that do not adhere to Trump’s strong-arm approach, North Carolina was one of many states that announced school plans. For North Carolina, the choice of…
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Since last week, Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have issued federal funding threats to schools that don’t fully reopen in the fall. On Wednesday, Trump pressured the government’s top health experts to loosen safety recommendations for how the nation’s schools could reopen safely. Trump also threatened to pull tax-exempt status for schools and colleges.…
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Before the mandatory Aug. 17 start of the school year, the state House wanted to make changes to a state law that requires all students to be in school, but the Senate, spearheaded by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, refused to agree on the change. Proposed plans to rotate groups of students between in-person…
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As Republicans lawmakers are supporting an Aug. 17 opening date for the upcoming school year, a new poll finds North Carolinians are deeply divided about the best way to send students and teachers back. Currently, the state has required each school district to have three plans with different levels of social distancing. One plan puts…
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News & Observer: Judge said NC schools need more money. But Phil Berger says COVID-19 may limit that
Since mid-March, North Carolina’s public schools have been closed due to the pandemic, forcing schools to move to remote learning. The pandemic has put on display the inequities of the state’s education system. Decades of cuts has left the education system without the structure to assist students who are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.…
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