The plan introduced by Republican lawmakers could continue to become law if a sufficient number of Democrats who supported the bill decide to help lift the governor’s veto.
“Students learn best in the classroom, and we have strongly urged all schools to open up safely to personal instruction, and the vast majority of local school systems have done just that,” Cooper said. “However, the Senate bill 37 is short in two critical areas. First, it allows high school and middle school students to return to class, in violation of the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC Health Guidelines. Second, it prevents local and state officials from protecting students and teachers in an emergency. “
READ THE DRAFT SENATE 37 (.pdf)
The Democratic governor said he told the Legislature he would sign the bill if these “two problems” were remedied. He appealed to school boards that have not yet done so to move on to personal training, but opposed the state-level mandate that would have required them to reopen with about two weeks’ notice. In some places, students were kept out of physical classrooms for 11 months, causing a outcry among parents concerned about learning loss.
Cooper argued that the bill threatens public health just as North Carolina is struggling to emerge from the pandemic.
“The bill they just passed fails on both fronts,” Cooper said. “I will continue to discuss potential new legislation with General Assembly leaders before taking action on the bill we now have in office. It is essential for our teachers and students to understand this.”
Republicans said the North Carolina Association of Educators opposed the bill, saying teachers’ unions nationwide “flex their political muscle” to retain or minimize personal education.
“At the same time, the governor is proud of the vaccinations of teachers, after giving them a higher priority than cancer patients, he vetoes this law to reopen the school, because it gives school districts the flexibility to operate according to the plan that is best suits their ground needs, “said Sen. Deanna Ballard, R-Watauga, who co-chairs the Senate Education Committee and sponsored Senate Bill 37.
“With teacher vaccinations “There is no legitimate excuse for Governor Cooper and the far-left NCAE to oppose the broad reopening flexibility that this project gives school districts,” Ballard added. The far-left NCAE owns the governor’s mansion. Fortunately, Senate Bill 37 was passed with enough bipartisan support to lift Governor Cooper’s veto, and we expect him to bring it to a general vote. “
State House Speaker Tim Moore of R-Cleveland also responded to Cooper’s veto on Friday.
“With this veto, the governor ignored desperate parents, policy experts and students who suffer from his refusal to let them return to class,” Moore said. “The legislature has worked hard to find common ground with the governor, but we have a constitutional duty to provide access to education for our students and we will continue to veto on behalf of families in North Carolina.”
The NCAE has pushed for higher priority on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution list, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not believe that reopening the school should be based on vaccinating teachers. The reopening of guidance from the Cooper administration loosens restrictions for middle school students, allowing children not to wear masks while sitting in classrooms. There are stricter guidelines for middle and high schools.
The NCAE issued a statement in support of Cooper’s decision.
“North Carolina public school educators are eager to return to their classrooms as soon as this can be done safely, but SB 37 is the opposite of a safe return to personal instruction,” said NCAE President Tamika Walker. Kelly. “Trying to impede the decision-making authority of local school boards and ignoring the latest scientific guidance, this bill would have unnecessarily endangered the health and safety of educators and students. The best action that all legislators can take now is to encourage their communities to follow safety protocols and to encourage the vaccination of all school employees. We thank Governor Cooper for vetoing this bill and look forward to working with him and the legislature to create a safe return to personal training. “
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Republicans have accused Cooper of playing more in politics than in 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 in the school.
“Governor Cooper has vetoed SB 37 to keep as many children locked up in virtual schools as they fail, while at the same time actively working with left-wing activists to release thousands of convicted criminals from prison,” he said NCGOP communications director Tim Wigginton. “Cooper lets the criminals out of jail and locks our children in failed virtual schools.”
Cooper noted that 95% of districts plan to provide personal instruction by mid-March, which is about 96% of the state’s approximately 1.5 million K-12 public school students.
According to NC NAACP and ACLU, at least 3,500 inmates will receive early release from state prisons in North Carolina after a settlement was reached in NC NAACP v. Cooper, a lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations, three people incarcerated individuals and a spouse of an incarcerated person, causing conditions of detention 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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