The N.C. State Board of Education has voted unanimously to switch social-distancing requirements under a “Plan A” return to public school classrooms to 3 feet rather than the previous six feet.
Republican lawmakers grilled State Board of Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell over her handling of the 2020 election in a testy back-and-forth hearing.
Interest in homeschooling has surged in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Republican lawmakers in the state Senate want to give these families tax relief to help meet expenses.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced on March 16 the creation of a task force dedicated to giving “students, parents, and school faculty a voice to speak out about cases of bias, inappropriate materials, or indoctrination they see or experience in public schools.”
Even as a bill to reopen schools across North Carolina garnered unanimous bipartisan support and was fast-tracked through the legislature, North Carolina’s teacher’s union released a statement blasting Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and lawmakers from both political parties for the compromise.
Parents in 14 North Carolina public school districts would have the option of sending their children to full-time, in-person instruction under a local bill approved by the N.C. House K-12 Education Committee on Tuesday, March 9.
The N.C. State Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday, March 4, calling on all public school districts to give parents the option of in-person learning by the end of March. The education board’s action is the latest step in a growing consensus to swiftly reopen school classrooms across the state.
Legislation introduced by Republican lawmakers would mandate recipients of unemployment benefits actively search for work, a requirement that hasn’t been in place since the pandemic began in March.
Two third-party options could be off the North Carolina ballot unless each gathers enough signatures to petition the State Board of Elections to be added again for future elections.
Following President Biden’s proposal to increase the minimum wage nationally to $15 an hour, a handful of Democrats in the N.C. legislature have introduced a bill that would set that same earnings benchmark for noncertified public school employees.
As North Carolina prepares to celebrate National School Choice Week Jan. 24-30, the cause of educational freedom could see even more advancement during the North Carolina General Assembly’s 2021-2022 session.
