Gov. Cooper signs bill allowing N.C. schools to shift to remote learning if necessary due to a COVID-19 emergency

The bill also says school districts need to vote at least once a month on whether their mask policies should be modified.
The bill also says school districts need to vote at least once a month on whether their mask policies should be modified.
Published: Aug. 30, 2021 at 9:54 PM EDT|Updated: Aug. 30, 2021 at 11:33 PM EDT
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Governor Roy Cooper has signed a bill that will allow North Carolina schools to shift to remote learning if necessary due to a COVID-19 emergency.

On Monday, the governor signed Senate Bill 654 K-12 COVID-19 Provisions, a wide-ranging bill that covers multiple areas concerning schools and provisions related to COVID-19.?

Section IIIA is related to remote instruction for COVID-19 emergencies.

This section of the bill states that school districts will now have the authority to make day-to-day decisions for the 2021-22 school year about shifting in-person schools or classrooms to temporary remote instruction if it’s necessary due to COVID-19 exposures that result in insufficient school personnel or required student quarantines.

The bill says a public school unit will need to report any shift by a school or classroom from in-person to temporary remote instruction to the Department of Public Instruction within 72 hours of the shift and would return to in-person instruction as soon as personnel are available or the required quarantines are complete.

Another section of the bill talks about mask mandates in schools.

Section 10 of the bill states that for the 2021-22 school year, all public schools shall adopt a policy - whether optional or required - regarding the use of face coverings by employees and students.

The bill says school districts need to vote at least once a month on whether the face-covering policy should be modified.

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