Mental health experts who are also parents with students in Wake County Public Schools are sounding an alarm over a rising mental health crisis due to a lack of full-time classroom instruction. “Stop hiding behind fear and listening to the politically based [N.C. Association of Educators],” said mental health specialist Renee Avis, referring to the...
A new poll form the Pew Research Center shows that parents are increasingly concerned about learning losses due to pandemic-related school closures. At the same time, a smaller share of parents now prioritize health risks to students and teachers above academic declines due to virtual learning. Since last summer, the percentage of parents who say...
A group of Wake County parents has written Gov. Roy Cooper asking him to reopen schools for in-person instruction. Wake is the state’s largest school system. “There is no rational basis for restricting public-school children in one set of schools while allowing private school children in the same neighborhood to enjoy the benefits of in-person...
Private bars will open at limited capacity under a new executive decree from the governor, although at the same time he called for more direct government aid to prop up failing businesses. As opposed to easing restrictions even further, as states such as South Carolina and Florida — and many with Republican governors — have...
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. Traditionally, unemployment benefits have been linked to a job-search requirement. But in a March 10 executive order, Gov. Roy Cooper waived that requirement due to the economic...
Republicans in the General Assembly are criticizing Gov. Roy Cooper for his inaction on a bill that would reopen schools for in-person instruction. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 37 last week in a bipartisan vote: 31-16 in the Senate and 77-42 in the House. Three Democrats in the Senate and eight Democrats in the House joined...
With new U.S. Census data not expected until September, the State Board of Elections is recommending moving all of this year’s municipal elections to 2022. Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell also told the elections board Tuesday, Feb. 23, she recommends delaying the 2022 primary elections from March until May. The changes would need to be...
As state lawmakers try to sort out when students can go back to school full time, members of the House are sponsoring a bill that would offer a voluntary summer school program for North Carolina students. House Republicans held a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 16, to discuss their bill, which allows local school districts to...
Majorities of the House and Senate agree that N.C. schools need legislative prodding to reopen, but they’re struggling to come to terms on how to do it. Both houses of the General Assembly have passed a version of Senate Bill 37, which would require school districts to reopen for in-person instruction in some capacity. But...
North Carolina’s heavy-fisted response to the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a delayed economic recovery, reports from state and national economists show. Things won’t speed up for a while. The latest projections call for relatively high unemployment through next year. School closures and business restrictions led to an “unprecedented drop in economic activity,” says the...
Gov. Roy Cooper signed a more than $2 billion COVID relief bill on Wednesday, Feb. 10, despite his call for more spending. The General Assembly passed the bill, which includes $1.6 billion for public schools and another half-billion in rental assistance, primarily to allocate money passed down from the federal government. Cooper had outlined his...
