On Saturday, May 2 the House and the Senate voted to approve two pieces of COVID-19 legislation, which were signed into session law by Governor Cooper today.
HB 1043: 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act (Session Law 2020-4)
SB 704: COVID-19 Recovery Act (Session Law 2020-3)
NCSBA’s Governmental Relations team prepared a summary of each bill’s K-12 education sections. Click here to view the summary. Some provisions we want to call attention to are:
- Section 2.1(6) of SB 704 (SL 2020-3) provides a new definition of “year-round school” for the 2020-21 school year, which allows for an exception to the August 17, 2020 start date in Section 2.11.(b). Local school boards that have published a 2020-21 year-round school calendar should review this new definition with their school board attorney.
- Section 2.11 of SB 704 (SL 2020-3) lays out new requirements for the 2020-21 school calendar, including the development of a Remote Instruction Plan, a required additional five full instructional days from the already adopted calendar, five days that must be used for remote instruction, and the authority to start as early as August 17. One of the requirements of the Remote Instruction Plan requires that students with disabilities have equal access to remote instruction. You may want to consult with your board attorney who handles special education issues in developing this part of the plan.
- Section 4.31 of SB 704 (SL 2020-3) establishes procedures for holding remote meetings, including a requirement that all persons subject to a quasi-judicial hearing consent to the meeting being held remotely. The NCSBA Legal Department is working on revisions to the NCSBA sample policy on remote meetings and is also drafting a policy for districts that do not currently use panels for quasi-judicial hearings to implement them when under a declaration of emergency. We suggest that you consult your board attorney before issuing any notices of remote quasi-judicial hearings to consider how to frame the consent. You may wish to go ahead and notify the person that if they do not consent to the hearing being held remotely that the hearing will be conducted in person.
The following sections were not included in the final versions of the legislation:
- Delay K-3 Class Size Reduction/Adjust Program Enhancement Teacher Allotment Funding
- Would have delayed the K-3 class size reduction requirement for one school year and reduced corresponding funding for program enhancement teacher positions for the 2020-21 fiscal year
- Carryforward of Drivers Education Funds
- Would have required that unexpended driver’s education funds not be reverted at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year, but remain available until the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year
- Budget Flexibility
- Would have increased flexibility for local boards of education to transfer funds from one allotment category to another within certain limitations for the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 fiscal years
- Intent of the General Assembly to refrain from using school growth scores from the 2019-20 school year to determine principal salaries form the 2020-21 fiscal year
Leanne E. Winner
Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6686
Bruce Mildwurf
Associate Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6692
Richard Bostic
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6677
Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6688