It appears the state government in Raleigh is united in the effort to have public schools in the state reopen their classrooms.

A bill was introduced in the state House Monday, Feb. 1 that would require all public schools to offer in-classroom instruction for parents and students who choose it.

Speaker of the state House Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) issued a press release on Tuesday, Feb. 2 stating, “I join parents, experts, and elected officials across North Carolina urging every school district to use strong sources of available funding to reopen for, in-person student instruction this semester for every family who wants it.

“Student achievement has suffered long enough, and it is time for school districts to begin preparing robust opportunities for in-person remedial instruction now and over the summer.  The massive learning loss of the last year must end now.  The most vulnerable young people in our state desperately need a return to productive education communities that shape their development as individuals, and I urge every school district to safely offer in-person instruction this semester.”

Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, a Republican who was elected in November, said that she was going to push for school districts across the state to re-open for in-person instruction. 

Truitt also said that Gov. Roy Cooper agreed that it was time to re-open schools for in-person instruction and that they will be making a joint statement to that effect at a press conference at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

The North Carolina Council of State, which is made up of the 10 state officials elected statewide including the governor and lieutenant governor, met Tuesday morning and Truitt stated her desire to move the state to in-person instruction in all school districts at that meeting.

Public schools across the state were closed for in-person instruction in March 2020 by an executive order from Cooper.