On Thursday, a bill was presented in the House that would take away authority from local school boards regarding masking in schools. The conference committee report for SB 173: Free the Smiles Act was presented by House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Representative David Willis, R-Union, following a statement released by Speaker Moore last week calling for the end of “policies that effectively mandate masks in schools”.
Prior to the presentation of SB 173, Governor Roy Cooper announced that he would be holding a press conference on Thursday afternoon addressing mask mandates in schools. The House proceeded to pass SB 173 right before the Governor’s press conference, and the Senate passed the bill during the press conference.
SB 173: Free the Smiles Act
SB 173: Free the Smiles Act passed the House 76-42, with seven Democrats joining Republicans in support, and passed the Senate 28-17, with two Democrats joining Republicans in support. The bill is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting action. SB 173 does the following:
- Allows a parent to opt their child out of a mask mandate in a public school unit (PSU)
- Repeals the requirement for monthly votes on mask policies in PSUs
- Requires PSUs to adopt a process for a parent to provide annual notification of election to opt their child out of a mask mandate
- Prohibits students who are not wearing masks from being treated differently than students who are wearing masks, including in classroom assignments, course assignments, non-academic portions of the school day, extracurricular activities, student discipline, and academic grading
- States that “No governing body of a public school unit, or its members, employees, designees, agents, or volunteers, shall be liable for any act or omission in compliance with this section that does not amount to gross negligence, willful or wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing.”
During the presentation of SB 173, legislative staff stated that the governor’s emergency powers would not supersede this legislation. Click here for an official bill summary.
Governor’s Press Conference
Governor Cooper held a press conference with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley, where he encouraged schools and local governments to end their mask mandates. “We are taking a positive step on mask requirements to help us move safely toward a more normal day to day life,” said Governor Cooper. “It’s time to focus on getting our children a good education and improving our schools, no matter how you feel about masks.” Governor Cooper also expressed concerns about SB 173.
StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit
During the Governor’s press conference, Secretary Kinsley explained how the State’s COVID metrics continue to move in the right direction and that updates to the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit will reflect this. Updates to the Toolkit include recommending that schools:
- Consider moving to voluntary masking, at the discretion of local authorities, as universal masking is a less important tool in lower risk settings like schools
- Promote vaccinations and boosters for students and staff by providing accurate information and hosting vaccination events
Additionally,
- Masks are recommended in indoor settings for people at high risk for severe disease and who are not up to date on vaccines
- Masks are required following a COVID infection and recommended after a COVID exposure
- Because masks can add a layer of protection for those who want it, schools should support students and staff who choose to wear a mask
These updates have not yet been added to the Toolkit and will not take effect until March 7.
Click here and here for articles covering the passage of SB 173, the Governor’s press conference, and updates to the Toolkit.
As of February 18,
- 64 school districts have mask optional policies (six have mask optional policies with certain stipulations and 15 have pending effective dates)
- 51 school districts have mask mandates (four have mask mandates because the district reached a certain positivity rate)
The number of districts that have adopted optional mask policies has increased by 23 since last Friday, February 11.
NCSBA continues to track local school boards’ mask policies as districts vote monthly on whether to modify their current policy (required by Section 10 of SB 654/SL 2021-130). Click here to access a chart of school board actions. If your school district changes its mask policy or you have corrections to the chart, please email information to Rebekah Howard at rhoward@ncsba.org.
The General Assembly voted to approve new legislative and congressional maps, following the State Supreme Court’s ruling on February 4 that the previously drawn maps were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court gave the legislature until 5:00 pm today, February 18, to submit redrawn maps to the trial court.
House
Senate
Congressional
Click here for an article on the newly drawn maps. Additionally, click here to see the Supreme Court’s full opinion, which was filed on February 14, and click here for an article on the full opinion.
As a reminder, in December 2021, the Supreme Court pushed back the primary election date from March 8 to May 17, as redistricting litigation progressed. Additionally, last month the State Board of Elections announced new candidate filing period dates, which will begin at 8:00 am on February 24 and end at 12:00 pm on March 4.
On Tuesday, the Governor’s Education Cabinet met and heard presentations on topics including, the NC Longitudinal Data System (NCLDS), teacher preparation, and a strategic economic development plan for NC. During the meeting Governor Cooper signed an executive order establishing a governance board for the NCLDS. The NCLDS combines data from multiple State agencies to “increase our knowledge of the opportunities and challenges that North Carolinians experience as they transition from early childhood, through the education system, and into the labor market.”
Click here to access the meeting agenda and materials. Click here for an article on the meeting.
Monday, February 21
1:00 pm – House Select Committee on An Education System for North Carolina’s Future – Legislative Offices Building, rm 544 (live stream)
Bruce Mildwurf
Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
bmildwurf@ncsba.org
Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
N.C. School Boards Association
rhoward@ncsba.org