The Honorable North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper, has implemented a three-phased approach to slowly lift restrictions while combating COVID-19, protecting North Carolinians and working together to recover the economy.
In order to secure the safety and protection of children and their families across the state, Governor Cooper, in collaboration with the NC State Board of Education (NCSBE) and the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), closed public school buildings for in-person instruction through Executive Order No 117 on March 14 and extended through the rest of the 2019-2020 school year via Executive Orders Nos 120 and 138.
On March 14, 2020, Governor Cooper established an Education and Nutrition Working Group to develop a plan to ensure that children and families were supported while schools were closed Since then, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has worked closely with NCDPI and NCSBE to meet the nutritional, educational and child care needs of students during school closure, and plan for safely reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year Throughout the process, school, child care, child nutrition, and community leaders and stakeholders have been engaged to share ideas and provide input.
Families and students should use the published plan for guidance to understand what health practices will be in place when students return to school All public schools will be required to follow certain health practices in this guidance noted as “required ” Many schools may also choose to implement some or all of the recommended practices.
Local education leaders are required to use this guide to understand what health practices they must meet, and to develop detailed district and school plans for how to implement all required
health practices described in this toolkit The Public Health Toolkit should be used in combination with operational guidance provided by NCDPI which includes strategies to implement the health guidance in schools, and to address other non-health areas for reopening planning, including scheduling supports, how to approach instructional practice, and providing staff training.
View the full Strong Schools NC
Public Health Toolkit (K-12) now by clicking on the PDF link here:
https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/guidance/Strong-Schools-NC-Public-Health-Toolkit.pdf
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