This is a call for the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) to issue “emergency learning scholarships” to all families affected by public school shutdowns from Education First Alliance.

We ask that these funds be used to cover the cost of private schools, home school events, and could also be used for participating in micro-schools and pods, as well as therapy services for students with special needs.

North Carolina's largest school districts, Wake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, have spent nearly 10 months have kept students as young as 5 in remote-only classes.

On January 14th, the Wake County School Board voted to keep students in remote-only classes until mid-February because of "cries" from employees and school administrators about returning to their classrooms. Before that, the Wake County School Board voted to keep students in remote-only classes because of "about 500 daily absences" and the school district's professed failure to be able to hire subs.

Similarly last week, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education voted Thursday to keep students virtual until at least Feb. 15 due to a just-in-time memo sent a by Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris that asked the School Board to "think very carefully about their situation." https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavir...

Reports show that remote learning is not an adequate substitute for in-person instruction:

• In Wake County, approximately a quarter of secondary students -- grades 6 through 12 -- had an F in one or more courses and approximately 8.8% of students have four or more absences: https://abc11.com/wake-county-schools-students-fai...
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Schools are experiencing similar failure rates as their schools refuse to open for in-person learning: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/education/more-c...
• Multiple reports show that virtual learning has exacerbated the existing divide between privileged children and those with fewer means: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-1....

The reality is that North Carolina's parents feel as though they are being held hostage by local school officials or by state-wide COVID circumstances.

We call on the NCGA to prioritize the needs of our youngest North Carolinians and their families, many of whom have been forced out of the economy due to forced homeschooling. We ask that block grant funds be used to issue “emergency learning scholarships” to all families affected to public school shutdowns.

Please sign below if you agree.