NC lawmakers are requiring remote learning plans. But schools warn there are limits.
North Carolina public schools are warning that problems such as spotty broadband access will limit their ability to provide students with quality remote instruction next school year.
The State Board of Education approved a new policy Thursday on the remote learning plans that the General Assembly is requiring schools to develop for the 2020-21 school year. But the plans will also include a section, requested by the districts, that will “describe the limitations that exist for implementation of quality remote learning based on each local context.”
“Any amount of planning for remote instruction is only as good as the access from students’ homes, and we’ve got so many areas of the state that are deeply challenged in that area, particularly the northeast,” said state board member Jill Camnitz. “We’ve got to continue to be realistic about the limitations that systems are going to face and also continue to try to find ways to help solve those issues.”
School districts and charter schools have until July 20 to submit their remote learning plans to the state Department of Public Instruction.
Schools had to quickly switch to remote instruction after they were closed in mid-March to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Schools are using these “emergency” plans to finish out the school year, prompting complaints from some parents about how it’s being offered.
State lawmakers are requiring schools to include five remote learning days in their calendar for next school year, as well as to develop a remote learning plan. It’s unclear how extensively remote learning will be used for the 2020-21 school year and when school buildings will be allowed to reopen.
Some remote learning likely this fall
“This is such a critical issue for our districts,” said state board member JB Buxton. “We’re going to be remote in some way, shape or form over the next year. I think we all know that, whether it’s fully or in patches.”
Lawmakers required schools to include 13 components in their plan, including:
▪ Consult with teachers, administrators, instructional support staff, parents, students and community partners in developing and communicating remote learning plans.
▪ Survey students and teachers on home connectivity and provide remote instruction that is appropriate for those with limited connectivity.
▪ Teach and provide practice opportunities for students on using remote learning platforms, including how to locate, complete and submit assignments.
▪ Communicate learning targets to students on each remote instruction day, including a process for monitoring the quality of remote instruction materials.
▪ Ensure remote instructional time supports learning growth. This includes providing work measurement guidelines and deadlines for submitting work.
▪ Ensure students with disabilities have equal access to the remote instruction provided and that it’s provided in a manner consistent with their IEP or 504 plan.
Need for broadband promoted
The state board policy mirrors the legislation but includes additional wording such as requiring schools to say how they’re responding to the needs of students who are academically gifted, homeless or where English is not their primary language.
Sneha Shah Coltrane, DPI’s director of advanced learning and gifted education, said they don’t have the capacity and time to provide deep feedback of the more than 300 remote learning plans that will be submitted. But she said they will look for patterns and trends and provide support to schools as needed.
Eric Davis, chairman of the state board, said the remote learning plans are yet more work that’s being required of schools during the pandemic. He said the crisis shows the need for the state to take the lead in providing all residents with speedy broadband access, which he said is as much of a necessity as access to electricity, clean water and sewer.
“I think it’s incumbent upon our state and all leaders across our state to recognize that the private sector will not fill this gap,” Davis said. “The capitalism environment which serves us so well doesn’t fill this gap.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 1:01 PM.
