Emergency bill proposed for students, teachers in wake of hurricane Florence

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Senator Michael Lee joined representative Craig Horn and Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson today to announce the state is moving quickly to get schools back on track and to make sure students and teachers are not penalized for time missed.

They have drafted a bill for the General Assembly which will forgive students and teachers at public schools for time lost in any district affected by hurricane Florence.  The district does not have to be declared a disaster area to be protected.

The bill will also make sure teachers do not have to lose pay or use any vacation time to make up for lost days.

Superintendent Johnson says he knows “things in Raleigh don’t move quickly,” but he says representatives know they have to move fast on this.

“We heard from local districts,” Johnson says, “We heard that they needed the flexibility. We heard the concerns that teachers were not going to get paid and this is immediate actions we can take as a first step in order to make sure we do what is right for our students and teachers”

The draft does not address charter schools, but Johnson says they will be addressed soon.

The Legislature is slated to meet for a Special Session on October 9.