Bill would allow extra remote instruction days during prolonged emergencies
RALEIGH — North Carolina public schools could receive additional flexibility to use remote instruction when emergencies last beyond existing limits under a bill scheduled for review Tuesday in a House education committee.
House Bill 1026, titled “Remote Instruction for Excess Emergencies,” was scheduled for the House Education-K-12 Committee, according to the North Carolina General Assembly calendar. The bill was filed April 21 and referred April 22 to House Education-K-12, with additional referrals to Appropriations and Rules if approved.
The bill is sponsored by Republican Reps. Donny Lambeth, Dennis Riddell Potts and Brian Biggs. Additional sponsors include Reps. John Bell, Jerry Branson, Carla Cunningham Clark, Diane Wheatley Eddins, Pricey Harrison, Julia Howard, Ed Goodwin Miller, Ben Moss, Reece Pyrtle, Dennis Riddell and Howard Penny Ward, according to the bill page.
The proposal would amend state school calendar law to allow a public school that has already used all available remote instruction time to use additional remote learning during another emergency or during an ongoing emergency. According to the Legislative Reporting Service, the bill would allow up to three additional remote instruction days or 15 additional remote instruction hours if the school has not received a good cause waiver and complies with reporting requirements in its remote instruction plan.
The bill also would expand what schools must include in remote instruction plans, including information about remote instruction used in the prior school year.
The measure contains a small appropriation. It would provide $5,000 in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year for administrative costs and technical assistance connected to enforcing the act.
The bill would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply beginning with the 2026-27 school year.
The proposal comes as school systems continue to balance calendar requirements, weather disruptions, infrastructure outages and access to online instruction. In eastern and western North Carolina, prolonged emergencies can include hurricanes, flooding, winter weather, damaged facilities or transportation disruptions.
The bill does not remove the need for planning. Instead, it would create a limited additional option when a school has exhausted its regular remote instruction time and still faces an emergency.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
