On Sept. 17, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 could go back to in-person learning as soon as Oct. 5. This announcement came after an increasing number of critics have denounced Cooper’s social distancing mandates as unnecessary and ineffectual. Currently, all students are in either a fully virtual classroom, or in a mix of virtual and in-person classes. Cooper’s announcement means that students will be able to return to school under Plan A, a minimal social distancing plan.