Gov. Roy Cooper Citing recent studies that show schools can reopen for in-person instruction if they follow safety protocols, Gov. Roy Cooper and state education leaders on Tuesday said it’s time for students to return to schools for in-person instruction. “Research done right here in North Carolina tells us that in-person learning is working and that students can be in classrooms safely with the right safety protocols in place,” Cooper said. The governor is referring to the much-discussed ABC Science Collaborative study that looked at 11 North Carolina school districts during the first two months of school and found no cases of student-to-adult transmissions. Researchers from Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill make up the Science Collaborative.