Health & Safety

Informational updates will be found here as they become available

Schools and districts are required to perform health checks and screenings, per NYSED and NYSDOH guidance, and recognize signs and symptoms of illness in students and staff; maximize social distancing; manage and isolate ill persons until they can be sent home; instruct students and staff in proper hand and respiratory hygiene; require face coverings; and clean/disinfect the schools in accordance with NYSED, NYSDOH, and CDC guidance.

All students and staff are required to:

  • Wear a face covering over their nose, mouth and chin except when engaged in
    instruction, eating, or seated at a desk that is socially distant from peers and staff, or behind approved dividers.
  • Wear a face covering to ride the school bus. Face covering must be worn at all times while entering, exiting, and while seated on the bus.
  • School bus drivers and aides must wear a face covering while driving students to/from school.
  • Maintain 6 feet of social distancing while in school and on school grounds wherever appropriate (e.g. common areas such as entrances/exits, lobbies, hallways, etc.)
  • Strictly adhere to all directional signage or other COVID-19 related materials displayed throughout the school buildings.
  • Participate in daily health screenings.
  • Participate in training provided by the District on proper practices of hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and social distancing.
  • Student drivers and students being dropped off by parents/guardians at the MS/HS will be screened upon arrival. A window of time will be determined for each building and released to the families shortly.
  • Student drivers, students being dropped off by parents/guardians, and anyone who has not completed the daily screening app must report to the designated screening stations located near the main entrance before entering the school buildings.

Parents must:

  • Complete daily, a digital health screening at home and report results to the EduForm app. Further guidance will be provided. Parents must keep their child(ren) home from school if they display a temperature greater than 100.0 Fahrenheit or are not feeling well.
  • Drive student(s) to school if digital health screening is not reported to the app by the specified time.
  • Students will be allowed to board the bus if parents can provide proof of completion of a health survey prior to bus arrival.
  • Prior to the start of the new school year, parents must make arrangements to have their child picked up from school in the event he or she becomes ill during the day, as determined by the school nurse, within one hour of being notified of illness.

The District will:

  • The district will establish screening stations near the main entrances to the MS/HS and Elementary School buildings. Student drivers, students being dropped off, visitors, guests and vendors must first report to the screening stations before entering the school buildings.
  • Ensure that personnel performing in-person screening activities are properly trained and appropriately protected from exposure.
  • Ensure all students, faculty and staff wear face coverings when social distancing in common areas, such as entrances/exits, lobbies, and when traveling around school grounds is not possible.
  • Require daily temperature checks for all individuals before entering our schools. No one with a temperature greater than 100 Fahrenheit will be permitted to enter except to be quarantined in a designated, supervised area until the individual(s) can be safely removed from school premises. All efforts will be made to protect the confidentiality of the individual(s). Any individual with a temperature >100 degrees will be sent home with instructions to contact their health care provider for guidance.
  • Ensures a written protocol to instruct staff to observe for signs of illness in students and staff and requires symptomatic persons or persons with a positive response to questionnaire to be sent to the school nurse or designated isolation room for assessment.
  • Ensures a written protocol detailing how the district/school will provide accommodations to all students and staff who are at high risk or live with a person who is high risk.
  • Ensures a written protocol that complies with CDC guidance for the return of students and staff to school following illness or diagnosis of confirmed cases of COVID-19 or following quarantine due to contact with a confirmed case of COVID. Any return to school will be coordinated with the local health department.
  • Ensure all ill students and staff be assessed by the school nurse (RN), and that if a school nurse is not available, ill students will be sent home for follow up with a health care provider.
  • Ensure all visitors will obtain prior approval from the building principals before visiting, and ensure that each visitor completes a health screening before entry.
  • The district will designate a COVID-19 Safety Coordinator whose responsibilities include continuous compliance with all aspects of the school’s reopening plan, as well as any phased-in reopening activities necessary to allow for operational issues to be resolved before activities return to normal or “new normal” levels.
  • Immediately notify the local health department about positive COVID cases and work closely with local health department guidelines for contact tracing and coordination as needed.
  • Ensure social distancing (of at least 6 feet or a physical barrier) is maintained while in school facilities and on school grounds.
  • Consult with the local health department about the requirements for determining when an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 can return to the in-person learning environment or return to work.
  • Provide disposable face coverings for anyone without a face covering.
  • Provide guidance on regular cleaning of cloth face coverings.
  • Provide appropriate PPE for faculty and staff as needed.
  • Train all students, faculty and staff on how to adequately put on, take off and discard PPE.
  • Ensure social distancing while eating on school grounds for all faculty, staff and students.
  • Prohibit sharing of food and beverages (e.g. buffet style meals, snacks) unless individuals reside in the same household.
  • Provide and maintain hand hygiene stations, including handwashing soap, warm water, and disposable paper towels, as well as alcohol hand sanitizer (60% alcohol or more) for areas where handwashing is not feasible.
  • Develop protocols for caring for a student, faculty, or staff member who develops COVID-19 symptoms during the school day, including:
      1. Identifying a dedicated area to separate students, faculty or staff with COVID-19 symptoms until they can go home or to a healthcare facility.
      2. Plans to ensure that symptomatic students waiting to be picked up remain under the visual supervision of a staff member who is physically distanced;
      3. PPE requirements for school health office staff caring for sick individuals, which must include standard and transmission-based precautions.
  • The district will consult with the local health department on local hospital capacity.
  • Conduct daily cleaning and disinfection of facilities, and more frequent cleaning and disinfection of high touch surfaces used by many individuals including furniture, fixtures, door hardware, hand railings and other high traffic areas/surfaces.
  • Ensure daily cleaning and disinfection of restrooms and high touch areas where distancing rules will apply.
  • Provide for the cleaning and disinfection of exposed areas in the event an individual is confirmed to have COVID-19. Cleaning and disinfection practices that follow CDC guidelines will include high touch surfaces such as desks, fixtures, door hardware, hand railings, and cafeteria tables.
  • Establish protocols for disinfection of all areas of the schools to prepare for different groups of students. All products used will be in compliance with all COVID-19 safety guidelines.
  • Maintain logs that include date, time and scope of cleaning and disinfection.
  • Restrict school visitors to those required for school business, and will require prior approval from the building principal.
  • Train students and staff on proper hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and social distancing practices as per CDC guidelines.
  • Ensure “breaks” from face coverings when necessary.
  • Encourage outside, fresh air learning when feasible.