Masks and Other Personal Protective Equipment

• All students, employees, and visitors must wear a mask properly at all times as part of our Phase II protocols. This is a requirement for every student, employee, and/or visitor unless that person has a medical contraindication for wearing a mask verified by a medical provider (MD, DO, NP, PA only).
• KN95 Availability: All employees that serve on a school site or are in direct contact with students will be provided access to KN95 respirators.
• KN95 masks are made from multiple layers of synthetic material (polypropylene plastic polymer) and meet the standard for filtering out and/or capturing 95 percent of micron air particles (as small as 0.3 microns in size).
• KN95 masks are listed as “limited use” and should only be worn for a single day. For maximum effectiveness, a new KN95 mask should be worn each day.
• Please note that KN95 masks are foreign-made and meet foreign standards as opposed to the US-made N95 masks. At this time, KN95 masks are the optimal mask available in-bulk for non-medical purposes.
• Masks, face shields, gloves, and/or goggles will be provided to all employees working with medically fragile students. Additionally, masks, face shields, gloves, and/or goggles will be provided and required for any employee supervising symptomatic students.

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Distancing Practices

• Students and employees should aim for a physical distance of three (3) feet when feasible.
• If unmasked (breakfast/lunch) students and employees should aim for a physical distance of six (6) feet and consider the use of protective partitions.
• To aid in physical distancing, desks/tables should be spaced to allot for the maximum, allowable space between students. Desks/tables should be turned to face the same direction in the classroom to avoid causing students to sit in a manner in which they are facing one another.
• Protective partitions should be utilized particularly in areas where it is difficult for individuals to remain at least three feet apart and/or masking is not available.
• Physical guides, such as direction arrows for hallway traffic and signs on floors/walls, will be utilized to reduce the unneeded congregation of individuals in a given space. These practices may include one-way hallways and/or spaces that are off-limits to students.
• Available outdoor spaces should be converted into usable spaces for instruction, eating, and/or recreation. Weather permitting, schools will work to utilize their full grounds to provide distanced, outdoor opportunities.

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Hygiene Practices

• Hand washing and/or the use of hand sanitizer will be a regular practice across the school day in Phase II. Soap and water for hand hygiene are preferred but not always available. When hand washing is not possible, hand sanitizer will be utilized. Please note that these practices of regular hand washing/sanitization may cause dry skin.
• Hand washing and/or the use of hand sanitizer should occur when:
  • entering and exiting the classrooms and/or school buildings
  • prior to and after recess
  • before and after meals
  • upon exiting the restroom
  • before/after handling shared materials used across classes/classrooms
• Clean-In/Clean-Out: In any situation where students are sharing a specific desk/table within a given school day, it is advised that schools/students utilize “clean-in/clean-out” protocols. “Clean-in” involves employees and/or students cleaning surfaces prior to being seated for the class period. Likewise, “clean-out” involves employees and/or students cleaning surfaces prior to exiting the classroom. These protocols ensure that shared spaces are cleaned twice as part of each class change.
• Elementary hand hygiene should be supervised if possible. This practice will be part of start-up education for all students.

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Contact Tracing and Quarantine Protocols

• Personnel trained by Lewis & Clark Public Health will conduct contract tracing for each confirmed case of COVID 19 (students and employees). In doing so, close contacts will be assessed using the below CDC definition for exposure. Identified close contacts will need to immediately quarantine and remain in isolation from the public for a determined amount of time. Quarantine orders are legally enforceable documents and contain a specific exit date for each identified contact.
• The CDC currently defines a close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. (source)
• The Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday weekly schedule being utilized by middle and high schools in Phase II, coupled with the recommended block schedule is expected to reduce cross-cohort exposure. Together, these two facets of the Phase II plan are designed to reduce close contacts and required quarantines.

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Closed Campuses

• High School campuses will remain closed for lunch, precluding students from exiting and reentering during the designated lunch period.
• All campuses remain closed to visitors unless provided permission by the office/principal. Inquiries are encouraged by email/phone to avoid additional exposure. Supplies/materials that need to be dropped-off can occur through each school’s front office.

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Transportation

Bus transportation in Phase II involves a minimal number of students per bus to ensure physical distancing and reduce potential contacts. Routes are school-specific routes, requiring less time on the bus per ride/route. Transfer points have been eliminated to ensure that students utilize only one bus and ride only with students enrolled at the same school.

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Symptom Screening

• Families will be asked to perform daily symptom checks prior to sending their students to school. Symptom checklists and guides will be provided to assist parents/guardians in checking for symptoms before a student leaves for school and/or boards a bus. It is vital that students are not sent to school with any of the noted, CDC-identified symptoms.
• Students identified as symptomatic by school personnel will be cared for in isolation to reduce exposure to other students and/or employees. Parents/caregivers will need to immediately report to school to pick-up children with identified symptoms.

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General Entry/Exit

In Phase II, staggered practices will be utilized for entry/exit of school buildings. Elementary schools will utilize a practice of lining-up classes to enter the building at different times. Entry will be appropriately distanced by cohort. To minimize entry/exit congestion, schools will utilize multiple sets of doors with classes/cohorts assigned to specific points of entry/exit.

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Cohort Groupings

The use of specific cohort groupings will be a regular practice as part of our Phase II protocols.

• Elementary Schools: Elementary schools will attend music, library, and physical education in exclusive classroom cohorts. Additionally, lunch and recess will be structured by cohort. In addition to the use of designated cohorts, strict seating assignments and seating charts will be maintained in all classrooms and buses.
• Middle Schools & High Schools: Middle and high school students will attend classes as defined by the school’s block schedule. As noted above, block scheduling is a student cohort strategy designed to reduce the number of class periods within a given school day.

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Shared Material Use

To the greatest extent possible, students must have their own school supplies to reduce the need of shared materials. In situations where shared materials cannot be avoided (textbook sets, instructional manipulatives, etc.), students are required to sanitizing their hands prior to and after use. Library books may be checked out to students but upon return, books/materials will be quarantined for twenty-four hours before re-shelving.

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Isolation/Care for Symptomatic Individuals

Each school operates an identified COVID-19 related isolation space that effectively separates any symptomatic individual from other students/employees. Care will be provided by the school nurse and/or other trained personnel until that student can be signed-out by a parent/caregiver. Identified isolation/care spaces are equipped with needed supplies including protective equipment, sanitization/disinfectant supplies and needed barriers for isolation and privacy.

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COVID Testing and Screening

COVID testing is available for symptomatic employees via an off-campus site managed by HSD School Nurses. Employees should contact their school nurse (or direct supervisor) to schedule an appointment. At this time, COVID testing is not available for symptomatic HSD students. Additionally, asymptomatic screening is not an available service within the school system and general community.