Health & Safety

As is the case every school year, It is imperative that your scholar is healthy and has met all medical compliance requirements. Families should check in with their medical provider to comply with the CPS minimum health requirements for the 2020-21 school year. Proof of required immunizations, physical exams and vision exams were due October 15. If you need further assistance finding resources or meeting these requirements, please contact us. Scholars will not be allowed to elect in-person learning unless they are fully compliant with all state medical requirements.

All students, staff, and approved visitors will be asked to complete an online symptom screener questionnaire via Google Forms each day they are planning on entering a school building. Only designated school administrators will have access to the form results. Parents or a designated family member need to complete the daily screener on behalf of each child, regardless of age.

• Middle School Health Screener (Students, Staff, Visitors)

• High School Health Screener (Students, Staff, Visitors)

If any staff member, visitor, or student comes to school showing symptoms, they will be sent home via a private conversation with an administrator. If any staff member or visitor comes to school without taking the screener, they will be screened once they arrive at school. If they fail the screener, they will be sent home via a private conversation with an administrator. We will not publicly reveal any names of scholars or staff members that do not pass the screener in order to maintain privacy.

A staff member at each school campus will be in charge of monitoring submissions of the daily health screener, marking them as complete, and follow up with families if incomplete. This follow up will be completed in person when the scholar arrives at school and before building entry.

Additionally, all staff, students, and visitors will be asked to undergo daily temperature checks once they arrive at school. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4*F or higher will be sent home—students will be sent to the care room immediately to wait until they are picked up by a parent or guardian within an hour.

In accordance with public health recommendations and ISBE’s guidance, anyone over the age of two is required to wear a face covering on school grounds. To support this effort, we have purchased a generous stock of reusable cloth coverings for each student and staff member.

Medical exceptions to wearing a face covering can be made for employees who apply for an ADA accommodation and for students with a qualifying medical condition documented in their 504/IEP.

All students and staff will be asked to wash or sanitize their hands upon entering the building, after restroom breaks, before and after lunch and recess, and when traveling to a different classroom or building location.

CDC guidelines state that hand washing with hot water and soap should take place for at least 20 seconds. We have hung hand washing guidelines in each bathroom and will remind students, families, and staff of guidelines during orientation. If hand washing is not readily available, we have sanitation stations located throughout the building, which include wipes, disinfectant spray, and hand sanitizer. Sanitation stations will be provided to every classroom, hallway, entry point, and office.

In accordance with state and federal guidance, school community members who are sick should not return to school until they meet the following requirements, whether or not they were tested for COVID-19:

• at least 10 days have passed since COVID-19 symptoms first appeared; and,

• at least one day (24 hours) has passed since fever has resolved (i.e. no fever without the use of fever reducing medications) and the other symptoms are improving.

Families of children with underlying medical conditions should consult their medical provider prior to attending school, and on an ongoing basis if a child has a significant change in their health condition. Students or staff returning to school after an illness related to COVID-19 should check in with the nurse or building administrator (if a nurse is unavailable) following quarantine.

Individuals who did not have close contact with the person who is sick can return to work immediately after disinfection of the relevant space. Close contact means being within six feet of the individual with symptoms for more than 15 consecutive minutes. Those who had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should be quarantined at home and monitored for symptoms for 14 calendar days from the last time they were in close contact with the person with COVID-19.

Protocols for all other unknown statuses of possible COVID-19 cases and situations will be drawn from the IDPH COVID-19 Interim Exclusion Guidance

By definition, close contacts are individuals with whom the positive case was within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more starting 2 days prior to their first day of symptoms (or for asymptomatic individuals their test date) through their last day at school.

The CDC recommends that any student or staff with close contact to a person suspected of having or diagnosed with COVID-19 be quarantined, meaning excluded from school for 14 days from the last day of exposure to a positive case and monitored for symptoms. If symptoms develop, they should be evaluated and tested for COVID-19.

• Negative testing does not clear a close contact to return to school sooner than 14 days from the date of last exposure.

While masking of staff and students and other precautions are critical to prevent spread of COVID-19 within the school, out of an abundance of caution, these factors will not change the recommendation for quarantine of close contacts.

Each campus will have a designated Care Room, covered by a rotating schedule of school administrators and operations team members. Each Care Room is equipped with a gown, face shield, masks, sanitizer, and disposable sheets.

In the instance that a student exhibits symptoms after completing the arrival and health screener and during the school day, the a detailed escort and communication procedure will take place. Details can be found in our Reopening Plan.

CDPH strongly recommends testing and medical evaluation for all staff and students with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. If a student or staff member has symptoms of COVID-19, they should be referred to their healthcare provider for testing and isolated while awaiting the test result.

If a student or staff member has symptoms of COVID-19, and it is determined by a medical provider that the individual likely does NOT have a COVID-19 infection, the student or staff member may return to school if the following are met:

• Documentation of a negative test for COVID-19; AND

• It has been 24-hours with no fever (without fever-reducing medication);

  • If the two above criteria are met, a note from a medical provider documenting an alternate diagnosis is acceptable if the student or staff member continues to be symptomatic for another reason besides COVID-19 infection (e.g., seasonal allergies).

Every effort should be made to connect the student or staff to testing but if a student or staff has symptoms, and cannot be tested for COVID-19, they should remain in isolation until it has been at least 10 days since their symptoms first appeared and at least 24 hours with no fever (without using fever-reducing medications) and improved symptoms, whichever is longer.

• NOTE: Depending on degree of suspicion, schools may consider quarantining the siblings of a symptomatic child or any household contacts of a symptomatic staff member who also attend the school, pending the results of testing.

  • Siblings/household members of exposed asymptomatic children do not require quarantine or testing unless they themselves were also exposed.

  • Depending on the degree of suspicion, parents/guardians may choose to separate quarantined children from those not required to quarantine at home.

Pediatric COVID-19 Testing Sites: CPS has compiled a list of pediatric COVID-19 testing sites in the Chicago area to help families and schools connect symptomatic students to health services. CPS has verified a list of locations that offer pediatric COVID-19 testing from information provided by the city of Chicago. Testing centers may require an appointment and many sites have a minimum age limit. Visit cps.edu/youthcovidtesting for more information and a flyer to share with all families, regardless of their school of attendance.

For additional Procedures for Students, Teachers, and Support Staff who Become Sick at School, refer to IDPH Public Health Interim Guidance for Pre-K-12 Schools and Day Care Programs for Addressing COVID-19.

• IDPH COVID-19 Interim Exclusion Guidance

• CDPH

• What Happens When Someone Tests Positive

• Contact Tracing One-Pager