Communication and Family Engagement

• The district engaged with school stakeholders and community members (e.g., administrators,faculty, staff, students, parents/legal guardians of students, local health departments, local health care providers,and affiliated organizations, such as unions, alumni, and/or community-based groups) when developing reopening plans. Plans for reopening should identify the groups of people involved and engaged throughout the planning process.

• The district developed a communications plan for students, parents or legal guardians of students,staff, and visitors that includes applicable instructions, training, signage, and a consistent means to provide individuals with information. Responsible Parties may consider developing web pages, text and email groups,and/or social media groups or posts.

• The district will ensure all students are taught or trained how to follow new COVID-19 protocols safely and correctly, including but not limited to hand hygiene, proper face covering wearing, social distancing,and respiratory hygiene.

• The district will encourage all students, faculty, staff, and visitors through verbal and written communication (e.g., signage) to adhere to CDC and DOH guidance regarding the use of PPE, specifically acceptable face coverings, when a social distance cannot be maintained.”

• The district will provide communications in the language(s) spoken at home among families and throughout the school community. Written plans must be accessible to those with visual and/or hearing impairments.

Health and Safety

• The reopening plan must review and consider the number of students and staff allowed to return in person. These factors should be considered when determining resumption of in person instruction: (1) Ability to maintain appropriate social distancing or face coverings; (2) PPE and face covering availability; (3) Availability of safe transportation; and (4) Local hospital capacity – consult your local department of health.

• The reopening plan must engage with school stakeholders and community members (e.g. administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents/legal guardians of students, local health departments, local healthcare providers, and affiliated organizations, such as unions, alumni, and/or community-based groups) in developing their reopening plan and identify those that participated in the reopening plans.

• The reopening plan must include a communications plan for students, parents/guardians,staff, and visitors that includes applicable instructions, training, signage, and a consistent means to provide individuals with information.

• The reopening plan has a written protocol developed in collaboration with the district or school's director of school health services to instruct staff to observe for signs of illness in students and staff and requires symptomatic persons to be sent to the school nurse or other designated personnel.

• The reopening plan has a written protocol for daily temperature screenings of all students and staff, along with a daily screening questionnaire for faculty and staff and periodic use of the questionnaire for students.

• The reopening plan requires that ill students and staff be assessed by the school nurse(registered professional nurse, RN) or medical director and that if a school nurse or medical director is not available, ill students and staff will be sent home for follow up with a healthcare provider.

• The reopening plan has written protocol requiring students or staff with a temperature,signs of illness, and/or a positive response to the questionnaire to be sent directly to a dedicated isolation area where students are supervised, prior to being picked up or otherwise sent home.

• The reopening plan has written protocol to address visitors, guests, contractors, and vendors to the school which includes health screening.

• The reopening plan has a written protocol to instruct parents/guardians to observe for signs of illness in their child that require staying home from school.

• The reopening plan has written protocol and appropriate signage to instruct staff and students in correct hand and respiratory hygiene.

• The reopening plan has written protocol to ensure all persons in school buildings keep social distance of at least 6 feet whenever possible.

• The reopening plan has 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 at high risk.

• The reopening plan has a written protocol requiring all employees, adult visitors, and students to wear a cloth face covering whenever social distancing cannot be maintained.

• The reopening plan has a plan for obtaining and maintaining adequate supplies of cloth face coverings for school staff, students who forget their masks, and PPE for use by school health professionals.

• The reopening plan has written protocol for actions to be taken if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the school.

• The reopening plan has written protocol that complies with DOH and CDC guidance for the return to school of students and staff following a positive screen for COVID-19 symptoms, illness or diagnosis of confirmed case of COVID-19 or following quarantine due to contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19. Return to school will be coordinated with the local health department.

• The reopening plan has written protocol to clean and disinfect schools following CDC guidance.

• The reopening plan has written protocol to conduct required school safety drills with modifications ensuring social distancing between persons

• The reopening plan has a written plan for district/school run before and aftercare programs(or, for charter schools, as required by the school’s charter).

• The reopening plan designates a COVID-19 safety coordinator (administrator) whose responsibilities include continuous compliance with all aspects of the school’s reopening plan, as well as a phased-in reopening activities necessary to allow for operational issues to be resolved before activities return to normal or “new normal” levels.

Transportation

• The reopening plan must ensure all buses (conforming and non-conforming to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Standards, as well as type A, C or D) which are used every day by districts and contract carriers will be cleaned/disinfected once a day.

• The reopening plan ensures high contact spots must be wiped down after each a.m. and p.m. run depending upon the disinfection/cleaning schedule.

• The reopening plan must ensure school buses shall not be equipped with hand sanitizer due to its combustible composition and potential liability to the carrier or district.

• The reopening plan must ensure that school bus drivers, monitors and attendants must not carry personal bottles of hand sanitizer with them on school buses.

• The reopening plan will require that school bus drivers, monitors, attendants and mechanics must wear a face covering along with optional face shield.

• The reopening plan requires that transportation staff (drivers, monitors, attendants,mechanics and cleaners) will be trained and provided periodic refreshers on the proper use of personal protective equipment and the signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

• The reopening plan requires that transportation staff (drivers, monitors, attendants,mechanics and cleaners) will be trained and provided periodic refreshers on the proper use of social distancing.

• The reopening plan requires that transportation departments/carriers will need to provide Personal Protective Equipment such as masks and gloves for drivers, monitors and attendants in buses.

• The reopening plan ensures hand sanitizer will be provided for all staff in their transportation locations such as dispatch offices, employee lunch/break rooms and/or bus garages.

• The reopening plan requires that drivers, monitors and attendants who must have direct physical contact with a child must wear gloves.

• The reopening plan requires that school bus drivers, monitors, attendants and mechanics shall perform a self-health assessment for symptoms of COVID 19 before arriving to work.

• The reopening plan requires that students must wear a mask on a school bus if they are physically able.

• The reopening plan ensures that students who do not have a mask will NOT be denied transportation.

• The reopening plan requires that students who do not have masks must be provided one by the district.

• The reopening plan ensures that students with a disability which would prevent them from wearing a mask will not be forced to do so or denied transportation.

• The reopening plan requires students will be trained and provided periodic reminders on the proper use of personal protective equipment and the signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

• The reopening plan requires that students will be trained and provided periodic reminders on the proper use of social distancing.

• The reopening plan requires that if the school district is in session remotely or otherwise,pupil transportation must be provided to nonpublic, parochial, private, charter schools or students whose Individualized Education Program have placed them out of district whose schools are meeting in conducting in-person session education when/if the district is not.

Facilities - Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan which includes changes or additions to facilities must comply with the requirements of the 2020 New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (BC) and the State Energy Conservation Code and submit all changes to OFP.

• The reopening plan must ensure compliance with the 2020 Building Condition Survey and Visual Inspection, where applicable.

• The reopening plan must provide provisions to conduct the Lead-In-Water Testing as required by NYS DOH regulation 67-4.

• The reopening plan must ensure all existing and new Alcohol-based Hand-Rub Dispensers Which are installed in any locations are in accordance with FCNYS 2020 Section 5705.5.

• The reopening plan which includes the installation of dividers in classrooms, libraries,cafeterias, auditoriums, gymnasiums, doors, and other points of congregation will ensure the submission of detailed floor plans to OFP for review.

• The reopening plan must ensure that all new building construction and temporary quarters projects will be submitted to OFP for a full code review.

• The reopening plan which include new facilities for leasing must provide a plan to consult with OFP for a preliminary evaluation

• The reopening plan which includes the temporary or permanent use of Tents must provide plans adhering to the BCNYS.

• The reopening plan must ensure that the existing or altered number of toilet and sink fixtures meet the minimum standards of the BCNYS.

• The reopening plan must ensure that each building provides one drinking fountain per one hundred occupants or provide a written plan for a reasonable alternate source of drinking water.

• The reopening plan must provide written plans on how to maintain adequate, code required ventilation (natural or mechanical) as designed.

• The reopening plan must ensure that all project submissions only dedicated to “COVID-19 Reopening” will be labeled as such.

• The reopening plan which includes the use of plastic separators must comply with the 2020 BCNYS Section 2606.

Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism- Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan must describe a mechanism to collect and report daily teacher student engagement or attendance while in a remote or hybrid schedule

Child Nutrition - Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan must provide all students enrolled in the SFA with access to school meals each school day. This must include students in attendance at school and students learning remotely.

• The reopening plan must address all applicable health and safety guidelines.

• The reopening plan includes measures to protect students with food allergies if providing meals in spaces outside the cafeteria.

• The reopening plan must include protocols and procedures for how students will perform hand hygiene before and after eating, how appropriate hand hygiene will be promoted, and how sharing of food and beverages will be discouraged.

• The reopening plan must include protocols and procedures that require cleaning and disinfection prior to the next group of students arriving for meals, if served in the same common area.

• The reopening plan must ensure compliance with Child Nutrition Program requirements (if the school is its own SFA – for charter schools that are part of a district’s SFA, the plan must ensure communication with the district regarding food serve requirements).

• The reopening plan must include protocols that describe communication with families through multiple means in the languages spoken by families.

• The reopening plan must require that students must have social distance (six feet separation)while consuming meals in school unless a physical barrier is provided.

Bilingual Education and World Languages - Mandatory Assurances:

• Each qualifying school and/or district reopening plan which reopens using in-person or hybrid instruction must complete the ELL identification process within 30 school days of the start of the school year for all students who enrolled during COVID-19 school closures in 2019-20, as well as all students who enroll during summer of 2020 and during the first 20 school days of the 2020-21 school year. After this 20 day flexibility period, identification of ELLs must resume for all students within required 10 school days of initial enrollment as required by Commissioner’s Regulations Part 154.

• The reopening plan must provide required instructional Units of Study (or, for charter schools, the applicable program outlined in the school’s charter) to all ELLs based on their most recently measured English language proficiency level during in-person or hybrid instruction.

• The reopening plan must ensure the maintenance of regular communication with parents/guardians of ELLs to ensure that they are engaged in their children’s education during the reopening process, and provide all communication

Technology and Connectivity - Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan must include information on how the school/district will have knowledge of the level of access to devices and high-speed internet all students and teachers have in their places of residence.

• The reopening plan must include information on how the school or district, to the extent practicable, will address the need to provide devices and internet access to students and teachers who currently do not have sufficient access.

• The reopening plan must include information on how the school or district will provide multiple ways for students to participate in learning and demonstrate mastery of Learning Standards in remote or blended models, especially if all students do not yet have sufficient access to devices and/or high-speed internet.

Special Education - Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan, whether services are provided in-person, remote, and/or through a hybrid model, addresses the provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE) consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students with disabilities and those providing special education and services.

• The reopening plan addresses how it will document the programs and services offered and provided to students with disabilities as well as communications with parents.

• The reopening plan addresses meaningful parent engagement in the parent’s preferred language or mode of communication regarding the provision of services to his/her child to meet the requirements of the IDEA.

• The reopening plan addresses collaboration between the committees on preschool special education (CPSE) and committees on special education (CSE) and program providers representing the variety of settings where students are served to ensure there is an understanding of the provision of services consistent with the recommendations on/individualized education programs/(IEPs), plans for monitoring and communicating student progress, and commitment to sharing resources.

• The reopening plan must ensure access to the necessary accommodations, modifications,supplementary aids and services, and technology (including assistive technology) to meet the unique disability related needs of students.

Social Emotional Learning - Mandatory Assurances:

• The district ensures that district-wide and building-level comprehensive developmental school counseling program plans, developed under the direction of certified school counselor(s), are reviewed and updated to meet current needs.

• The district establishes an advisory council, shared decision-making, school climate team, or other collaborative working group comprised of families, students, members of the board of education, or school's board, school building and/or district/charter leaders, community-based service providers, teachers, certified school counselors, and other pupil personnel service providers including school social workers and/or school psychologists, to inform the comprehensive developmental school counseling program plan.

• The reopening plan addresses how the school/district will provide resources and referrals to address mental health, behavioral, and emotional support services and programs.

• The reopening plan addresses professional development opportunities for faculty and staff on how to talk with and support students during and after the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as provide support for developing coping and resilience skills for students, faculty, and staff.

School Schedules- Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan describes the school schedule planned for implementation at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year and to the extent practicable any contingent scheduling models it may consider if the situation warrants.

Teacher and Principal Evaluation - Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan must ensure that all teachers and principals are evaluated pursuant to the LEA’s currently approved APPR plan (or, for charter schools, the school’s charter), including any variance applications approved by the Department.

Certification, Incidental Teaching, and Substitute Teaching - Mandatory Assurances:

• The reopening plan must ensure that all teachers hold valid and appropriate certificates for their teaching assignments except where otherwise allowable under the Commissioner’s regulations (e.g.,incidental teaching) or Education Law.