Health & Safety

November 13, 2020

MPS Close Contact Protocols Document

July 30, 2020

Mr. Trongone 3rd information video for School Opening Plan was Health and Safety, sick leave and response to positive case of Covid.

PART 3 SOCIAL DISTANCING/MASK/SCREEN PROTOCOLS, SICK LEAVE & RESPONSE TO POSITIVE CASE OF COVID

Millville Public Schools

Face Covering Protocol

Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice.

This recommendation is based on the latest science in the Journal of the American Medical Association and affirmed by the CDC that face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19. Therefore, the use of masks is particularly important in settings where people are close to each other or where social distancing is difficult to maintain.

Procedures

1. Students are required to wear face coverings on school buses, pickup and drop off locations, school hallways and classrooms, and all areas where 6ft social distancing cannot be maintained.

2. Students and staff are required to wear face coverings, with the following exceptions:

a. Doing so would inhibit the staff or student’s health.

b. The student is under the age of two (2), due to the risk of suffocation.

c. A student’s documented medical condition, or disability as reflected in an IEP, precludes the use of face covering.

d. The student is in extreme heat outdoors.

e. The student is in water.

f. During the period a student is eating or drinking.

g. The student is engaged in high intensity aerobic or anaerobic activities.

h. Face coverings may be removed during gym and music classes when individuals are in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of six feet apart

i. Anyone having trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

3. Staff and students will be provided “face covering breaks” throughout the day and will only occur when social distancing can be maintained and ideally outside or when windows can be open.

4. Masks with exhalation valves or vents should NOT be worn to help prevent the person wearing the mask from spreading COVID-19 to others.

5. Face shields are not recommended as a substitute for face coverings. Therefore, they may not be used to satisfy the face covering requirement. However, they may be an option for students with medical or other challenges that preclude the use of face coverings. If shields are used, they should wrap around the sides of the user’s face.

6. Clear face coverings that cover the nose and wrap securely around the face may be considered in certain circumstances. Clear face coverings are not face shields:

a. Those who interact with students or staff who are deaf or hard of hearing

b. Teachers of young students who are learning to read

c. Teachers of students in English as a Second Language classes

d. Teachers of students with disabilities

7. The District will provide each staff and student with two (2) cloth face coverings. Staff and students may wear their own masks.

Face Masks Protocol 2

8. Face coverings will follow the District’s Dress Code Policy and will not contain political statements, references to drugs, weapons, violence or inappropriate statements or slogans.

9. Disposable face masks should only be worn for a single use and disposed of.

10. Masks should be washed every day to ensure the safety of the user and others. Masks should never be shared.

11. Information via mailings, posters and flyers will be available for staff, students, and students’ families on proper use, removal, and washing of face coverings.

protocol for high risk students

The district will engage in the interactive process with staff requesting accommodations due to medical and/or childcare necessity as outlined in the Family First Coronavirus Response Act and CDC guidelines.

Staff members should consult with the Human Resources Department regarding requests for accommodations and/or leaves of absence.

The district will review staff requests regarding the use of remedies included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

1. Human Resources will establish and disseminate a protocol by which staff members may communicate a request for leave and or an accommodation that may be necessary due to Covid-19 in accordance with FFCRA provisions.

2. In the event that staff members need to make a request to determine their eligibility for a leave, or any other accommodation to facilitate their return to work, they will be instructed to email the Human Resources Department at a dedicated department email address.

3. Once a request has been received, a member of the HR Department will contact the staff member and a virtual meeting will be scheduled, as necessary, to further review the request and facilitate the process to determine if the request is reasonable and may be provided without creating an undue hardship or burden to the district.

Requests for accommodations will be considered based on need and feasibility. Full remote virtual instruction is an option as an alternative to in-person on campus instruction. Parents should consult with their child’s building administration, CST case manager, 504 manager, school nurse, etc. regarding their request for student accommodations.

All staff and visitors will be required to wear face coverings while on campus/in district facilities.

Students must wear face coverings at all times, unless doing so would inhibit the student’s health.

It is necessary to acknowledge that enforcing the use of face coverings may be impractical for young children or individuals with disabilities. When 6 ft. social distancing is being maintained, “mask breaks” will be provided periodically by teachers.

Staff will work with students to build their stamina for mask wearing.

Physical guides and signage will be placed throughout school facilities to help ensure that staff and students remain at least 6 feet apart as much as practicable.

• • Schools will consider ways in which to stagger passing periods by cohorts in grade level or by class when students must move between classrooms.

  • When possible, students will be limited to a designated classroom at the elementary level.

  • Staff, students, and caregivers will be instructed how to maintain DOH/DOE recommended distance from each other while on school grounds.

Staff and students will be encouraged to regularly wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after exposure to a common space, or after blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing.

It’s especially important to wash:

• • Before eating or preparing food

  • Before touching your face

  • After using the restroom

  • After leaving a common space

  • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

  • After handling your cloth face covering

  • After changing a diaper

  • After caring for someone sick

  • After touching animals or pets

Teachers will build in hand-washing time during the day

Hand sanitizer will be available in each classroom for students and staff.

Students will be instructed on proper hand-washing techniques and hand sanitizer use.

Desk rows will be set up and arranged facing forward from the walls and inward where possible.

Schools have removed any unnecessary and non-fire retardant furniture. This includes, but is not limited to, couches, bean bags, gaming chairs, stools, benches, and rugs.

Students will have a space to maintain their personal belongings.

Tables, when needed, can be incorporated into the seating arrangement plan of classrooms.

Sanitizing products will be available for classrooms to use throughout the school day if and when necessary.

Disinfectant wipes will be available in secondary classrooms for students to clean their desk before use, as necessary.

Classroom set-ups and instructional materials will emphasize and reflect the state guidelines that students should not share items, equipment, and/or instructional materials.

Sensory spaces and other specific student need areas:

• • Each school’s Pandemic Response Team will evaluate, identify, and determine the necessary spaces, programs, eating schedules and procedures for students that require sensory rooms and/or special diets.

  • Each school’s Pandemic Response Team will identify and determine areas for students to utilize for any school, grade level, program, or individual student need and/or activity.

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