Education and COVID-19 Guidelines

Many parents are concerned about proposed guidelines for staff and students to return to school. Please take the time to draft a letter to your School Superintendent and School Board Members. You may wish to familiarize yourself with the guidelines (see below) and address any that concern you. Additional resources coming soon. 

URGENT ACTION Re: Your Children Returning to School

Local School Boards have meetings coming up in the next week. Parent input should take place this week. Find your school board website and send a letter to members and/or sign up for public comment. Let your voice be heard! Find proposed guidelines and link to sample letters below. 

L.A. County Superintendent's Letter 

Los Angeles County Superintendents wrote a letter to the Governor, the LA County Department of Public Health and the LA County Office of Education expressing their concerns with the proposed regulations regarding School Reopening Policies. Read the letter here.

Guidelines

1. CDC Guidelines

According to the CDC, the following are all apart of the guidelines; 

  • Encourage staff and kids to stay home if they're sick or have come into close contact with someone who is, by implementing flexible leave policies and ditching attendance awards. 
  • Enforce good hygiene, like hand-washing, for at least 20-seconds, using hand sanitizer in the absence of soap and water, and sneezing into a tissue that's subsequently tossed. 
  • Support mask wearing among older kids and staff members, especially when physical distancing isn't possible. 
  • Clean high-touch surfaces at least daily, if possible and share toys or supplies only if they can be cleaned between uses. 
  • Modify room layouts, by spacing desks 6-feet apart and keeping all kids facing in the same direction, rather than toward one another. 
  • Install partitions in places where keeping a 6-foot distance is difficult, like at reception desks and between sinks. 
  • Close cafeterias and playgrounds or stagger their use and disinfect in between uses. 
  • Have kids bring their own food or serve individually plated or bagged meals — as always, if feasible. 
  • Try to keep the same small group of kids with the same staff. 
  • Stagger drop-off and pickup times if possible. 

2. CA State Guidelines 

According to a preliminary draft of the guidelines as reported in several news articles: 

  • Teachers to wear cloth masks at all times, and students encouraged to do so whenever social distancing isn’t possible. 
  • Six feet between the teacher’s desk and their students, maximizing space between seating, which could include six feet between desks, partitions between desks, markings on classroom floors to promote distancing or arranging desks in a way that minimizes face-to-face contact. 
  • Students should remain in the same space and in groups as small and consistent as practicable. 
  • Limited communal activities where possible. If this is not possible, stagger use, properly space occupants and disinfect between uses. 
  • Meals would be served and eaten in classrooms.
  • Minimized congregate movement through hallways as much as practicable. 
  • Classes would be confined to separate areas in the schoolyard for recess. 
  • Students’ temperatures to be taken on arrival with “no-touch” thermometers, along with visual wellness checks. 
  • Students and staff to be questioned about whether they have experienced Covid-19 symptoms, or if anyone in their household has, and they would need to be monitored throughout the day for signs of illness. 
  • Schools to be cleaned and disinfected daily, including door handles, sink handles, bathroom surfaces, drinking foundations, playground equipment and shared objects like toys, games and art supplies.

3. LA County Guidelines 

The 2020-21 school year redesigned for the pandemic could include: 

  • Classroom limits of 16 students, with seats spaced 6 feet apart 
  • Scheduled restroom and staggered playground use 
  • One-way hallways 
  • Cloth face coverings mandatory for all 
  • Isolation rooms and emergency plans if students or staff members become ill 
  • Potential temperature checks 
  • Outdoor classes when possible 

4. Superintendent's Letter Link here. 

5. Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids Sample Letters and Resources 

Choose a letter and personalize it. Districts need to know if you are not okay with the CDC guidelines that Health Department Directors are considering mandating for schools. Gather as many parents in your district as possible to do the same. POWER IN NUMBERS!!!