Health & Safety Protocols

Health screenings will be conducted for all staff and students before or upon their arrival to school. Sites will have designated isolation areas for possible cases and each school will follow their existing isolation plan when situations arise.

Parents or guardians should screen for symptoms prior to sending students to a school building. Any person, including parents, students, and staff, entering a District facility will have to attest that they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 and have not been knowingly exposed to COVID-19.

Per OSPI’s Reopening Washington Schools: Safety and Health Requirements, the District will limit capacity and implement protocols to maintain a minimum separation as recommended by state and county health departments between all employees, students, and others to the maximum extent feasible. Building-specific strategies to increase physical distancing may include: 

• Rearranging desks/tables to maximize the space between students
• Keeping students in cohorts/clusters to the maximum extent possible
• Reducing the number of students in hallways at any time
• Limiting access to only essential visitors or volunteers
• Reducing congestion in office areas
• Limiting building use outside of school hours to approved District activities

Districtwide protocols regarding PPE usage will be designed to comply with the guidance of all applicable public health agencies. These protocols may change as public health guidance continues to evolve.

Face coverings will be provided by the District to students in the event their face covering is soiled, lost or damaged.

Face shields or other alternatives will be provided to students who are unable to wear a mask because the individual has a medical condition or disability that makes wearing a facial covering inappropriate or because the individual is deaf or hard of hearing, or is communicating with someone who relies on language cues such as facial markers and expression and mouth movements as a part of communication.

All classrooms will be provided with disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer that have been approved by the EPA for effectiveness and low toxicity. Additional disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer will be made available in key administrative areas.

Ventilation will be set to maximize outside air flow continuously. Filters will be used that provide the maximum filtration recommended for the HVAC equipment of the building and will be changed monthly.

Cleaning and disinfection protocols for a probable case of COVID-19 will comply with CDC recommendations. Access to areas visited by a probable case of COVID-19 will be restricted until cleaning and disinfection is completed.