Planning for 2021/22July 19, 2021

July 9th, 2021

The IDPH adopted in full the CDC guidance that had been issued

earlier that day.

● CDC Guidance

● IDPH Guidance

ISBE Guidance FAQ (being updated)

2021/22 Prevention Strategies

1. Promoting vaccination2. Consistent and correct mask use3. Physical distancing4. Screening testing to promptly identify cases, clusters, and outbreaks5. Ventilation6. Handwashing and respiratory etiquette7. Staying home when sick and getting tested8. Contact tracing, in combination with isolation and quarantine9. Cleaning and disinfection

Highlighted items are new to the list of prevention/mitigation measures from the 20/21 school year guidelines.

Major Points of the Guidance Include:● Masks● Social Distancing

● Masks ✓ should be worn indoors by all individuals

(age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated.

✓ are not needed outdoors (in general)✓ must be worn by everyone on buses

● Social Distancing✓ At least 3 feet of physical distance

between students within classrooms ✓ When it is not possible to

maintain at least 3 feet, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking.

CDC mask order mandate

Major Points of the Guidance Include:● Layers of Prevention

● Layers of prevention to keep schools safe:✓ vaccination ✓ physical distancing ✓ handwashing and respiratory etiquette ✓ staying home when sick and getting tested ✓ screening testing ✓ ventilation ✓ contact tracing in combination with quarantine &

isolation ✓ cleaning and disinfection✓ mask wearing

Major Points of the Guidance Include:● Layered Strategies

● The guidance emphasizes implementing layered prevention strategies to protect people who are not fully vaccinated.

● Districts should work with their local public health officials (MCDH) to monitoring levels of community transmission, local vaccine coverage, and determine prevention strategies needed by using screening testing to detect cases in schools.

● Removal of any of the prevention strategies is based on local conditions. Strategies should be removed one at a time and monitored closely (with adequate testing through the school and/or community) for any increases in COVID cases.

July 9th, 2021

State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala issued a

declaration for the 2021-22 school year.

“Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, all schools must resume fully in-person learning for all student attendance days, provided that, pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/10-30 and 105 ILCS 5/34-18.66, remote instruction be made available for students who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine or who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, only while they are under quarantine consistent with guidance or requirements from a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health.”

Dear Colleague Letter from Dr. Ayala

How are we planning to open school in August?

We are planning to open school in line with the declaration issued by Dr. Ayala and the IDPH guidance.

● All students will attend in-person for full-days of instruction daily.

● Remote learning will only be used when students are quarantined and not as a learning model.

Masks● We support the CDC/IDPH/MCDH guidelines

that masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated.○ The guidelines do not create a masking mandate or

requirement. ○ Board policy does not have nor do we intend to create

a policy enforcing the decision for a student or staff member to wear or not wear a mask while in person at school/work.

○ A mandate does exist within the guidelines requiring masks on school buses for all on the bus.

● The district will not tolerate the bullying of individuals for wearing or not wearing a mask.

What does in-person learning look like under the new guidelines?

CDC mask order mandate

Bus Transportation● Buses will return to the normal capacity for the

bus helping us prioritize in-person learning for all students.

● Per IDPH & CDC, face masks must be worn by everyone on a school bus, which is consistent with other methods of mass public transit.

● When weather permits, windows will be opened to increase ventilation.

We encourage parents who can drive their students to & from school to do so. This will help: ● keep the capacity of our buses down, ● reduce the possibility of your child

being quarantined● the driver shortage that we have been

having and expect to continue into the future

What does in-person learning look like under the new guidelines?

CDC mask order mandate

Cafeterias● We will follow prevention and mitigation

strategies to the greatest extent possible.

● We will work with Sodexo to return to our regular menu of offering both hot and cold service line/items as we’re no longer limited to single use and packaged items.

● We will continue with our cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

What does in-person learning look like under the new guidelines?

PE, Recess & Playgrounds● Students will be outside whenever the weather

permits.

● Masks will not be required while outside; however, anyone who wishes to wear a mask may do so.

● Playgrounds will be open for use before, after, and during school.

● Equipment (i.e. jump ropes, balls, etc.) will be available for use and will continue to be disinfected routinely.

● When PE and/or recess is held indoors, we will implement prevention/mitigation measures to the greatest extent possible.

What does in-person learning look like under the new guidelines?

Classrooms● We will return to pre-COVID class sizes with

students seated up to 3-feet apart to prioritize in-person learning for all students.

● We will return to our full instructional day and curriculum allocations at all grades.

● Teachers may work with small groups of students in close proximity in order to return to our best instructional practices.

● Students may use lockers and we’ll determine usage schedules to maximize prevention/mitigation measures.

● We will continue our daily cleaning and disinfecting protocol.

What does in-person learning look like under the new guidelines?

Visitors ● Per CDC/IDPH guidance, we will limit

nonessential visitors, volunteers, and activities, particularly when there is moderate-to-high community transmission.

● All visitors must adhere to all health and safety preventative/ mitigation measures at all times while visiting a district facility.

● Per CDC/IDPH guidance, visitors outside the school will not be required to wear a mask.

What does in-person learning look like under the new guidelines?

What can help keep in-person instruction going and minimize quarantines?

Voluntary Screening TestingWe will be using Shield Testing to:

● identify persons who are asymptomatic and without known or suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2;

● allow preventative measures to be put into place to prevent further transmission; and

● allow the schools to use a modified definition of close contact for those individuals participating to help keep students and staff in school as much as possible.

CDC Recommendations on School COVID-19 Testing Programs by Level of Community Transmission

Indicator Low Transmission

Moderate Transmission

Substantial Transmission

High Transmission

Total new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days 0-9 10-49 50-99 > 100

Percentage of laboratory tests that are positive during the

past 7 days

<5.0% 5.0%-7.9% 8.0%-9.9% >10.0%

Offer screening testing for students who are not fully vaccinated at least once per week.

Offer screening testing for teachers & staff who are not fully vaccinated at least once per wk.

Do not need to screen students

CDC as of 7/12/21 = 13IDPH as of 7/10/21 = 12

Staff

Students

Low- & Intermediate Risk Sports

High-Risk Sports & Activities

Do not need to screen

Recommend screening testing for low- and intermediate-risk sports at least once per week for participants who are not fully vaccinated.

Recommend screening testing for high-risk sports and extracurricular activities at least once per week for participants who are not fully vaccinated.

Recommend screening testing for high-risk sports and extracurricular activities twice per week for participants who are not fully vaccinated.

Cancel or hold high-risk sports and extracurricular activities virtually to protect in-person learning, unless all participants are fully vaccinated.

CDC as of 7/12/21 = 2.03IDPH as of 7/10/21 = 1.4Zip of of 7/12/21 = 1.44

How does the modified definition of close contact and quarantine work?

Students who opt in to the screening testing program are eligible to have the modified close contact definition in the classroom setting applied when determining quarantine:

● Within 3 feet or less of a confirmed COVID-19 case for a cumulative time of 15 minutes or more within a 24-hour period.

Students who do not participate in the screening testing program and are not fully vaccinated follow the original close contact definition in all settings for quarantine:

● Within 6 feet or less of a confirmed COVID-19 case for a cumulative time of 15 minutes or more within a 24-hour period.

Per State Guidelines

Who will need to be quarantined (staff or students)?

Unvaccinated Persons:● NOT Participating in Screening Testing Who Are:

○ COVID positive○ Symptomatic○ Deemed a close contact (within 6-feet) and are

asymptomatic or symptomatic

Unvaccinated Persons:● Participating in Screening Testing Who Are:

○ COVID positive○ Symptomatic○ Deemed a close contact with the

modified definition (within 3-feet)

Vaccinated Persons Who Are:● COVID positive● Symptomatic

How will we support quarantined students?

Quarantine instruction will be independent learning with students completing assignments at home created by the student’s teacher(s).Quarantine instruction may also include the following based on the age of the student, subject area, and/or length of quarantine:

● Students remoting into the classroom during quarantine days

● A combination of both independent and remoting into the classroom

Will remote learning be offered?

● No - as a full-time learning model

● Yes - for students who have been quarantined but only during the period of quarantine

Per Dr. Ayala’s Declaration

What if parents want their students to remain in remote learning?

If a parent wants to continue their child(ren) in a remote setting, they could:

● Homeschool their child(ren)

● Enroll them in an online platform

● Seek a doctor’s approval for homebound instruction due to the student having a medical condition

Illinois State Board (ISBE) Homeschooling

Board Policy 6:150 Home & Hospital Instruction

What could impact these plans?

● A new disaster proclamation by the Governor

● IDPH placing restrictions on preventive and mitigation measures in place after the initial adoption of the guidance

Questions