• Campus staff will be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols.
• Schools will make reasonable best efforts to minimize risk, however, attending our schools in person will introduce a greater risk of exposure.
• Disinfectants will be used for deep cleaning buildings.
• Students, teachers, staff, and essential visitors/volunteers will be encouraged to sanitize and/or wash hands frequently. 
• Substitutes will also be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols. The Return to School task force members are working on procedures for this area.  
• Tissues will be provided in classrooms and common areas to encourage students and staff to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and if not available, to cover with their elbows. Used tissues should be thrown in the trash and hands washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or hand sanitizer should be used.
• Sneeze Guards/Plexiglass will be added to public reception desks.
• Social distancing and safety signage will be added and visible throughout school facilities.
• If students need to be picked up from school, parents will be greeted at the intercom or by phone and students will be escorted out of the building to the parent waiting on the sidewalk or in their car.  
• No outside visitors or parents will be allowed to come to school for lunch. Essential visitors and volunteers will be limited and masks will be required. NOTE: All guests will be pre-screened for temperature/symptoms before admittance in the school building. 
• BSD is permitted to prevent any individual who fails the health screening criteria from being admitted into a school building until they meet the criteria for re-entry to the campus.
• Students will utilize backpacks instead of hallway lockers and cubbies to help ensure social distancing/space between students. Students need to bring personal water bottles. They will be able to refill at drinking fountain filling stations, however, students will not be allowed to drink directly from the fountains.  Fountains used for refilling water bottles will be cleaned regularly.  The district is looking into installing more bottle filling stations in schools.  
• Students will not share school supplies. School supply lists will have face covering (covering nose and mouth) as a supply required for school.  
• Classroom protocols will include assigned seating and other measures to minimize contact. 

Health Services Reopening Plan

• Registered Nurses and substitute nurses will be trained in COVID-19 safety protocols.
• Nurses will be in the district to provide nursing care and assessment for students. 
• Precautionary room and protocol has been identified for ill students or staff as needed
• PPE equipment (face shields, goggles, face mask, gloves) will be provided to health services staff to use in the precautionary room. 
• Face covering/face shield will be available for staff.
• Face covering will be available for students upon request.  
• Face covering will be mandatory on the school bus for students and staff. 
• Students and staff will be asked to stay home if they feel ill. 
• All employees will be completing a daily self-check every day.
• Students and staff will follow CDC guidelines after travel. 
• Students and staff will be asked to self-quarantine based on exposure to COVID-19 risk evaluation. 
• All guests will be required to wear a mask when inside a district facility.

Illness Surveillance

• Nurses will track abnormal temps and monitor for trends. 
• Nurses will report according to CDC immediate illness concerns related to COVID-19. 
• Monitor for absences to drop below 90%.
• Nurses will provide a daily list of students that must be excluded from school the following day to the attendance secretary and teacher(s).

  ---

Exclusion from School-COVID (Updated April 20, 2021)

These guidelines will change based on the health department and CDC guidance.

Exclusion from School and Return After Exclusion Guidelines

Students and staff will be screened for potential COVID-19 symptoms or exposure. Students and staff will be excluded if they: 

1. test positive for COVID-19 resulting in an isolation period of at least 10 days from date of symptom onset, or date of positive swab** if asymptomatic.
2. have had known exposure* to a person infected with COVID-19 resulting in a quarantine for 14 days from last exposure to the positive case. If symptoms develop, obtain swab**.

*Exposure is defined as close contact with a positive case: within 6 ft for 15 minutes or more.

**Swab refers to COVID-19 test specimen collection 

High-risk symptoms: New cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste/smell

Low-risk symptoms: Fever (>=100.4 degrees F), congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, sore throat, headache, body aches

Students and staff with 1 low-risk symptom and no known exposure to a person infected with COVID-19 may return to school 24 hours after symptom resolution. 

Students and staff with 2 or more low-risk symptoms or 1 high-risk symptom and no known exposure to a person infected with COVID-19 require evaluation by a healthcare professional in order to return to school. Return after exclusion will require 

1. documentation from a healthcare provider providing an alternate diagnosis 
2. OR negative COVID-19 test results. 
3. Students and staff must also be fever-free for 24 hours and with symptoms improving.

Students and staff with 2 or more low-risk symptoms or 1 high-risk symptom who choose not to be tested may return if the following three conditions are met:

a) At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications; and

b) Other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved); and

c) At least ten (10*) calendar days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.

*For patients with severe illness, duration of isolation for up to 20 days after symptom onset may be warranted. Consider consultation with infection control experts.

Students and staff who never develop symptoms but test positive for COVID-19 may return 10 days after the date of their first positive COVID-19 test. 

Fully vaccinated* people with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be tested following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as their risk of infection is low. (see below)

What Happens When There is a COVID-19 Exposure:

The Importance of Maintaining 6-Foot Social Distance

• Someone Tests Positive for COVID-19. Please notify your supervisor (Staff) or school principal (student) if you test positive for COVID-19 or have been identified as a close contact to someone who is infected with COVID-19.
• The infected person is sent home on isolation for at least 10 days (not to leave their home)
• Anyone living in the same household with the infected person is automatically sent home to self-quarantine for 14 days after their last exposure to the infected person. Last exposure means close proximity to the person in the household who tested positive, not the date of the positive test result.
• Close contacts are also identified - these people had direct exposure to an infected person.
• Note:  You are still considered a close contact even if you were wearing a cloth face covering while you were around someone with COVID-19. Cloth face coverings are meant to prevent someone from transmitting the disease to others, and not to protect someone from becoming infected.
• For COVID-19, a close contact is defined as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 calendar days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 calendar days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
• A close contact needs self-quarantine: To stay home and maintain social distance from others (at least 6 feet) until 14 days after their last exposure to the infected person, in case they also become ill.
• If you have been around someone who was identified as a close contact with a person with COVID-19, you should closely monitor yourself for any symptoms of COVID-19. This is indirect exposure. You do not need to self-quarantine. 
• Fully vaccinated* people with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be tested following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as their risk of infection is low.

Important:

• Always maintain social distance to avoid a potential 14+ day quarantine
• Create a contingency plan for your family in case you will need to endure a long quarantine due to exposure

CDC Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People* - Isolation, Quarantine, and Testing

The following recommendations apply to non-healthcare settings.

Fully vaccinated people with COVID-19 symptoms

Although the risk that fully vaccinated people could become infected with COVID-19 is low, any fully vaccinated person who experiences symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, and tested for SARS-CoV-2 if indicated. The symptomatic fully vaccinated person should inform their healthcare provider of their vaccination status at the time of presentation to care.

Fully vaccinated people with no COVID-like symptoms following an exposure

Fully vaccinated people with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be tested following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as their risk of infection is low.

Fully vaccinated people who do not quarantine should still monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days following an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, if indicated, and inform their health care provider of their vaccination status at the time of presentation to care.

*For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 ≥2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or ≥2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen).

Risk Evaluation and Expectations of COVID-19 Exposure

• Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of someone not wearing a mask for 15 or more minutes, who tested positive for COVID-19. 
• If a student or staff was in close contact with a person that tested positive for COVID-19, they will self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure to the person. They will self-monitor for symptoms, if symptoms develop, follow CDC guidelines.
• If a student or staff had prolonged and repeated exposure with someone while they had symptoms of COVID-19, they will self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure to the person. They will self-monitor for symptoms, if symptoms develop, follow CDC guidelines. 
• If a student or staff was in the same room/building as someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but not in close contact (as identified above), the risk of catching the virus from that person is low. Follow the general precautions, including social distancing, washing their hands, and monitoring for illness.
• If a student or staff was around someone else who was exposed to a person that tested positive to COVID-19. As long as the person they were around is not currently sick and the staff or student was not around the person with COVID-19, they are not considered exposed to COVID-19. Follow the general precautions, including social distancing, washing their hands, and monitoring for illness.

Care Coordination

• Suctioning procedures will only be allowed in emergency situations if they are closed suction procedures. The nurse will wear PPE during this procedure. Student exposure will be limited.
• Nebulizer treatments are identified by the CDC as aerosol-generating procedures. These will no longer be allowed at school.
• For students who require supplemental oxygen for ongoing chronic conditions, a mask is preferred over the nasal cannula.  The nurse will wear PPE during this procedure.  Student exposure will be limited.
• Nurses will identify a clean care room for medically complex students that require special procedures such as tube feeding, catheterization, etc. 
• Consider remote instruction for medically complex students.
• Revisit health plans for students on IEPs and 504 plans for possible revisions to mitigate minimizing infection risk. 
• Revise medication administration schedules to minimize student interaction. 
• Based on clinic size nurses will place chairs for students to wait for treatment 6 feet apart in the hallway outside the clinic.
• Nurses evaluate the reason for the clinic visit and take a temperature prior to the student being allowed to enter the clinic or wait in the hallway for treatment. If symptoms meet criteria, students will be placed in the precautionary room until picked up. Follow Health Services Plan.
• Nurses will have a list of students considered at risk according to the CDC

Precautionary Room

Each school has a precautionary room. Precautionary rooms will be utilized to keep all students and staff safe from illness. The precautionary room door will remain open so that the nurse can monitor the student.  If the nurse cannot monitor the room, a designated staff member will be assigned to do so. The nurse or designated staff member will wear proper PPE.

• The nurse will meet students at the door of the clinic with temporal thermometer checks.  If the student has no fever or symptoms of COVID-19 (based on a verbal assessment of the reason for the clinic visit), the student proceeds into the clinic as usual.
• If the student presents at the clinic with a temporal check of 99.6 degrees or greater the nurse will take the temperature orally. If the temperature is 100.4 degrees or greater, the nurse will send the student into the precautionary room.
• The nurse will then call a parent/guardian to pick up the student. The nurse will ask the parent/guardian about recent travel in or out of the country by the student and/or household members. The nurse will perform a risk evaluation. 
• If there are concerns for exposure, the nurse will call the Cass County Health Department. 
• The nurse will advise the parent/guardian to contact the student's doctor to discuss signs/symptoms and risk factors.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• In the precautionary room, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will consist of goggles OR face shield, surgical face mask (covering mouth and nose), and gloves. 
• PPE should be used by the nurse (or other designated staff member) in the precautionary room or when escorting the student to their car.
• PPE will be designated for health services staff and/or designated staff members, and cleaned and stored for reuse.
• PPE should be put on and taken off appropriately. Guidance: Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Cleaning PPE

Goggles and face shields should be cleaned with a facilities-supplied cleaning agent for COVID-19 and allowed to air dry. Per CDC recommendations the following should be achieved:

• While wearing gloves, carefully wipe the inside, followed by the outside of the face shield or goggles using a wipe or clean cloth saturated with facilities supplied cleaning solution.
• Wipe the outside of the face shield or goggles with clean water or alcohol to remove residue.
• Fully dry (air dry or use clean absorbent towels).
• Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene.
• Completely dried goggles and face shields should be stored at the nurses’ discretion and the location shared with designated staff that may assist with the precautionary room. 

Face Covering Requirements and Care

• Cloth face covering (mask) will be required for all students and staff. Face coverings will be school appropriate and follow the school’s dress code. Staff will have face shields to use where appropriate when teaching.
• School supply lists will include face coverings with reminders on what makes a well-fitting mask as well as directions for use so parents of younger children can practice at home.
• Students will be required to wear face covering (masks, gaiters, or bandanas) on the school bus and at school. Limited face coverings will be available upon request.
• When reused by the same person only, cloth and surgical face covering should be carefully folded so that the outer surface is held inward and against itself to reduce contact with the outer surface during storage. The folded mask can be stored between uses in a clean sealable paper bag or breathable container. 
• The face covering (masks, gaiters, or bandanas) should be removed and discarded if soiled, damaged, or hard to breathe through.
• Cloth face coverings should be laundered regularly.
• Built-in “mask breaks” will be encouraged when safe and feasible.
• Please see separate section on this page related to masks and face coverings.

Health Communication   

• Post CDC posters on handwashing, cough etiquette, COVID-19 symptoms and stay home if you are sick.
• Inform families of steps being taken to mitigate health risks.
• Teach and promote proper handwashing. 
• Promote and provide flu clinics for staff as applicable.
• Provide families with resources for health care needs and COVID-19 testing.
• Educate all staff on bloodborne pathogen procedures and glove removal.
• Educate staff on how to properly wear a cloth face covering. 

Confirmed COVID at School

In the event there is a positive case identified, the District Nurse Supervisor will conduct contact tracing and call the Cass County Health Department to receive guidance on who to quarantine and notify. The District will then notify those who need to quarantine due to close contact by phone and email. Next, the staff of that school or department will be notified via email, and lastly, parents at the affected school who did not have a child in close contact will be notified via email.