LAEC Safety Plan for Physically Reopening Campuses for Students

The County of Los Angeles, CA Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the California Department of Education (CDE) have determined that high schools can begin to reopen campuses for in person instruction. In alignment with the state’s reopening framework, Los Angeles County has moved into the red tier and met the state’s threshold to reopen indoor activities for key sectors including middle and high schools. As such, Los Angeles Education Corps (College Bridge Academy and The Education Corps schools) are beginning a thoughtful, phased implementation model of reopening our campuses. We will shift from a full distance learning model to a hybrid education model allowing a percentage of each grade to resume in-person learning. We will maintain an in-person capacity that will ensure staff and students can maintain proper distancing measures and other COVID-19 mitigation strategies that will decrease the risk of in-school transmission of the virus. We will use a combination of strategies outlined below that have been shown
 to be most effective in decreasing transmission. At this juncture, once our school has opened for in-person instruction, the school may continue to stay open even if the county changes from the red to the purple tier again. As such, the school will remain open until the end of the school year. Additionally, all school staff have become eligible for full vaccination by the school’s reopening date. The CDPH and LAEC has strongly recommended that all persons eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines have received them. A fully virtual school option is still offered to students and families that have chosen not to return to in-person classes this year. This safety plan addresses plans to mitigate risk of student/staff exposure to COVID 19 and is posted on the LA Education Corps homepage. This plan was developed based on guidance from governmental and health authorities and in consultation with labor, parent, and community organizations.

Mitigation Strategies

​Outlined below are the primary mitigation strategies the school will follow to minimize risk of COVID transmission in the school community. Further details on each strategy will be provided in the safety plan below.
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  • Face coverings
  • Physical distancing
  • Adequate ventilation and air filtration units
  • Hand hygiene
  • Reduced capacity at all school sites
  • Symptom and close contact exposure screening, with exclusion  from school for staff or students with symptoms or with confirmed close contact.​
  • Dividing the school year into smaller time units and reduction in the number of courses students take in any one day to reduce exposure.
  • Reconfigured bell schedule and passing periods to streamline foot traffic and maintain physical distance during passing periods
  • Disinfection with specified products

Employee/Student Handbook Updates

High-Risk Students/Staff
  1. Updated health policies have been added into the student orientation and student/parent handbook to address unique circumstances during the COVID-19 crisis
  2. Registration forms will include an addendum about COVID-19 risk mitigation and liability.
  3. Update/Addendum to the employee handbook to include Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, COVID specific employment law- PFL for a staff person if their family member is ill and needs care, Child’s school/daycare closes down. Fed family first COVID act grants additional sick time for employee self -quarantine, experiencing symptoms or caring for someone with symptoms.
  1. Discuss with the parent or caregiver student’s health history form or emergency card to identify whether the student is at a higher risk (maybe needs full virtual and is not required to attend in person).
  2. Protect and support staff who are at higher risk for severe illness or who cannot safely distance from household contacts at higher risk. The availability of vaccines for all educators will help to mitigate risk to all of our staff.  

Campus Access

Orientation and Hygiene Training
  1. The school has minimized access to campus and will limit nonessential visitors and volunteers.
  2. Parents have been alerted that we will be minimizing visitors to campus- parent meetings can take place via phone, zoom, or if necessary in large MPR spaces or outside of the building. Parents will drop off and pick up students outside.
  3. Ensure sanitation and social distancing when students are interacting with partner organization staff. Maintain communication about safety protocols and any exposures with partner organizations. Partner points of contact: MSW Interns (Reyna and Liz), Shields (Christina and Danielle), Conservation Corps (Dan Knapp CCLB and Wendy/Bo/Tamara for LA Corps), Barrio (Tammy and Emily), TES services for Sped (Patricia), Inglewood and Watts church (Pastor Thrash and Pastor Murchinson, respectively), Painted Brain (Dave), Coffee House for CTE progam (Dez)-
  4. Protocols for accepting deliveries safely- Delivery people must have PPE. Deliveries that can be left without entering the building should be prioritized. Food delivery routes have been rearranged to minimize indoor time.
  1. Students/Staff will be trained on proper handwashing and mask wearing and mask removal (CDC flyers). Signs are posted to remind students. Encourage using tissues and trash cans, limiting congregation in bathrooms using sign in/sign out procedure for restroom use. Increased access to handwashing (handwashing stations and additional hand sanitizer stations in each classroom).
  2. Train staff on proper use of other protective equipment (e.g., face shields) and cleaning supplies.
  3. Mandatory orientation for students/parents before a child/participant can officially be enrolled/registered where all new COVID related protocols and policies are reviewed along with Google classroom, Zoom, and appropriate online/virtual class etiquette
  4. All students will be required to wear a mask while in the building. Zero tolerance—teachers enforce this in the classroom and students will be sent home by admin if they do not adhere.
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Students and Staff - Entering & Exiting Campuses

Physical Distancing & Student Movement Through the School
  1. ​Passive Screening Instruct parents to screen students before leaving for school (check temperature to ensure temperatures below 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, observe for symptoms outlined by public health officials) and to keep students at home if they have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or if they have had close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19.
  2. Active Screening . Engage in symptom screening as students enter campus which includes visual wellness checks and temperature checks with no-touch thermometers. Anything over 100.4 is considered an elevated temperature and the student cannot enter the building for that day. Ask every student about COVID-19 symptoms within the last 24 hours (i.e. fever, cough, chills, sore throat, flu like symptoms, difficulty breathing, new onset of severe headache, loss of taste/smell, diarrhea or upset stomach) and whether anyone in their home or that they have had close contact with has had COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test in the last 7 days. Ask about any travel outside of the state within 14 days.
  3. All students must wash or sanitize hands as they enter campuses. There will be a supervised line outside school where students maintain distance as they wait for prescreening to enter the building. Designated entrance to school buildings, where possible, will be one way and stickers on the floor will show students where and how far apart to stand.
  4. Ensure privacy and distance from other students in the area used for pre-entrance screening.
  5. Minimize contact at school between students, staff, families and the community at the beginning and end of the school day. Designated routes for entry and exit.
  1. Student and staff capacity of each school meeting area/classroom has been determined with 4-foot physical distancing objectives and minimizing face-to-face contact. Signage is present in all areas that directs people where to sit and stand to maintain distance. Additional desks have been taken out of classrooms to ensure distance seating.
  2. Virtual activities in lieu of field trips and intergroup events. No all school assemblies/meetings until further notice.
  3. Utilize other campus spaces for instructional activities (e.g., multipurpose rooms, gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias, outdoors).
  4. Signage will be posted directing traffic around campus. Staggered class release, desk/chair disinfection between classes. Students line up to enter classes while distancing until the area has been cleaned
  5. Signs will be posted throughout the school building reminding students of proper handwashing, keeping safe distance, wearing a mask, etc.
  6. In accordance with CDC guidance, ensure that ventilation systems and fans operate properly and increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible by opening windows and doors. Air purifiers will be present in each classroom and MERV 13 filters have been installed on all HVAC systems to assist in air filtration.
  7. Shut down water fountains, fill stations for water bottles for students will be provided and hand sanitizer will be available at all water fill up areas.
  8. The school year has been divided into quarters rather than semesters in which students intensively focus on less classes but complete the same amount of work that they would in a traditional semester. We have reduced the number of courses students take in any one day to minimize the number of people students are exposed to daily. Electives and PE will continue to be offered virtually.
  9. Bell schedules have been reconfigured to streamline foot traffic and maintain practicable physical distancing during passing times. Staggered passing times have been created where applicable when students must move between rooms to minimize congregated movement through hallways as much as is practicable.

Meal Times and Food Service

  1. Suspend use of share tables and self-service buffets for food and condiments.
  2. Students must wash or sanitize hands before lunch break – lunches will be grab and go.
  3. Meals will be delivered to students by staff in the classroom or picked up as they exit the school. All unmasked drinking or snacking will take place outdoors or in large well ventilated spaces such as MPR.
  4. A specific situation that has resulted in exposure and transmission among staff in multiple public schools is eating and drinking indoors without being physically distant (for instance, in break rooms or common areas). Staff has received specific messaging and support around how to prevent this scenario within our schools. 

Shared Equipment

  1. Avoid sharing of electronic devices, books, and other games or learning aids.
  2. Students will be provided a designated device at school (CBA 1:1 and TEC specific tagged device to use daily at school and a “clean/disinfected cart” and a “used” cart)
  3. Shared equipment - science teacher demonstrations rather than labs or self-contained individual labs that do not share equipment, VAPA- students have their own set of paper/pencils and commonly shared items are disinfected after each use, math manipulatives minimized and graphing calculators disinfected between use. All PE classes to be done virtually.

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Equipment and Cleaning Supply Availability
We have stockpiled sufficient protective equipment, and have started accounts with multiple janitorial companies to diversify our supply chain options and maintain an ongoing supply of protective equipment and equipment for symptom screenings.
What we use to disinfect:
Electrostatic sprayers with disinfectant will be used to disinfect bathrooms and all common areas multiple times per day. Each classroom will also be equipped with a hand held disinfectant sprayer.

School sites will be professionally cleaned by janitorial staff at the end of each day.

Disinfectants used will all be from EPA “List N” approved for disinfection against COVID-19 and safer ingredients to minimize respiratory issues.

Other mitigation equipment and tools include disposable masks (if a student forgets a mask), reusable masks (3 provided 
for each student/staff), hand sanitizer gel, vinyl gloves (mostly for cleaning and food service), alcohol germicidal wipes (for each teacher’s work space), antibacterial hand soap, paper towels (blowers should not be used, towel drying is most effective against COVID-19 and mitigates spread in air), anti fog face shields (2 per staff person), handwashing stations, plexiglass barriers and sneeze guards have been installed at front office and teacher work spaces at all sites, infrared non-contact thermometers (2 per site), sign-in pens (extra and need to be sanitized frequently), and EPA “List N” with asthma-safer ingredients (hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, or lactic acid).  We will avoid products that mix these ingredients with peroxyacetic acid, sodium hypochlorite (bleach), or quaternary ammonium compounds, which can cause asthma.

Parent/Site Protocols if a Student Becomes Ill

  1. All emergency forms must be updated in case a student becomes ill while at school so a parent/family member can come pick them up immediately. At least 3 other people on the emergency contact form that could pick up the student in case parent is unavailable.
  2. Monitor staff and students throughout the day for signs of illness. Students who develop symptoms of illness while at school will be separated from others right away, isolated in a predesignated area through which others do not enter or pass and monitored consistently until a family member can pick the student up.
  3. Each site will have a list of local free COVID-19 testing areas and resources if families or students need further information on where to get tested/how to stay safe if a family member has tested positive. 
Plan to Address Positive COVID-19 Cases or Community Surges

Protocols

​The below protocols have been put in place to address any COVID-19 cases at our campuses. LA Education Corps will follow the steps below if a COVID-19 case is reported at one of our campuses. Additionally, if an outbreak or community spread is suspected, the school will work with their Local Health Department to determine if a temporary 14 day closure is necessary. The school may be required to close to all hybrid participants and staff if there is an instance of community spread where more than three cases in a 14 day period are ​school population is infected.
​Otherwise, if any positive cases of COVID-19 are reported, the school will undertake the process of contact tracing and inform all students’ families and staff deemed to have had exposure while maintaining the confidentiality of anyone with a positive case.  All staff will receive written notification of a positive test at any LAEC site. If any student or staff was found to have had exposure to the positive individual, further information will be provided to those individuals and their families. ​

When a student, teacher, or staff member or a member of their household tests positive for COVID-19 and has potentially exposed others at the school

  1. Interview process for contact tracing: CAO Tisha Middleton and Education Director/principal undertake the process of contact tracing. Examples of questions include:  What areas of the school were you in? Who were you in contact with at school? Have you hung out with any student/staff outside of school? Tracing staff who have travelled to other sites will be done as well.
  2. CAO and principal will contact any individual who had exposure to the individual who tested positive. Exposure is considered contact closer than 6 ft of distance for more than 15 minutes. Exposure will require 10-day quarantine or a negative test from the exposed individuals. Individuals who had significant proximity to the individual who tested positive will also be recommended for testing. But, testing is not required if there was no direct exposure.  
  3. **Disinfection- trace where that person had been in order to determine disinfection of whole school or just their classrooms/office. Immediate disinfection of those areas/whole school.
  4. Contact (213) 240-7941 (health dept reporting line for LA County), LB has a case reporting portal https://veoci.com/veoci/p/form/97vv4j9hrzzp#tab=entryForm) for contact tracing support and closure recommendations.
  5. If a household member of a student/staff tests positive, student/staff must test and stay home and quarantine. If student/staff tests positive or have symptoms, we will follow 1-4.
  6. Who else is notified for isolation and how quickly? Partners, parents, staff after contact tracing and presumed exposure. We have established a list of point people to inform for all of our partnering organizations if a positive case is confirmed.
  7. Plan for continuity of education, medical and social services, and meal programs— teachers and staff will be prepared to pivot their classes to full virtual environment quickly. Admin will ensure food/mental health services remain available.

When can a student/staff leave isolation and return to work after Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19?

There are three options for people who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to be able to end isolation and return to work/school.

1)   OPTION 1 (Symptom-based criteria): If student/staff has Confirmed COVID-19 or Suspected COVID-19 and did not get tested for COVID-19, they can leave isolation and go back to work/school when all the following are true:

a. 24 hours with no fever at all; AND
b. During those 24 hours the person has not taken any fever-reducing medication such as Tylenol, Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, or Naproxen; AND
c. At least 3 days of improved cough or shortness of breath if these symptoms were present; AND
d. It has been at least 10 days since the symptoms first started.
**Note that because people may continue to test positive on a viral test after they are recovered from COVID-19, they can end isolation/return to work/school if all of a, b, c, and d are true even if there have been one or more positive viral tests beyond 10 days after symptoms first started. If all the criteria for Option 1 are met, the person is considered not contagious, even with a positive test.

 2)  OPTION 2 (Time-based criteria): If person has confirmed COVID-19 but never had symptoms, they can return to work 10 days after the date of the positive test.

3)   OPTION 3 (Test-based criteria): If a person had confirmed COVID-19 and two negative viral test results from at least two consecutive respiratory specimens collected more than 24 hours apart, student/staff can return to work as soon as they get the second negative test result as long as they don’t have a fever AND haven’t been using fever reducing medication AND respiratory symptoms (if they had them) are getting better over the previous three days.

**Generally DPH discourages Option 3 because most people with confirmed COVID-19 will continue to have positive viral tests for several weeks even though they are not contagious. This is because dead virus particles can still show up as a positive viral test but are not considered contagious. Choosing Option 3 will likely lead to people being out from work for longer than they need.

When can a teacher or student return to work/school after possible COVID exposure

1)  After having close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, student/staff must self-quarantine at home for 10 days to watch and wait to see if symptoms of COVID-19 develop. Do not go to school or work.

​2)  "Close contact" is defined as:
  • living in the same household or being an intimate partner of someone who has confirmed COVID19,
  • spending more than 15 minutes within 6 feet of someone with confirmed COVID-19, or
  • having direct contact for any amount of time with bodily fluids and/or secretions of someone with confirmed COVID-19 (e.g., was coughed or sneezed on, shared utensils with, or was provided care by or provided care for them without wearing a mask, gown, and gloves) at any time during the period starting 48 hours before any symptoms of a person with COVID-19 began (or the date of their positive test if the person with COVID-19 had no symptoms).

3)  If staff/student had close contact and did not develop any symptoms, they can end quarantine 10 days after their last close contact with the confirmed COVID-19 case

4)  If the student/staff was potentially exposed on a particular day to someone with COVID-19 (not a constant exposure such as someone in their household), the student/staff must follow the above quarantine guidelines OR get tested for COVID-19 and present a negative test to their supervisor/principal before return. (Testing should take place more than 4 days after exposure).