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Ready Schools Safe Learners has changed.

Ready Schools Safe Learners was the guidance document for the 2021-2022 school year. For school year 2022-2023, guidance is called “Safe Return Plans”. Visit that page to view current information. This page is retained only as a reference.

Ā Ready Schools, Safe Learners Resiliency Framework for the 2021-22 School Year is dated 3/29/22.

Remember… Policies and requirements are changing frequently!

We make best attempts to update the information here; please reach out if you have questions or need confirmation.

Ā Contact


Tanya Frisendahl

Reopening Advisor
Educational Services Team
tanya_frisendahl@soesd.k12.or.us

Reopening Protocols, Templates, and Resources
Recent (last 30 days) Highlights

ODE Reopening Guidance Documents

Date of most recent document/update is listed in (parenthesis).Ā 

  • NEW: COVID19 Testing for K-12 SchoolsĀ (1/14/22) – New guidance from OHA on how to implement recommended testing protocols in schools. It is strongly recommended that all K-12 schools in Oregon offering partial or full in-person instruction offer free, on-site COVID-19 testing through this program. This program is intended to test symptomatic or exposed students and school staff only.
  • NEW UPDATE! Planning for COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools (1/27/22) – This document outlines some critical steps and offers an overview of decision points to support school staffā€™s ability to respond well to COVID-19 related illness events. The 1/22 update includes revisions to the exposure (close contact) definition for Oregon K-12 settings to no longer considering masked contact (including on school buses, classrooms, bathrooms, hallways) to be an exposure regardless of distancing. The new recommendations acknowledge that the layered mitigation protocols in K-12 schools work to minimize transmission in these settings and that the vast majority of transmissions has occurred following unmasked contact. The recommendations include continuing to practice physical distancing to the greatest extent possible.
    • Definitions & Decision Tree ā€“ Supplement to Planning for COVID19 Scenarios in Schools. It provides definitions of different COVID19-related terms and includes a decision tree to help guide in-school processes. This is a resource created collaboratively by all three Josephine, Jackson and Klamath County Public Health Agencies. It provides definitions of different COVID19-related terms and includes a decision tree to help guide in-school COVID-19 related decisions for individual staff and students. This was last updated to reflect the 5.6.2 Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance, OHAā€™s latest information and Investigative Guidelines. (February 2021)
    • Summary Exclusion Chart — Quick guide to help staff understand how to respond to different test results. (7/22/21)
  • Test to Stay (11/23/21) –Ā Allows unvaccinated individuals to remain at school, subject to negative COVID tests within certain periods of time. Test to stay is a form of modified quarantine.Ā  SeeĀ  theĀ  testĀ  tabĀ  forĀ  moreĀ  resources.
  • Outdoor Face Mask Guidance (11/23/21) – Removes the requirement for everyone age five+ to wear a face covering outdoors where people from separate households gather. Similar to other COVID-19 mitigation protocols, outdoor face covering is now a local decision under these new rules.
  • NEW UPDATE! Ready Schools Safe Learners Resiliency Framework (RSRF, 1/27/22)
  • Operational Blueprint (4/07/21). If you have changed your operational model, you MUST submit a new Operational Blueprint, post the updated Operational Blueprint for Reentry on your school and district websites, and submit links to the final updated Operational Blueprint Plan(s) for each school to the Oregon Department of Education.
    • We have protocol templates to help you meet all the OB requirements! Click here to view. (04/24/21)
  • Health and Safety Guidelines for Child Care and Early Education Operating During COVID-19 ā€“ This Early Learning Division (ELD) guidance document addresses policies and practices in child care and early education programs that ensure safe operations, and help reduce the transmission of COVID-19. (6/30/21)
ODE hosts regular office hours to provide an overview of new guidance and answer questions.

Office hours are now hosted as needed. View more details here.

Here are the videos from prior sessions:

Requirements – OHA and ODE strongly recommend that schools implement COVID-19 testing.

Testing will help to quickly identify COVID-19 cases in K-12 schools, interrupt viral spread through households and in classrooms, reduce the risk for students and staff during in-person learning, and may be used to shorten the length of quarantine for exposed individuals who test negative when this is recommended by the local public health authority.

On-Site COVID19 School Testing Requirements – Oregon Health Authority (OHA) guidance for how to implement on-site testing in K-12 facilities. (1/14/22)

OHA K-12 Reporting Portal – Daily reporting of all positive (no longer negative) results through the OHA K-12 Reporting Portal OHA requires all COVID-19 test results, both positive and negative, to be reported daily. Schools must submit all test results through the portal.

1/16/22 Test Kit Ordering

Schools can order more Binax NOW and iHealth home tests nowvia Smartsheet. Due to nationwide shortages, it is recommended that schools order early.

Note: Oregonā€™s state distribution warehouse will move to a new facility between Feb. 21 and March 4, 2022 and will be unable to operate during that time. If you order supplies from the warehouse, including COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment (PPE), please place your order no later than Feb. 15 to avoid disruption of service. Plan on ordering enough supplies to last through mid-March.

Please send any questions to ORESF8.LogisticsChiefs@dhsoha.state.or.us

Binax NOW tests — Order reagent only

  • Email Technical Services:Ā ts.binax@abbott.com, CC Lisa Licata -Lisa.Licata@Abbott.com
  • Subject: BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Reagent Replenishment
  • Include the following information in your email:
    • Facility Name:
    • Contact Name and phone number:
    • How many Kits do not have reagent?
    • How many cards are left in each of those kits?
    • Lot Numbers of those kits:
    • Reason why reagent replenishment is needed:
    • Did the kits arrive damaged?
    • Mailing address to send reagent:

 

Supplemental Forms

Abbott BinaxNOW Testing Log (2/20/21) – Results of each test must be promptly logged.Ā  Testing logs must be kept in a secure location and may be audited by OHA. Jackson County schools must use the Jackson County log below.Ā 

COVID19 Testing K-12 Registration FormĀ (2/20/21)

COVID19 Testing Consent Form – All students must have written consent on file prior to COVID-19 testing; staff may give verbal consent at the time of testing. Staff are not required to have a consent form on file in order to be tested for COVID-19. (2/20/21)

Understanding your Positive COVID19 Result (2/25/21)

  • English – .doc
  • Spanish – .doc

Understanding your Negative COVID19 ResultĀ (2/25/21)

Guidance

ODE UpdateĀ  (2/9/21)

The release of Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance on 1/19/21 (RSSL has since been replaced by RSRF) included information and requirements related to a new Oregon Health Authority (OHA) administered school testing program for COVID-19 using BinaxNow Antigen tests. Many are now registered and actively implementing the testing strategy as outlined by OHA.

This testing program is available to all public and private schools in Oregon. It is a service to students and staff that can help to reduce disruption from COVID-19.

Notes on the OHA On-Site Testing Guidance

The testing program guide was updated on 2/10/21 with the following small changes:

  • When registration forms are submitted for the entire school district rather than individual schools, OHA cannot determine the number of testing kits that should be allocated for each specific school. Also, data must be collected on each school thatā€™s participating, (i.e. the total number of students and staff onsite, onsite testing personnel name, school grade, contact information, etc.).
  • An ā€œindeterminateā€ result can be indicative of a flawed test kit. After the school testing administrator repeats it a second time and receives this result, they should immediately contact OHA at schooltesting.covid@dhsoha.state.or.us to request a new kit.

You can email schooltesting.covid@dhsoha.state.or.us for more information on this aspect of the program.

Any formal complaints regarding schools who are required to offer access to the testing program will be processed through OSHA.

ODE Training Resources

ODE provided a closed captioned recording of a webinar provided by Dr. Judy Guzman-Cotrill titled,Ā  “A Review of BinaxNow COVID-19 Antigen Testing in K-12 Schools.”

This training covers essential information for offering access to the Oregon Health Authority coordinated school testing program.

Click here for the presentation slides and an FAQ.

1/14/22 Revised OHA Guidance about Contact Tracing and Reporting Requirements

Read the full post here.Ā 

Oregon will no longer consider masked contact in K-12 settings, including school buses, to be an exposure, regardless of distancing. The updated guidance will strongly advise students and staff to maintain physical distancing to the greatest extent possible.

View ODE’s new COVID19 Testing in K-12 Schools Guide now. (eff. 1/14/22).

How to Report Cases (2022)

OHA Case Reporting

Please provide OHA– at the very least– a full name, DOB, test date and the county which the case resides in. This helps OHA link cases to outbreaks.

Case Tracking Forms
If you think you may have been exposed to COVID19

OHA and ODE strongly advise the following:

Isolation and quarantine protocols

  • Exclusion and isolation protocols for sick students and staff identified at the time of arrival or during the school day. See the COVID-19 Exclusion Summary Guide.
  • Offer free, on-site COVID-19 testing to students and staff with COVID-19 symptoms or exposure via OHAā€™s K-12 school testing program.
  • Protocols for safely transporting anyone who is sick to their home or to a healthcare facility.
  • Adherence to school exclusion processes as laid out in Communicable Disease Guidance for Schools.
  • Involvement of school nurses, School Based Health Centers, or staff with related experience (occupational or physical therapists) in development of protocols and assessment of symptoms (where staffing exists).
  • Recording and monitoring the students and staff being isolated or sent home for the LPHA review.

Response to Outbreak protocols

  • Reviewing and using the ā€œPlanning for COVID-19 Scenarios in Schoolsā€ toolkit.
  • Coordination with local public health authority (LPHA) to establish communication channels related to current transmission level.
  • Means by which school will ensure continuous education services for students and supports for staff.
  • Means by which school will continue to provide meals for students.
  • Cleaning surfaces (e.g. door handles, sink handles, drinking fountains, transport vehicles) following CDC guidance.

Test to Stay Resources

Test to Stay Protocol
Social Media Cards
Quarantine Guidelines

Contacts should still monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 for the full 14 days after exposure, and if symptoms develop they should isolate and seek testing.

  • Close contacts who have been fully immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine, meaning they have received both doses of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-dose vaccine and are at least 14 days beyond completion of the vaccine series at the time of their exposure are not required to quarantine. Fully immunized close contacts should still monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 during the 10 days after exposure, and if symptoms develop they should isolate and seek testing.
  • Close contacts who themselves had a previous confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 case (verified by a positive viral COVID-19 test and/or LPHA) and have completed their isolation are not required to quarantine if the new exposure happened within 90 days of symptom onset or first positive test, whichever is earlier, for their original case.

Any person who has been in close contact with someone else who was exposed to COVID-19 does not need to quarantine. That is, quarantine is only recommended for people who have close contact with a person who is confirmed or presumptive as determined by the LPHA, not close contact with a contact (an exposed person without COVID-19 symptoms and no positive test result).

Grants
Plans/Templates
Logs
Reference & Guidance Documents
Equity & Engagement
Collecting Public Feedback
Video Guidance
Cohort ExamplesĀ (ODE advises use)
Other Resources
SOESD Blueprints

SOESD provides evaluative services in our offices, as well as direct student instructional services in the schools of the districts we serve. Each district we serve submits a blueprint for each of their schools where we may serve students. SOESDā€™s other direct instructional services for students are outlined in separate SOESD blueprints here.

Other School Plans

Community Christian Academy

The blueprints for all the districts in southern Oregon (and the state) are located on ODE’s web site.

 

SOESD assists districts with preparing and updating blueprints to Operational Plans with resources available in the Operational Blueprint Templates and Protocols.

U.S. Department of Education under the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Fund

Click here to view all ODE guidance.Ā 

On July 15, USED announced formal approval of the Esser III Plan.

All Oregon school districts are required to complete and submit the following items through a single Smartsheet form to ODE no later than August 23, 2021:Ā 

  1. An ESSER III District Plan; and
  2. A Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Services Plan.


About the ESSER III District Plan

The ESSER III District Plan is designed to be completed and submitted by school districts. Districts must include all public schools within the district boundaries that the district operates or sponsors, including district-sponsored charter schools, as part of their plan. In addition the ESSER III District Plan:

  • Builds on learning from their Student Investment Account (SIA) Plan;
  • Provides essential information required by ESSER III. It acts as a structure for collecting and aligning the ESSER III-specific information to support planning and sharing key information with your community and staff.

About the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction & Continuity of Services Plan

  • Replaces the Ready Schools, Safe Learners Operational Blueprint under Executive Order 21-06;
  • Fulfills the requirements of American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) State Plan; and
  • Fulfills the requirements of the Oregon State Board of Education requirement. (OAR 581-022-0105).
  • Should be informed by the Ready Schools, Safe Learners Resiliency Framework for the 2021-22 School Year.

Outcomes realized through the use of the ESSER III funds can set a foundation for years to come. Focusing on a small number of high-impact items, within a cohesive and aligned strategy, and investments rooted in research and best practice can set a foundation for strong growth and lasting legacy.

With the investment of ESSER III funds, Oregon can expand efforts already underway, such as:

  • Addressing unfinished learning through asset-based acceleration strategies.
  • Prioritizing health, safety, wellness, and connections for all communities.
  • Strengthening high-quality, culturally-sustaining and revitalizing instruction, leadership, and pathways to graduation and post-secondary transitions.

Process Steps for Completing & Submitting All Plans by August 23, 2021

  1. Access the Smartsheet Form
  2. Review and utilize the following resources to help complete each Section in the Form:
  • (Sections 1-3) – The ESSER III District Plan Guide to aid in the completion of the plan deliverables for the ESSER III District Plan. It includes context, a summary of key federal requirements, technical information, and resources.Ā 
  • (Section 4) – The Continuity of Services Instructions as an accompanying resource to aid in the completion of the plan deliverables. It includes technical information and instructions.
  1. Complete each Section:
  • Section 1: District Use of ESSER III Funds to Address Unfinished Learning
  • Section 2. District Community Engagement to Inform the Use of ESSER III Funds
  • Section 3: ESSER III Integrated Planning Tool
  • Section 4: Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan
  • Section 5: Document Upload
Are face coverings required?Ā 

OHA and ODE strongly advise face coverings for all students in grades kindergarten and up, and all staff when students are inside the building. Certain accommodations for medical needs or disability may be necessary. (06/30/21)

Per OHA guidance, it is acceptable for both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people to be outdoors without a face covering. In general, face coverings are preferred over face shields, as they provide better containment of small aerosols that can be produced while talking.

A face covering is NOT a substitute for physical distancing. Face coverings remain strongly recommended in addition to maintaining at least 3 feet of physical distancing to the extent possible, especially when indoors around people from different households.

If a school is experiencing active transmission of COVID-19 or is located in a community experiencing increased rates of COVID-19, they should strongly consider maintaining or reinstating universal requirements for face coverings.Ā 

None of these provisions should limit an individual or family decision to continue to wear face coverings in school settings. Schools should take steps to prevent and interrupt teasing, bullying, or harassment related to COVID-19 or COVID-19 mitigation efforts, especially when the civil rights of students may be violated.

What are the physical distancing requirements?Ā 

OHA and ODE strongly advise that schools support and promote physical distancing as described below (06/30/21):

  • Support physical distancing in all daily activities and instruction, maintaining at least 3 feet between students to the extent possible.
  • Consider physical distancing requirements when setting up learning and other spaces, arranging spaces and groups to allow and encourage at least 3 feet of physical distance.
  • Minimize time standing in lines and take steps to ensure that required distance between students is maintained, including marking spacing on floor, one-way traffic flow in constrained spaces, etc.
Where do I get cleaning & maintenance supplies?

School facilities are the responsibility of the local school district and as such they are responsible for cleaning the buildings. Because this is a local control issue, the state does not have systems in place to provide additional supplies to districts.

Try these options for more information:

  • Oregon School Facilities Management Association. They provide peer to peer information sharing and resources. Districts can get advice from other districts about how to address potential shortages of cleaning supplies.
  • ORPIN. This is the public procurement network that public agencies, including school districts can use. Districts may be able to find cleaning supplies on this network that can help address any potential shortages.
  • Local county emergency managers.
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