DAILY UPDATE #95 -- 8/04/2020

 

  • AASD OFFICE CLOSURE 
    AASD will be sending out a Daily Update, Monday-Friday, throughout the return to instruction/ school reopening period.  The Weekly Update will continue as usual on Thursdays with the typical news and information for AASD members.  The AASD Office continues to remain closed.  AASD staff are working remotely and can be reached via the contact information at the end of this Update.

    AASD has created a Google Form for AASD Members to report issues, questions or concerns regarding work-related issues, COVID-19, return to instruction and school reopening.  AASD will provide answers to issues, questions or concerns submitted as answers become available.  You may also share your gratitude for another AASD member, district personnel, etc. via the same link.

    The link to share issues/questions/concerns/gratitude is:
    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVSsqBQSHboCdgqbnpaucUY--DHKjosG8MAmRuCxawzB4blg/viewform?usp=sf_link
     
    Please do not share this link outside of AASD membership (classified and certificated management/supervisors).  The link will be active until this crisis is over. 
     
    NOTE:  All previous AASD Daily Updates and Weekly Updates are located on the AASD Website www.aasdcs.org if you need to refer back to them for information.

     
  • FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS (ACSA) – NEW – CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDANCE ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAIVERS
    The California Department of Public Health released new guidance last night to provide additional clarity on the waiver allowing elementary schools to reopen in counties on the state’s monitoring list. 
        = COVID-19 and Reopening In-Person Learning Elementary Education Waiver 
           Process    , 8/3/2020
        = Schools Guidance FAQs, 8/3/2020
     
    Last night’s announcement expands upon a narrow exemption detailed in last month’s     school reopening framework, which required any LEA or school site to remain closed to in-person instruction if it is located within a local health jurisdiction that has been on the state’s county monitoring list within the prior 14 days.

    CDPH now advises local health officers to grant or deny elementary school waiver requests using the following factors:
        = The waiver is for grades TK-6, even if a school serves additional grades.
        = Reopening plans must be published on the LEA’s website and must address
           items described in     CDPH’s Industry Guidance for Schools.
        = Applicants must show evidence of consultation with labor, parent, and
           community organizations, meaning school-based non-profit organizations and 
           local organizations that support student enrichment, recreation, after-school
           programs, health services, early childhood services or provide family support.
        = Districts should consolidate their application for multiple elementary schools.
        = Independent, private, faith-based, and charter schools must submit an
           application and plan for each school.
        = Local health officers are directed to     consider specific factors in addition to the
           application, including whether in-person instruction can be provided in small,
           stable cohorts, and the availability of testing resources. 
        = Local health officers must consult with CDPH prior to making a determination
           and may conditionally approve an application with limitations.
        = Applications should be submitted to the local health officer at least 14 days
           prior to the desired reopening date.
     
    CDPH strongly recommends that schools within jurisdictions with 14-day case rates more than two times the threshold to be on the County Monitoring List (>200 cases/100,000 population) should not be considered for a waiver to re-open in-person instruction.

    A forthcoming guidance will further detail the conditions for providing in-person instruction to smaller, targeted sets of TK-12 students, such as students with an individualized education program, according to CDPH’s FAQ. 

    The rationale behind the TK-6 waiver is that COVID-related risks in schools serving elementary-age students are believed to be lower than and different from the risks to staff and to students in schools serving older students, according to CDPH. The state also justified the new waiver by citing the public health risks of not providing in-person instruction, including the social-emotional wellbeing of young children, undetected child abuse and inequities in learning loss.
     

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