Safety Precautions and Screening

Safety Precautions

The following is a summary of safety precautions that will be implemented for the 2020-21 school year.

Social Distance Icon We will discontinue large gatherings/activities and limit non-essential visitors/volunteers/external groups.

Chair icon Classroom seating charts will be created according to state guidelines. Small groups will be limited and only held with protective measures in place. Student pedestrian patterns and classrooms will be adjusted to provide social distancing to the greatest degree possible. Classroom supplies will not be shared.

Schoolbus icon Seat assignments will be created for students. Bus drop-off and pick-up times may be staggered by a few minutes in order to minimize groups of students at arrival and dismissal. Watch our Bus Procedures video. Seating will be organized into pods to separate cohorts.

face mask icon Per the governor’s executive order, face coverings are required for all students, staff and other persons present in any PLSAS building or vehicle. Exemptions will be allowed according to the governor’s order. Preschoolers under the age of 5 are not required to wear face coverings. Staff, students and parents/guardians are welcomed and encouraged to supply and wear their own face coverings. Masks will be provided to those who do not have their own. Staff/adults will wear a mask and face shield when interacting with or around students. For staff, two mitigation strategies must always be used. If staff, coaches or advisors during the school day, during co-curricular activities and members of outside user groups cannot tolerate wearing both mask and face shield barriers for an extended period of time, they have the option to remove the face shield if and only when an additional mitigation strategy is added. Additional mitigation strategies include:

Maintaining a consistent 6 feet of social distance from students
Adding a clear plexiglass barrier between adults and students
Wearing a second mask

hand washing icon Students are expected to wash hands or use hand sanitizer throughout the day, especially before meals. Hand sanitizer will be provided at each school.

A clear plexiglass barrier will be available in each classroom. Staff may choose to use this barrier when they need to be within 6 feet with students for an extended period of time (small group and individual instruction).

drinking fountain icon Drinking fountains will be turned off with only the water bottle filling option available. Water bottles or cups may be used.

school lunch icon Meals, snacks, and beverages served at school will be individually packaged or will be served directly to students. As always, we will ensure the safety of children with food allergies. PLSAS will discontinue self-service food and beverage distribution in the cafeteria. There will be limited use of high-touch areas such as keypads. Six-foot social distancing is required when utilizing the cafeteria and cohorts must be separated. If social distancing is not possible, lunch will occur in the classroom.

cleaning icon Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing schedules have been implemented in all schools, including frequent sanitizing of high-touch surfaces such as desks, tables, light switches and more. You’ll see clear barriers in offices at the first point of contact, new signage and areas that have been redesigned to promote social distancing. Hand sanitizer will be provided in common and public spaces, and in classrooms that do not have hand-washing sinks.

Fan icon Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) building systems have been assessed and maintained for proper ventilation and filtration. Systems are continuously evaluated and maintained to ensure healthy indoor air quality that meets industry standards.

checlist icon Staff and visitors will participate in a daily COVID-19 self-screening (series of questions) prior to being allowed entry to a building. Parents will be required to perform a daily COVID-19 check on student/s.

COVID-19 SELF-SCREENING

Staff and visitors must participate in a daily COVID-19 self-screening (series of questions). When Hybrid or In-Person learning models are in place, parents/guardians are to perform a daily COVID-19 check on their student(s) to determine if their child can attend school. At the start of the school year, parents/guardians were asked to complete a form to acknowledge they will perform the COVID-19 Student Daily Return to School Checklist for their child each day. Please note that the checklist is subject to change, per updates from public health officials.

What if my child feels sick at school?

Safety Information and Training

COVID-19 Decision Tree for Schools

COVID-19 Attendance Guide for Parents and Families

Determining a safe learning model

How do schools determine their safe learning model?

How do schools determine their safe learning model?

PLSAS is following the MN Safe Learning Plan to determine which learning model will be implemented this fall and throughout the school year. The decision-making process centers on Scott County data indicating the level of viral activity in the surrounding community. PLSAS will use the following process in assessing and determining an appropriate learning model:

Step 1
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will use data from counties to determine a base learning model for public schools.

Step 2
Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) will share county data and the consultative process for public schools to engage with education and public health experts to review their county health data and safe learning plans.

Step 3
Public schools, with their incident command team, will evaluate their ability to implement required and recommended health best practices.

Step 4
Public schools, in consultation with public health, will determine a learning model to begin the school year and communicate that decision with their school community.*

Step 5
Public schools and MDH will monitor the community and school-level impact of COVID-19 on a regular basis. Adjustments will be made to the learning plan if needed.

Click here for the PLSAS "Turn the Dial" Process

Safe Learning Models: Distance learning, Hybrid learning, In-person learning *Regardless of learning model, all public schools must offer an equitable distance learning option to all families.

Following state guidelines, PLSAS will meet regularly with Scott County Health and be advised of the bi-weekly case rate (over 14 days) for the county. These data are the number of cases in Scott County over 14 days per 10,000 people by date of specimen collection (when a person was tested). While any increase in case incidence represents greater potential risk, schools may consider a bi-weekly case rate of 10 or more cases per 10,000 to be an elevated risk of disease transmission within the local community, especially when the level of cases per week is sustained or increasing over time.

After the initial selection of a learning model for school opening, the decision to shift to an alternative learning model will center on changes in viral activity in the community through continued review of the bi-weekly county-level case data.

Learning model parameters

Number of cases per 10,000 over 14 days, by county of residence

0-9

10-19

20-29

30-49

50+

Learning Model

In-person learning for all students

In-person learning for elementary students; hybrid learning for secondary students

Hybrid learning for all students

Hybrid learning for elementary students; distance learning for secondary students

Distance learning for all students