Orange County Public Schools

COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidelines
for 2020 Summer School Operations

Parents should know:

Before Arriving at School

• Please promote healthy and safe behaviors to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
• Reinforce proper hygiene etiquette and social distancing techniques:
  • Parents may elect to supply their child with their own cloth masks; however, if a mask is needed, the school will provide a disposable mask on a daily basis.
  • Parent should regularly clean and sanitize all backpacks, devices, masks and school supplies.
• Keep your child at home if he/she has a sore throat, chills, cough, shortness of breath or a fever of 100.4 or above, or if he/she has had direct contact with a person who contracted the COVID-19 virus, and promptly notify the school of your child’s absence. 
• If possible, please transport your child to and from school in a personal vehicle to limit the potential for exposure.
• To limit direct in-person interaction, with school staff, other students and teachers; please use printed notes, email, or voice messages to communicate with the school.
• Students riding on buses will be required to wear a mask unless a student’s disability does not enable him/her to do so.
• There will be no more than 13 passengers per bus, seated in a zigzag pattern, with open windows to promote good ventilation and social distancing.
  • Passengers will be loaded, filling rear rows first, and unloaded from the front rows to the rear, maintaining social distancing.
• Buses will be cleaned daily.

Before Entering School

• There will be specialized training for all staff as it relates to safety and response measures for the COVID-19 threat.  
• Summer school staff will oversee social distancing and routinely reinforce proper hygiene etiquette, which will be enhanced by instructive signage.
• Students and staff will have their temperature screened using a no-touch infrared thermometer before entering school by a trained staff member designated by the principal. 
  • Students with temperatures of 100.4 or above will be immediately escorted to the Clinic Sick Room and will be attended to as described in the “If Your Child is Sick” section below.
  • If any member of staff has a temperature of 100.4 or above, he/she will be required to leave work until his/her temperature returns to normal for at least a 24-hour period without the aid of medications.
• Parents and visitors will not be allowed to enter the school past the main office to limit exposure to students, staff and teachers. 
• District staff conducting business on school property shall follow all summer school health and safety standards before entering the school.

Inside the School

• Classrooms and common areas will be cleaned daily.
• Students will be required to wear face masks when transitioning between classrooms, unless a student’s disability does not enable him/her to wear a mask.
• Each school will be funded a school health assistant or a trained district designee to oversee the clinic. They will be temperature-screened daily and must wear Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) while in the clinic when in contact with students. The same applies to other employees.
• Clinics will have two designated areas to serve students, where social distancing and PPE will be applied in both rooms: 
  • Well Room (medicine distribution, sprained ankle etc.,)
  • Sick Room (fevers, cough, sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, chills)
• Clinics will adhere to social distancing to the extent possible within the space available.
• All OCPS custodians are trained on effective methods for cleaning and disinfecting schools to help fight the spread of viruses and other harmful bacteria. Custodial Services, in accordance with the department’s standard operating procedures, uses an Environmental Protection Agency/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-approved disinfectant to clean schools.
  • Custodians will check common areas and group restrooms throughout the day to ensure supplies are replenished, conduct touch-point cleaning and do thorough cleaning/disinfecting once students leave for the day. 
• If there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 on campus, the school will notify the staff and parents of students who have been in contact with the individual.
• The school will follow the direction of the Orange County Florida Department of Health when a confirmed case is identified. Custodial staff will hand-spray, clean, disinfect and wipe down areas and surfaces to which the infected person may have come in contact.

Inside Classrooms

• Students will be required to wear a face mask or PPE in class, unless it is medically necessary for the student not to wear one.
• Employees working with students shall wear face masks, or other appropriate PPE.
• Hand sanitizer stations will be available in each classroom.
• The student to teacher ratio will be no more than 10 to 1, unless specified differently according to a child’s Individualized Education Plan.
• Students will be seated in a socially distant layout in classrooms with all chairs, desks, and other workstations at least 6 feet apart.
• Students will receive breakfast upon arrival and eat at a social distance in their classrooms. Each student will be given a bag lunch when he/she leaves for home.
  • Teachers will hand out the meals if there are less than 15 students in a school; otherwise, a Food and Nutrition Services staff member will hand out the meals.
• Students will only be allowed to go to the restroom one at a time. 

If Your Child is Sick

• If a child gets sick while attending school and cannot remain in class, he/she will be escorted to the Sick Room and parents will be notified and required to pick up the child.
• If a child becomes ill at the end of the day, and is unable to return to class, he/she will not be placed on the bus and the parent will be required to immediately pick up their child after the final school bell to minimize possible contact with and exposure to other individuals.
• If a child is sick, is not picked up, and his/her symptoms worsen, school administration will be notified and call 911 Emergency Medical System responders and/or notify the proper authorities, as necessary.
• If a parent denies EMS transport, at the recommendation of the school and EMS personnel, the parent must sign out the child and take him/her home. (The parent must be present at school to deny transport).
• If a student is sent home because he/she is sick or has COVID-19-like symptoms, he/she can return to school if:
  • The student presents a current, signed, and dated physician’s release to return to school.
  • The student returns with a negative COVID-19 test result.

Medically Fragile Students and Students with Significant Cognitive and Emotional Disabilities

• Teachers, staff, behavioral support, and crisis management teams will have access to PPE, including gloves, masks, face shields and gowns, as necessary. 
• PPE must be worn by students and staff when social distancing is not feasible. 
• If physical prompting or restraint of a student is necessary, PPE must be worn. 
• If a student has a medical plan, it will be followed according to the child’s individualized needs.