Graham ISD screening, PPE, isolation procedures for 2020-2021 school year
Graham ISD will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas Education Agency and state and local health officials protocols when they open their doors Aug. 31.
The district will be ensuring they have an adequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and other sanitary equipment. The district will be cleaning with products approved by the governing authorities and per EPA guidelines. GISD will be in compliance with the CDC, Health and Human Service, TEA and other policies while providing communication of procedures and expectation to those entering the facilities and throughout each building.
Screening procedures
All students and staff will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms daily and individuals with symptoms will be separated and sent home. The district listed their screening and isolation protocols within their plan.
Staff of each campus will be required to complete a health screening daily prior to entering a GISD building, with the district having the ability to require more screenings of employees at any time based on state and federal guidelines.
Parents or guardians must submit documentation of screening their child for COVID-19 symptoms weekly prior to sending them to their campus. The district recommends parents take their student’s temperature each day.
Isolation protocols
The campus nurse will provide an assessment to determine if and when the student needs to be sent home for displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Students who are ill will be separated from their peers and need to be picked up within 30 minutes and no later than one hour from the time the campus has made contact with the parent or guardian.
If a student is determined to either have or possibly have COVID-19, other students will be removed from the classroom and taken to another location on campus so the classroom can be disinfected. The school will contact the local health department upon determining a student or staff members if lab-confirmed to have COVID-19.
The campus must close off areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 until the surfaces can be disinfected. The district will communicate with the students and parents who may have come in contact with an individual displaying COVID-19 symptoms. Staff members who display symptoms will follow district protocols and isolate themselves from students and staff members.
Personal Protective Equipment
According to the plan which was updated as of Aug. 3, counties with 20 or more active COVID-19 cases must comply with Gov. Greg Abbott executive order regarding the wearing of face coverings.
GISD is required to comply with this order and staff members are expected to wear face coverings during school hours. Students 10 and older (fourth through 12th grade) are also expected to wear face coverings during school hours. Those in pre-k through third grade are suggested as a best practice in areas of the campus and times that are to be determined.
“Students in pre-k through third grade will not be required to wear face coverings. However, wearing face coverings is recommended in hallways, common areas and during arrival and Dismissal,” the district wrote in the plan.
According to the plan, this requirement for staff members and students is subject to change. Face coverings include non-medical grade disposable face masks, cloth face coverings over the nose and mouth, or full-face shields to protect eyes, nose and mouth. Staff will wear the covering while in the class with students and at other times unless social distance is appropriate.
For the rest of the story, see the Aug. 5 edition of The Graham Leader.
