Safety and Security

Schools must ensure safety and security for their students, including fulfilling the objectives of Avonte’s Law (a local law requiring alarms on school doors to prevent children, especially children with severe disabilities, from leaving school grounds unnoticed). Prior to the approval of any outdoor space request, School Safety will complete a safety assessment of the plan. The DOE will also provide schools with safety guidelines and considerations, including: daily steps for assessing external space (conducted by custodial staff or School Safety Agent); door alarm policies with procedures for deactivating and activating alarms, and monitoring deactivated doors; and emergency readiness policies. 

 

Permission Slips

Parents and guardians who wish for their students to participate in outdoor learning must provide signed permission slips (electronic or physical) to the school.

 

Nurses in Every School Building

Nursing coverage for schools serving Kindergarten through 12th grade is being provided through a NYC Health + Hospitals nursing contract for 400 full-time, onsite nurses. Nurses will be hired and in-place by the first day of school.

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The over 2,000 early childhood care programs and new Learning Bridges childcare programs require two layers of nursing coverage. 100 contract nurses will be hired to provide geographic coverage, prioritizing the zip codes hardest hit by COVID-19, for early childhood and Learning Bridges childcare programs. Additionally, the Department of Education will contract with a tele-health nursing provider to make available a hotline accessible to all programs Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM. Program leaders, Family Child Care Network staff and home-based providers could call and consult with a nurse who would be specially trained to advise program leaders on COVID-19 and other medical questions and concerns.

 

Testing and Tracing

We must use every effort to prevent the spread of infection in schools if a student or staff member is feeling sick or has a confirmed case of COVID-19. This section explains the protocols in place to achieve this. The most fundamental guidance remains that any student or staff member should stay home if they are not feeling well.

The City will continue to closely monitor health conditions, and if community transmission begins to rise across the boroughs, the decision to close all schools may be included in the mitigation effort.

In the interest of the health and safety of our entire city, DOHMH recommends that all New Yorkers get tested, whether or not you have symptoms or are at increased risk.

 

All staff members will be asked to take a COVID-19 test in the days before the first day of school. School staff will have priority access for testing at (Open external link)34 city-run testing locations(Open external link)with tests provided free of charge and with expedited results. This testing is also available for families citywide.

 

If Someone in the School Community Feels Sick 

If a student or teacher is feeling sick, they are required to stay home and, if their symptoms are consistent with COVID-19, are asked to get tested. If a student begins experiencing symptoms in school, they will be isolated and monitored by a dedicated staff member until they are picked up by their family. Staff members who become symptomatic at school are asked to immediately leave the building.

 

Whether symptoms begin at home or in school, there will be a clear flow of information to facilitate fast action and prevent spread. A positive confirmed case will trigger an investigation by NYC Test + Trace and DOHMH to determine close contacts within the school. Schools will communicate to all families and students at school once a case is laboratory confirmed.

 

The DOE is working in tight coordination with DOHMH and the Test + Trace Corps to identify, isolate, and prevent spread of COVID-19. In the event that there is a laboratory- confirmed case in a school, all students and teachers in that class are assumed close contacts and will be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days since their last exposure to that case.

 

Additionally, the DOHMH and Test + Trace Corps will begin an investigation into the risk of exposure to the school community and work with the DOE to issue clear guidance and decisions for next steps based on the outcome.