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Education Dive
More robust coronavirus guidelines needed to protect high-risk educators
Katie Navarra
July 16 2020
Special education teacher Pamela Mele finished breast cancer treatments
a year ago. Since then, the New York educator has been hospitalized
twice for noncoronavirus illnesses and is considered high-risk for
COVID-19.
She’s not alone.
From the onset of the pandemic, people who had chronic medical
conditions, also including diabetes, lung disease and heart disease,
faced increased instances of being hospitalized with COIVD-19 and put
into intensive care, according to data from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
And, according to an American Enterprise Institute report, educators in
the coronavirus vulnerable age range of 65 years or older include over
18% of public and private school teachers and 27% of all principals.
For private schools specifically, 25% of teachers and 44% of principals
are a vulnerable age.
Mele is worried about returning to in-person instruction at the
600-student urban school district where she works in New York’s Capital
Region. Special education teachers work in close proximity to
student-often should to shoulder.
“I can’t imagine how we’re going to spread out students and staff. We
don’t have enough space for all our classes sometimes, let alone
walking through the halls,” she said. “I also work with kids who flip
out and walk out of class for no reason. I can’t imagine getting them
to wear masks.”
Looking for guidance
Mele said she and some of her peers are willing to return to the
classroom if their school implements specific safety protocols. An
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) poll conducted in June showed 76%
of nearly 1,200 K-12 educators, paraprofessionals and higher education
faculty and staff surveyed feel comfortable going back to school if
certain safety procedures are met.
“It’s too high-risk to send everyone back, but some populations like
special needs students and English as a second language students need
to be in-person,” she said. “If we had testing and we were guaranteed
small groups with the same students, I would be okay with going back.”
While there is national guidance and information on best practices for
reopening schools safely, it's been sparse or limited in its scope.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has not
formalized guidance or protocols, according to Bob Farrace, the
association’s media relations representative. “This remains a big gap.
We are all swimming with the same questions,” said Farrace.
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has released a legal
guidebook focused on the implications of operating school districts
under a pandemic. It includes considerations for personnel such as how
the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
and worker’s comp play a role in working in school buildings during the
coronavirus.
"A lot of guides we’ve seen have been about operational issues like how
far to space desks and social distancing,” said Francisco Negrón,
NSBA’s chief legal officer. “School districts are the largest employers
in the country, and this guide will address how COVID-19 is impacting
legal issues, one of which is employees.”
The CDC in June released “K-12 Schools and Childcare Programs FAQs for
Administrators, Teachers, and Parents,” a brief eight-page document.
Suggestions highlight the importance of reinforcing health procedures
but there are no best practices or specific actionable recommendations.
Negrón has heard districts discuss plexiglass barriers on buses to
protect drivers. Enclosures can also be installed in offices and
cafeterias to protect staff but are likely impractical in classrooms.
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, has formulated a set of
national guidelines through the work of its COVID-19 Recovery
Taskforce. Morcease J. Beasley, superintendent of Clayton County Public
Schools (CCPS) in Georgia, served on the task force and used the
recommendations to develop his district’s 2020-21 Reopening Resources
Guide.
CCPS is the fifth-largest district in Georgia with 55,000 students and
7,000 employees. Flexibility and contingency planning is key, according
to Beasley.
“We’re asking everyone to stay connected with their supervisor and be
communicative and clear on what their situation is,” he said. “We don’t
know day-to-day who is at risk, so we’re asking them to communicate."
Educators and staff with health concerns, either for themselves or a
family member, could request an accommodation to continue working
virtually after schools reopen. The ADA application now includes
COVID-19 specific requests relating to personal and family reasons and
personal discomfort.
“We have an internal review process to review those requests for
accommodation and to grant those requests when they can limit exposure
and the person is able to perform the essential duties of the job
without undue hardship to the district,” Beasley said. “Any of us,
superintendents included, may need to know how to get paid under those
reasons.”
Health and safety first
Superintendents and principals have a lot to consider. High-risk
teachers and staff or those caring for vulnerable loved ones are part
of an ever-growing list of concerns. Providing access to personal
protection equipment (PPE) is a priority for many adminstrators.
AASA president-elect Kristi (Sandvik) Wilson, superintendent at the
Buckeye Elementary School District in Arizona, is allowing staff to
choose the PPE that makes them feel most comfortable. Beyond
temperature checks, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, Buckeye
Elementary employees can request face shields, gowns and more.
“We want to give our people a choice,” she said. "If there is something
they want and we can get it, we want them to know we will have it for
them."
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