La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § LXXIX-1107

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section LXXIX-1107 - Minimum Requirements for Reopening and Operating School Facilities

A. Group Sizes

1. The maximum group size that may convene indoors in a single room, irrespective of room size, or outdoors at any given time are as follows:

a. phase 1-10 individuals;

b. phase 2-25 individuals; and

c. phase 3-50 individuals.

2. Group Composition

a. Younger students who are unable to wear face coverings or maintain a physical distance from other students or adults should be assigned static groups. This should include, at a minimum, students in grades 2 or lower. The static group composition should be maintained for as long as possible over the course of the 2020-2021 school year.

b. The group composition may change if students are able to maintain physical distance from other students and adults. In this case, students must maintain physical distance, in accordance with current Louisiana Department of Health Guidelines as informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from other students and adults in any classroom or indoor setting to the maximum extent possible.

c. Students with disabilities must continue to receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment. School systems must factor in any additional service providers who may need to enter the classroom, students who receive services outside the classroom (e.g. resource, APE), and/or students who receive services through alternate instructional methods.

B. Physical Standards for the use of School Facilities

1. If a group convenes indoors, it must convene in a room enclosed by a wall or partition. This includes large rooms, such as a gymnasium or auditorium, which may include more than one group if each group is separated by a wall or partition.

2. If groups convene outdoors, a physical barrier is not required, but each group must remain separated.

3. To the greatest extent possible, schools must limit crowding at entry and exit points and maintain maximum group sizes and physical distance recommendations.

4. If a room is used by more than one group in a single day, high-touch surfaces contained in that room must be cleaned before and after use by each group.

C. Monitoring Students and Adults for Symptoms of COVID-19

1. Each school must establish an area used to isolate anyone showing signs of being sick. The isolation area must be cleaned after it is occupied by any sick student or adult.

2. Upon arriving at the school facility, each adult and student must be assessed for symptoms of COVID-19, as defined by the CDC. This includes an initial temperature check.

D. Environmental Cleaning and Personal Hygiene

1. High-touch surfaces must be cleaned multiple times per day, including bathrooms.

2. Students must wash or sanitize hands upon arrival at the school, at least every two hours, before and after eating, before and after using outdoor play equipment, and before exiting the school facility.

E. Face Coverings

1. BESE minimum reopening standards, pertaining to face coverings, are superseded by any statewide or district specific mandate issued by the governor. If there is a statewide or district specific mandate in place, the lifting of the mask requirement will be determined by an executive order or proclamation of the governor. If there is nostatewide or district mandate in place, the lifting of this requirement will be determined by the Local Education Agency (LEA) at the appropriate time, based on the recommendation issued of the LDH.

a. While inside the school facility, all adults and students in grades 3 through 12 must wear a face covering to the greatest extent possible and practical within the local community context.

b. While inside the school facility, students in grades prekindergarten through 2 may wear a face covering.

c. While inside the school facility, children under two years old and individuals with breathing difficulties.

F. Hygienic Supplies

1. School employees must be provided adequate access to hygienic supplies, including soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol, disinfectant wipes or spray, paper towels, and tissues. Face coverings should also be provided when needed.

2. The quantity of hygienic supplies must be appropriately provided to the school employee, according to the role and the number and age of students or adults served by that employee.

G. Transportation

1. School buses used to transport students must not exceed the following maximum capacity requirements:

a. phase 1-25 percent, including adults, of the school bus manufacturer capacity;

b. phase 2-50 percent, including adults, of the school bus manufacturer capacity; and

c. phase 3-75 percent, including adults, of the school bus manufacturer capacity.

2. Passengers on a school bus must be spaced to the greatest extent possible as follows:

a. phase 1-passengers must ride one per seat. Every other seat must remain empty. Members of the same household may sit in the same seat or adjacent seats; and

b. phase 2 and 3-passengers must be dispersed throughout the bus to the greatest extent possible.

H. Student Programming Determinations

1. Student placement determinations in a distance or in-person education program should be made in consultation with the parent or custodian.

2. Student placement determinations should take into consideration a student's unique academic, social, emotional, familial, and medical needs of a student, as identified by the student's parent or custodian.

I. Essential Visitors to School Facilities

1. Essential visitors are individuals who must enter schools or early learning centers in order to conduct visits in accordance with Louisiana law or policy. Essential visitors include, but are not limited to, individuals who:

a. conduct CLASS^® observations;

b. observe teacher candidates as part of the teacher preparation quality rating system; or

c. provide essential supports and services including, but not limited to, early intervention services, special education services, or mental health consultation.

J. Medical or disability impact exceptions to any standard in this Chapter should be addressed on an individual basis by the LEA in accordance with local policies.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § LXXIX-1107

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 46, Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 46, Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 461674 (12/1/2020), Amended LR 471291 (9/1/2021).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6, 17:7, 17:439.1 and 17:3391.