Safety Measures for k-12 Schools from CDPH

• Masks are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings.
• K-12 students are required to mask indoors, with exemptions per CDPH face mask guidance. Adults in K-12 school settings are required to mask when sharing indoor spaces with students.  
• Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition, must wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.
• Schools must develop protocols to provide a face covering to students who inadvertently fail to bring a face covering to school to prevent unnecessary exclusions. 
• Schools should offer alternative educational opportunities for students who are excluded from campus because they will not wear a face covering. 
• In limited situations where a face covering cannot be used for pedagogical or developmental reasons, (e.g., communicating or assisting young children or those with special needs) a face shield with a drape (per CDPH guidelines) can be used instead of a face covering while in the classroom as long as the wearer maintains physical distance from others. Staff must return to wearing a face covering outside of the classroom.
• Recent evidence indicates that in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are implemented.  This is consistent with CDC K-12 School Guidance.
• For indoor spaces, ventilation should be optimized
• Follow the strategy for Staying Home when Sick and Getting Tested from the CDC.
• Get tested for COVID-19 when symptoms are consistent with COVID-19 will help with rapid contact tracing and prevent possible spread at schools.
• Staff members and students with symptoms of COVID-19 infection are not to return for in-person instruction until they have met CDPH criteria to return to school for those with symptoms:
• At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications; and
• Other symptoms have improved; and
• They have a negative test for SARS-CoV-2, OR a healthcare provider has provided documentation that the symptoms are typical of their underlying chronic condition (e.g., allergies or asthma) OR a healthcare provider has confirmed an alternative named diagnosis (e.g., Streptococcal pharyngitis, Coxsackie virus), OR at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset.
• Per AB 86 (2021) and California Code Title 17, section 2500, schools are required to report COVID-19 cases to the local public health department. 

• Calfornia Department of Public Health

• Butte County Public Health

• Paradise Unified School District Community Dashboard

• Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant

• ESSER III Expenditure Plan (Approved 10/19/21)

• COVID-19 COVID-19 Prevention Plan (Updated 8/26/21)

• PUSD Reopening Plan 2021-2022 ( Updated 8/20/21)

• American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Interim Guidance: Return to Sports and Physical Activity

• California Department of Education Physical Education FAQs

• California Department of Education COVID-19 Youth Health Information Act

• COVID-19 Spectator Guidelines for Outdoor Sports

• PUSD COVID-19 School Guidance Checklist (posted 2/2/21)

• Grant Safety Plan PARADISE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (Updated 1/28/21) 

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel virus that has been spreading worldwide. Community-acquired cases have now been confirmed in California. We are gaining more understanding of COVID-19’s epidemiology, clinical course, immunogenicity, and other factors as time progresses, and the situation is changing daily. CDPH is in the process of monitoring COVID-19, conducting testing with local and federal partners, and providing guidance and resources to prevent, detect and respond to the occurrence of COVID-19 cases in California.