EISD Mitigation Plan
Excelsior Independent School District
11270 State Hwy 7 West Center, TX 75935 936-598-5866
phone / 936-598-2076 fax
EISD Mitigation Plan
Excelsior ISD is providing the following Notice of Mitigation of COVID-19 per the State of Texas and TEA Public Health Guidance for parents/guardians and the general public. This guidance addresses the following: on campus and virtual instruction; administrative activities by teachers, staff, or students that occur on school campuses or virtually; all non-UIL extracurricular sports and activities; any other activities that teachers, staff, or students must complete that cannot be accomplished virtually; and visits by parents/guardians and the general public, including all after-school providers and other programs that operate in conjunction with EISD.
Provide Notice
The COVID-19 Mitigation Plan will be posted in written form, on the EISD website and mailed to parents
EISD provides to parents/guardians and the general public the following notice of public education enrollment and attendance rights and responsibilities
This plan is subject to change dependent upon state and TEA recommendations and guidelines
Attendance and Enrollment
Per Texas Education Code (TEC), §25.092, students must attend 90% of the days a course is offered (with some exceptions) in order to be awarded credit for the course and/or to be promoted to the next grade. This requirement remains in force during the 2020-21 school year.
Given the public health situation, student attendance may be earned through the delivery of virtual instruction.
Any parent may request that their student be offered virtual instruction from any school system that offers such instruction. If a parent who chooses virtual instruction wants their child to switch to an on-campus instructional setting, they can do so, but school systems are permitted to limit these transitions to occur only at the end of a grading period, if it will be beneficial to the student's instructional quality.
School systems must provide on-campus attendance as an option for students otherwise entitled to attend school who follow this document's required public health procedures and whose parents wish them to attend on campus, subject to school closure and the exceptions listed in this document.
In order to facilitate a safe, effective back-to-school transition process, during a period up to the first four weeks of school, which can be extended by an additional four weeks by vote of the school board, school systems may temporarily limit access to on-campus instruction. As a result, some parents opting for their student(s) to attend on campus may be required to start with remote instruction temporarily, although any family who does not have Internet access and/or devices for distance learning at home is still entitled to have their student receive on-campus instruction each day during this transition period, as they are during the rest of the year. School systems must clearly describe this transition process in their posted summary of their plans to operate campuses safely, as required above.
School systems are required to provide parents a notice of their public education enrollment and attendance rights and responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
EISD will provide in-person instruction for the 20-21 school year. Parents and/or guardians desiring their student(s) to participate in instruction through a virtual means will be accommodated as long as they can provide adequate Internet access. Transitions to a different mode of instruction may only be made at the end of grading periods.
Prevent
Screening
All EISD employees will self-screen daily, including temperature.
Parents/guardians will need to ensure pre-screening of students daily. An acknowledgment of this process will be acquired through a signed form returned to the school. This information will also be covered in the student handbook.
Illness
All EISD employees will report having a positive COVID-19 test, having COVID-19 symptoms without an evaluation, and/or having close contact with a positive COVID 19 individual.
A parent/guardian must also ensure that their child(ren) with COVID-19, or symptoms of COVID-19, remains at home and participates in instruction through virtual instruction.
A parent/guardian must ensure that their child(ren) that has been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual will stay home with virtual instruction for a 14 day incubation period.
Return
Students, faculty, staff, and all other district employees, upon returning to the district following illness and/or isolation, must be screened by the district/campus nurse to ensure the following criteria are met:
In the case of an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may
return to school when ALL three of the following criteria are met: at least one day (24 hours) have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications);
the individual has improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and
at least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and who is NOT evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, such individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to the campus until the individual has completed the same three-step set of criteria listed above through screening by the district/campus nurse.
If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to campus before completing the above stay at home period, the individual must either
obtain a medical professional's note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis or
obtain an acute infection test at an approved testing location that comes back negative for COVID-19.
Health and Hygiene Practices
All building entrances will have hand sanitizer dispensers and use will be encouraged upon entering
All students will have their temperature checked before entering the school building
All students will be provided instruction on good handwashing techniques, covering of coughs and sneezes, and disposal of contaminated items.
Frequent hygiene opportunities will be provided
There will be no sharing of school supplies, devices, food or items that can be cross contaminated
Classrooms and hallways will be setup and monitored for appropriate social distancing
Visitor/Visits
No unscheduled/unplanned district visits, except for emergencies
No outside food or drink delivered during school hours
All visitors must be screened, including temperature checks, for
Close contact
Symptoms
Confirmed diagnosis
Respond
All suspected and confirmed cases on campus will immediately be separated from the general population into an Isolation Room
The Local Health Department will be notified in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations
Areas heavily used by the individual will be closed off, unless more than 7 days have already passed since the individual was present, for immediate disinfecting
All individuals exposed will be notified, including the students' parents/guardians, of exposure
The Isolation Room will be thoroughly cleaned after each use of all surfaces. Virus killing foggers will be set at the end of each day of use
A student who is feeling feverish will be sent to the nurse for an immediate temperature check
Mitigate
Instruction
On the students first day as a EISD student, for returning students during the first week of school, and periodically through the first 6 weeks all students will receive instruction in regards to:
proper handwashing
proper social distancing
wearing of face coverings
Cleaning and Sanitization
EISD cleaning procedures for transportation:
Virus killing foggers will be used after each route/use
Increased cleaning of Heating/AC filters
Families will be seated together on school transportation
Face coverings will be required for grades three (3) and up. It is strongly recommended that all students and adults wear face coverings while on school transportation
On campus, the district will institute more frequent cleaning practices such as
Items that are touched in common areas, such as door handles, will be cleaned between class changes
Night spraying of all buildings with germicide
In self-contained classrooms, paraprofessionals and teachers will clean between rotation
Face Covering/Protection
The district will comply with the governor's order regarding the wearing of face coverings which will include all EISD employees and students in grade three (3) and up
Students in grades with desk shields will be allowed to remove their mask while in their partitioned area.
Wearing a mask or face coverings may be impractical while performing activities that require exertion.
Mask and face coverings will be required however while entering or exiting any and all areas and when not actively engaged in activities that require exertion.
The district will provide every employee and student with a face covering
The district will provide self-contained classes with student desk shields
Arrival/Dismissal/Assemblies
Parents and guardians are encouraged to drop-off/pick-up their student(s) when at all possible to increase social distance opportunities.
New exit/entrance, including drop-off/pick-up, procedures will be implemented in all buildings that include
All students will report directly to the gym, unless eating breakfast, then to the
cafeteria
There will be no assemblies conducted in the district during at this time
All visitors will follow entrance/exit procedures that may include screening and face coverings
Groupings and use of non-classroom spaces
Hallway lockers will not be utilized during this time
Lunch procedures to ensure social distancing
Cafeteria seating-plexiglass will separate students.
Assigned seats that include alternating tables and sides of the table will be utilized at the elementary level
Families will be seated together on school transportation
Definitions
For the purposes of this plan, the district will use the following information/definitions from TEA and the CDC