New Hampshire Department of Education New Hampshire Grades K-12 Back-to-School Guidance July 2020 New Hampshire Grades Back-to-School Guidance New Hampshire Department of Education July 2020 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 The health and safety of students, staff, administrators and teachers is the top priority relative to the physical reopening of schools. The State of New Hampshire knows that local school districts are collaborating with local and state health officials and community partners in moving forward to reopen and we encourage that process to continue. In doing so, the reopening ensures that protocols will align with the most current scientific knowledge and community expectations. It is also reasonable to expect that the protocols recommended by the State and implemented at the local level may adapt as local conditions related to COVID-19 change. This document is intended to provide guidance for local officials for the planned physical reopening of New Hampshire’s K–12 schools. This guide is not a “one-size-fits-all” document. Rather, it recognizes the varied local contexts of each school district and acknowledges that many districts may develop their own operational guidelines utilizing this document as their base of minimum requirements. A safe return to school in September 2020 is the primary goal, with accommodations for individuals, students and educators, who due to underlying health concerns are not able to return to in person learning. This guidance is dynamic and as circumstances and data change, it may require updating. ***** The School Transition Reopening and Redesign Taskforce (STRRT) was constituted to provide recommendations to the Governor, the New Hampshire Department of Education, and local school districts relative to the return to school in September. Their discussions, work and recommendations informed much of the guidance that is contained in this document. New Hampshire’s implementation of remote instruction and support enabled the State to gain invaluable experience and information that will help guide our education system moving forward. That experience and information has made us better prepared to ensure the safety of our children, provide all children with a high quality educational experience, identify and close equity gaps, and allow all children to engage an education system that meets individual student needs and supports families and communities. ii New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 I. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 II. General Guidance to Protect Education Providers, Staff, and Students .................................. 2 1. Develop District Management and Communications and Response Plans........................ 2 a. District Leadership Team and COVID-19 Coordinators ............................................................. 2 b. Community Communications Plan ............................................................................................ 3 c. Communication Response to Positive Cases of COVID-19 ........................................................ 4 2. Follow Guidance From NH Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) ............................................................................................. 5 a. Staff, Students, and Visitors Screening and Absenteeism......................................................... 5 b. Social Distancing and Cohorting (Grouping) Students .............................................................. 7 c. Reporting and Investigating COVID-19 in the Educational Facility ........................................... 9 3. Prepare the Physical School Environment ........................................................................ 10 a. Cloth Face Covering Use and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) ...................................... 10 i. Students ............................................................................................................................ 11 ii. Educators, Staff, and Visitors ............................................................................................ 12 iii. Additional PPE Provisions ................................................................................................. 13 b. Proper Hygiene Protocols........................................................................................................ 13 c. School Cleaning and Disinfection Practices ............................................................................. 14 d. Additional Cleaning Protocols in the Event of Confirmed COVID-19 ...................................... 16 d. School Building Use for Non-School Functions ....................................................................... 16 e. Ventilation Systems ................................................................................................................. 17 f. The Use of Common Areas ...................................................................................................... 17 e. Classroom Configurations ....................................................................................................... 18 4. Support Student, Family, and Educator Wellness ............................................................ 18 a. b. c. d. e. Social-Emotional Learning ....................................................................................................... 19 Outreach Programs for At-Risk Students ................................................................................ 19 Mental Health Resource Partners ........................................................................................... 20 Diverse Learners and Students With Special Needs................................................................ 20 Career and Technical Education (CTE)..................................................................................... 21 5. Integrate Hybrid Capacity Learning Environments ........................................................... 21 a. Pre-Planning for In-Person, Hybrid, and Remote Instruction ................................................. 22 i. In-Person Instruction Considerations ............................................................................... 22 ii. Hybrid Instructional Considerations ................................................................................. 22 iii. Remote Instructional Considerations ............................................................................... 23 b. Impact Of Remote/Hybrid Instruction on Other Programs ..................................................... 23 c. Staffing Models and Expectations ........................................................................................... 24 d. Transition to Remote Instruction Scenarios ............................................................................ 24 i. Students and Educators Unable to Participate In-Person ................................................ 24 iii New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 ii. Limited Cohort Models ..................................................................................................... 25 6. Consider Technology for Dynamic Learning Environments .............................................. 27 a. Student and Staff Privacy Considerations ............................................................................... 27 b. Consolidation of Management Systems.................................................................................. 27 c. Remote Instruction Best Practices .......................................................................................... 28 7. Review Transportation Policies and Protocols ................................................................. 29 a. Transportation Safety .............................................................................................................. 29 i. Parent/Guardian Pick-Up and Drop-Off............................................................................ 29 ii. Bus Transportation ........................................................................................................... 29 b. Transportation Staffing and Equipment Shortages ................................................................. 31 8. Plan for School Meals........................................................................................................ 32 a. Adjust Schedules to Limit Cafeteria Crowds ........................................................................... 32 b. Classroom Meals ..................................................................................................................... 32 c. Meals for Students Not Attending On-Site School .................................................................. 33 9. Prepare for Dynamic Instruction ...................................................................................... 34 a. b. c. d. Student Learning Workgroup .................................................................................................. 34 Establish a Baseline for Student Learning ............................................................................... 35 Individual Student Baseline Management .............................................................................. 35 Implementation and Monitoring of Student Instructional Plans ............................................ 36 10. Professional Development Considerations....................................................................... 37 a. Remote Learning Practices and the District's Learning Management System ....................... 37 b. Trauma-Responsive Instruction and Social-Emotional Learning ............................................. 38 III. Resources for School Reopening and Redesign ...................................................................... 39 IV. State School Reopening Plans and Resources ........................................................................ 45 iv New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 I. Introduction Through remote instruction and support, the State gained invaluable experience and information that can help guide our education system moving forward. This has made the State as a whole better prepared to ensure the safety of our children, provide all children with a high quality educational experience, identify and close equity gaps, and allow all children to engage an education system that meets individual student needs.  Ensuring student and staff safety—Student and staff safety remain the primary factor in developing recommendations, based upon the recognition that various mitigation efforts can be effective in reducing risk but cannot entirely eliminate it.  Student, family and educator accommodations—Since remote instruction began, it is clear that individuals have differing levels of comfort and risk tolerance in how they responded to COVID-19. Knowing that it is not possible to completely eliminate risk, each individual must determine if and how he or she will engage in school. Schools in New Hampshire will reopen for in-person instruction in the fall of 2020, but this document also provides guidance for accommodations so that all learners—even those with underlying health risk factors—can participate.  Being responsive to individual learners, families and educators—Remote instruction revealed a number of strengths and areas for improvement relative to the current education system. For example, some students who had success in the pre-pandemic instructional model, struggled with remote instruction while others thrived in the autonomy and self-agency that defined remote instruction. This guidance gives consideration to both the strengths and mitigating the weaknesses.  Staffing preparation—To help ensure continuity of learning for the students, school districts should already be preparing for the additional staffing, equipment and programmatic needs that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may include substitute teachers, bus drivers, and administrative staff. 1 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 II. General Guidance to Protect Education Providers, Staff, and Students 1. Develop District Management and Communications and Response Plans When reopening, districts should establish clear plans and protocols to ensure the safety of students and staff. A comprehensive communication plan for students, families, and staff can be the single most important tool available to districts as they navigate the reopening of school in September 2020. Accurate and timely information delivered to students, families and educators will allow a district to manage expectations, prepare students and families with return-to-school procedures and prevent the spread of inaccurate information. For example, if a COVID19 positive case is identified, having a clearly articulated plan for how the district will work with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to respond to and communicate critical information about the case will build confidence and trust among constituents. Such effective communication and planning will ultimately allow the district to better manage the situation. The following are subrecommendations: a. District Leadership Team and COVID-19 Coordinators One of the first steps districts should take in planning for September 2020 is to create a district leadership team to engage key stakeholders to formulate and implement a family and community communications plan. The focus of this leadership team is to develop the individual district’s return-to-school plan using the recommendations set forth in this document that will best fit their local context. These recommendations address a variety of health and safety, instructional, student wellness, operations and facilities decisions. Ensuring that the district team incorporates a variety of stakeholder voices is important. Critical voices for this leadership team include family and student representatives, nurses, student wellness staff, teachers representing varying grade levels, facilities staff, collective bargaining representatives, and public health officials. Because many small communities often do not have robust emergency management teams and personnel, and one person often wears many hats, small districts should recognize and consider how to leverage the right mix of voices and perspectives for your district. 2 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Each school or educational facility should also identify a COVID-19 coordinator whose role is to monitor guidance (which is frequently changing), coordinate facility level responses, trouble-shoot problems, and serve as a liaison with public health and other State and local partners. This person should have the ability to help facilitate obtaining necessary information in the event of a public health investigation of a person(s) with COVID-19. b. Community Communications Plan An effective communication plan prioritizes both the message and how the message is shared. The plan should seek to create efficiencies in communication—making information easy to access and understandable for students, families, staff and the broader community who will be at differing levels of understanding about COVID-19. Engagement of families may be difficult and, families not already engaging will need easy ways to access information. To streamline information, district communication plans should consider various communication tools such as a website, general media, social media and emergency response communication. When thinking about how to deploy various communication tools, consider their purpose and stakeholder access. For example, a website and social media can be effective tools to communicate general information to constituents, while emergency response communication will allow the district to quickly connect with families and staff in the event of an incident requiring more rapid response. This could be essential to avoid community panic which may result in parents arriving at school to remove their children based on inaccurate information or at inopportune times. Communication about any person suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 while at the school should be coordinated with NH DHHS, Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) because details about the specific situation and context will impact public health recommendations and further actions that the school should take to protect students and staff from further spread of COVID-19. NH DPHS will also assist in drafting communications about specific situations and events. Through messaging, each district will want to keep parents informed as to how the district is progressing with its reopening plans, how those plans are being implemented at the start of school and changes that may be needed once students are back in the building. 3 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Critical topics include:  Expectations for the proper use of cloth face coverings/masks.  School operations to ensure frequent cleaning and disinfection.  Recommendations about hand hygiene, social distancing, and other prevention and mitigation strategies.  Requirements for families about when to keep a student home from school (e.g., any student with even mild symptoms of COVID-19 needs to stay home and get tested for COVID-19).  Policies that encourage sick staff members to stay at home.  A system for self-reporting of symptoms.  How the school will handle any student or staff identified with symptoms of COVID-19. Finally, a comprehensive communication plan will consider specific strategies for reaching the most vulnerable members of the school community, including those where translation services may be required, internet access may be limited or engagement activity is low. c. Communication Response to Positive Cases of COVID-19 A strong response for identification of a person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 includes effective communication, a coordinated response with public health authorities, continuity of instruction, cleaning and disinfection, and returning to normal operations. The effectiveness of such a response plan will frame the confidence in district leadership and their ability to safely care for and educate students in the community. Planning for an infection incident like you would plan for a school violence incident emphasizes the level of planning, contingency planning, communication and coordination that should be brought to a response plan. Consider the following within your plan:  Address the school’s role in documenting, reporting, and coordinating with public health officials to investigate and respond to any person with suspect or confirmed COVID-19.  Coordinate communications with public health officials to notify staff and families, in accordance with proper legal and privacy rights. 4 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020  Provide guidance to parents, teachers and staff reminding them of the importance of physical distancing and good hygiene practices.  Inform students, families and staff about the possible symptoms of COVID-19.  Advise sick staff members and students not to return to school until they have either tested negative for COVID-19 and are feeling better, or have met CDC criteria to discontinue home isolation.  Inform those who have close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 to cooperate with State or local public health officials and to stay home and selfmonitor for symptoms for 14 days after their last exposure to the person with COVID-19, and follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop. If a person does not develop symptoms, follow appropriate CDC and state public health guidance for home quarantine and testing after an identified COVID-19 exposure. 2. Follow Guidance from NH Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) Public health protocols play the primary role in student and staff safety. Such protocols are subject to change as circumstances on the ground change, so it is important to continually monitor communications from NH public health officials. a. Staff, Students, and Visitors Screening and Absenteeism 1. Monitor staff and student absenteeism to identify illness patterns. 2. Develop a process for screening staff, students, and visitors daily for symptoms of COVID-19 or risk factors for exposure prior to entering the educational facility (see screening questions below).  For staff and visitors, screening should occur on educational facility grounds just prior to, or upon entry of, the educational facility.  For students, the parents/guardians should be asked to screen their children for symptoms or risk factors daily before allowing the child to travel to school. A checklist of symptoms and risk factor screening questions should be provided to the parents/guardians so they can clearly identify what symptoms and risk factors warrant the student to stay at home.  Educational facilities can also consider implementing a second screening process for students (focused on asking about symptoms of COVID-19) at the educational 5 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 facility—either upon entry to the facility, or conducted by the teacher as students arrive to their first class of the day. 3. COVID-19 symptom and risk factor screening should involve asking if the individual:  Has any symptoms of COVID-19 (list/call-out individual symptoms for screening process)?  Has had close contact with someone who is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 in the prior 14 days?  Traveled in the prior 14 days outside of New England (outside of NH, VT, ME, MA, CT, RI)? (Note: because the epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly changing, school officials should check with NH DPHS and the NH DOE to ensure that schools are using the most up-to-date travel risk factor screening questions, which can change over time) 4. Person(s) with any new or unexplained COVID-19 symptoms (even if only mild symptoms), those who report close contact with someone suspected or confirmed with COVID-19, or those reporting travel risk factors should not be allowed into the transportation vehicle or facility:  Symptomatic persons should be instructed to contact their health care provider to be tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate at home.  Asymptomatic persons reporting close contact with someone suspected or confirmed with COVID-19, or who report traveled-related risk should selfquarantine for 14 days from their last exposure or return from travel. 5. Person(s) with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 must stay out of education programing until symptom-based criteria are met for discontinuation of isolation. 6. Staff should be educated about the symptoms of COVID-19, and should monitor students for any signs/symptoms of illness. Staff should be instructed on how to manage any student identified with symptoms of COVID-19.  Any person that develops symptoms of COVID-19 while at the education facility should be masked if they are over two years of age, removed from close contact with others and be immediately sent home by private transportation.  The school nurse should record the symptomatic person’s temperature and perform a brief assessment of the person’s complaints or symptoms (this 6 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 becomes important for the purposes of a public health investigation if the person is confirmed to have COVID-19). Any brief assessment can be performed from at least six feet away with the nurse wearing a surgical face mask. If the school nurse needs to be in close contact with the individual (within six feet), they should have personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand. See NH Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) guidance for the most up-to-date recommendations for healthcare providers.  If the individual requires immediate medical care, call 911 for an ambulance and inform emergency medical services about the individual’s symptoms.  Call NH DPHS at 603-271-4496 for additional guidance. 7. All school personnel, including school nurses, teachers and administration, should know how to respond in the face of a possible infection, including who to contact and how to make that contact. Plan to have an isolation room or area that can be used to isolate a sick child or staff away from the other children and staff. Any person with suspect or confirmed COVID-19 should be reported immediately to public health by calling 603-271-4496 (after-hours call 603-271-5300 and ask for the public health nurse on call). 8. Communicate with staff, educators, and families what symptoms to look for in students. Including symptoms of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C). Staff should report any personal symptoms of COVID-19 or close contact to a person with COVID-19 to a supervisor or school administrator. b. Social Distancing and Cohorting (Grouping) Students 1. Students and parents/guardians should be encouraged seek private individual or small group (e.g., carpool) transportation to/from school to minimize potential close contact exposures. 2. Instruct students and parents/guardians to, when possible, maintain at least six feet of physical distancing at bus stops and while loading and unloading the bus. Efforts should be made to space students on a bus so they are seated at a maximum distance from others; close household contacts (e.g., siblings) can sit together. See transportation section below for more details. 3. Congregation/waiting outside of the school in the morning or afternoon should be avoided. Any waiting students should have clear instructions and spaces marked for appropriate physical distancing. Staff should be monitoring before/after school to encourage physical distancing on school grounds. 7 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 4. Classrooms should be arranged to minimize close contact (i.e., maximize physical distance) between students. Chairs/desks should be re-arranged to avoid students sitting in groups. Individual chairs/desks should be arranged so that, where possible, students are spaced at least three feet apart with a goal of attempting to get chairs/desks six feet apart—six feet apart is preferred but may not be achievable given classroom size and layout. All desks should face the same direction (e.g., toward the front of the class). A recent study and analysis in the journal The Lancet found that physical distancing of at least one meter was effective and “associated with a large reduction in infection,” although the authors acknowledged that greater distances could be more effective. 5. Students should have assigned seating in all classrooms so they are consistently sitting next to the same person. Switching of seating can periodically occur, but should be minimized. Take attendance for each class every day. In the event of a public health investigation into a person with confirmed COVID-19 assigned seating and attendance records will aide in identification of students in close contact and potentially lessen the number of students needing to undergo quarantine. 6. Classroom activities should be conducted to minimize close contact and avoid groups whenever possible. Any small group activities should be conducted so that students are spaced at least three feet apart. 7. Arrange developmentally appropriate activities for smaller group activities, rearrange furniture, and play spaces to maintain physical distancing, when possible. 8. Classrooms should be grouped/cohorted together to the extent possible so that students and teachers in one classroom/group avoid interaction (i.e., crossover) with another classroom/group. This will be most feasible for elementary school-aged students. When possible, students should not mix with other classes during art, gym, music sessions, etc. Consider having the teacher move between classrooms instead of students. 9. In middle school or high school settings where students move between classes for different subjects, consider grouping students by track when possible and consider alternative scheduling to limit student movement between classes, and/or move teachers between classrooms instead of students. 10. When students need to move between classes, have staff/teachers monitor the hallways to encourage students to maintain physical distancing. Consider developing hallway movement processes and markings to allow streamlined flow/movement of 8 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 students and minimize congregation in hallways (e.g., consider have one-way hallways if possible, or split hallways for unidirectional flow). 11. Assign lockers by student cohort, although educational facilities should also ensure students are not carrying around (home and back and through school) an unhealthy number of books. Where possible, avoid locker sharing. 12. Consider utilizing other larger school areas for instructional activities (Ex. gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias, or outdoor spaces) to maximize physical distancing. Larger areas can also serve as back-up educational spaces in the event a classroom needs to temporarily relocate. 13. Staff should try to maintain at least six feet of physical distancing from other staff in their work environment. This should include avoiding staff congregation in work environments, break rooms, staff rooms, and bathrooms. In-person group meetings should be limited—conduct staff meetings remotely (e.g., via web-based conferences/meetings) whenever possible. Staff should also attempt to stay at least six feet from students during educational/instruction time in classrooms as much as possible. 14. Non-essential visitors and volunteers should be minimized. c. Reporting and Investigating COVID-19 in the Educational Facility 1. Any person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be reported immediately to public health by calling 603-271-4496 (after-hours call 603-271-5300 and ask for the public health nurse on call). 2. Public health will conduct a detailed investigation to identify people who may have been in “close contact” with a student or staff member diagnosed with COVID-19 during their infectious period. As part of the public health investigation, investigators seek to identify close contacts starting two days before the person became symptomatic or tested positive for COVID-19 (if asymptomatic). 3. “Close contact” for the purposes of the public health investigation in New Hampshire is defined as a person being within six feet of the individual diagnosed with COVID-19 during their infectious period for 10 minutes or longer. Depending on individual circumstances, and on a case-by-case basis, public health may identify other individuals considered at risk for exposure. 4. Any person who is identified as a close contact or at risk for exposure to COVID-19 based on the public health investigation will be required to quarantine for 14 days 9 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 from their last day of exposure. Depending on the specific circumstances, this may involve quarantine of only specific individuals (e.g., those sitting next to a person with COVID-19 in a classroom), but could include whole classes (depending on degree or likelihood of close contact, classroom size, age of students, etc.); this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by public health. 5. NH public health will work with schools to collect the necessary information (through the schools point-of-contact), interview the person diagnosed with COVID19, and potentially other staff involved to gather information to make an informed decision about risk and need for people to quarantine. 6. Public health will also assist with school and student/family communication. 3. Prepare the Physical School Environment 1. Review the CDC’s Considerations for Schools, including the K–12 Schools Readiness and Planning Tool. 2. Review the American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry. 3. Review and follow CDC guidance on cleaning and disinfection. 4. Continue routine cleaning and disinfection. 5. All cleaning materials should be kept secure and out of reach of students. 6. Develop a schedule for cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting surfaces and objects that are frequently touched. 7. Communicate cleaning and disinfection plan and processes to staff in their appropriate language. a. Cloth Face Covering Use and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Each district will need to make decisions regarding the use of cloth face coverings for students, educators and visitors to each facility that are specific to their community. Such determinations will be reflective of circumstances on the ground at any given time and will likely be fluid and change as those circumstance change. The guiding factors for these localized decisions will be the combination of NH Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) guidance, which incorporates CDC guidance localized for New Hampshire, local ordinances, and the Governor’s executive orders. 10 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 i. Students Students should wear cloth face coverings in circumstances when physical distancing cannot be maintained (see classroom seating and transportation sections for additional guidance). Ultimate determination of their use will be a local decision. School districts should consider how to address students with disabilities, students with underlying health conditions that prevent effective mask use, or students unwilling to wear face coverings. Cloth face coverings/masks should be provided by the student/family, but the school should have disposable face masks to make available if students arrive without a cloth face covering. Children under the age of 2 years and anyone who has baseline difficulty breathing should not be required to wear a cloth face covering. Younger children recommended for cloth face covering use (2 years of age or older) may also have difficulty consistently wearing cloth face coverings correctly. The effectiveness of masks and other face coverings is impacted by proper handling and use, and young children are more likely to play with the masks, adjust them or remove them without washing their hands before or after touching the masks and their face, which can potentially put themselves and other students at risk. Staff would also need to increasingly be in close contact with students to provide assistance with face coverings. Older students are likely able to effectively wear cloth face coverings for more extended periods of time. Therefore, use of cloth face coverings likely will differ by age group and grade. However, cloth face coverings should be able to be worn by most students for some periods of time. Because of increased risk for coming into close contact with other students in an uncontrolled fashion, NH DPHS recommends that cloth face coverings be used when a student is:  Waiting to enter, or entering, the school building  Leaving the school building  Arriving to, or leaving, a classroom  Boarding, exiting, or seated on a school bus  Traveling in hallways, and transiting between classes or to the restroom  Engaged in classroom or group activities where students may come closer than 3 feet of other students or staff 11 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 If students are required to continually wear cloth face coverings, mask breaks should occur throughout the day when students can be six feet apart and ideally outside. Older students moving around the school more fluidly should sanitize hands before and after taking off/putting on face masks. ii. Educators, Staff, and Visitors Educators and other staff provide students effective modeling exemplars. As with students, masks for educators and staff are strongly encouraged but not required. Districts should consider the circumstances in their communities and make individualized determinations consistent with NH Division of Public Health Services guidelines. Given that visitors may not be members of the local community, districts should consider limiting/minimizing non-essential visitors, and visitors should be required to wear cloth face coverings upon entry to educational facility grounds. All educators and staff working with students are encouraged to wear cloth face coverings over their nose and mouth when at the educational facility and six feet of physical distancing may be difficult to maintain (including in the classroom) and/or when caring for potentially vulnerable students with underlying health conditions and disabilities. This includes when indoors in education areas, but also when outdoors where other adults or students are around, and in shared staff areas (e.g., offices and break rooms). All adults dropping students off shall wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth when within the educational facility or public spaces where other individuals are present. Please see Drop off and Pick up Guidance below. Students, staff and families should: a. Be provided information on cloth face coverings based on CDC guidance for Use of Cloth Face Coverings. b. Review the NH DHHS information about using cloth face coverings. c. Be made aware that people wearing face coverings should avoid touching their eyes, nose, mouth, or face, or adjust their face covering without first sanitizing hands. After touching face or adjusting face covering, hands should be sanitized. 12 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 iii. Additional PPE Provisions The provision of certain services in a school setting, including school nurses or other employees assessing students for symptoms of COVID-19 and services to students with individualized education programs, may require more intense or prolonged studentteacher contact. In such circumstances, more advanced PPE may be required to implement such services. Guidance for such services is included in the NH DOE in-person services guidance previously issued. Districts should provide PPE for employees who work in these circumstances where PPE may be required. Some roles that may require PPE may include: 1. Educators working with special education students as needed. 2. For health employees engaged in symptom screening. 3. Classified staff responsible for deep cleaning and disinfecting of the school facility and grounds. In most circumstances when health staff are briefly assessing mildly symptomatic students, a surgical face mask is recommended by NH DPHS, but school nurses and other health staff should stay up-to-date on current NH DPHS and CDC PPE recommendations (see NH Health Alert Network messaging). Where supply chains are disrupted and required PPE is not commercially available, the NH DOE will work with state level procurement agencies to assist in securing a reliable supply chain. Educational facilities should have a supply of face masks on hand in the event a student needs a face covering but does not have one available. b. Proper Hygiene Protocols The NH DPHS has developed extensive guidance relative to personal hygiene practices. Such practices should be taught, modeled, and encouraged through instruction, posters and other communications, including communications that help reinforce such practices at home and establish expectations for families and students returning to school. Staff and students should practice frequent hand hygiene: a. Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. b. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty. 13 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 c. For younger children, when soap and water are not readily available, alcoholbased hand sanitizer should be used under the direct supervision of staff. d. Teachers and staff should have an alcohol-based hand sanitizer available in all classrooms. When not in use, hand sanitizer should be kept out of reach of younger students (on a high shelf, cabinet, or in a backpack worn by staff outside). e. Supervise and help students needing assistance to ensure they are washing/sanitizing hands correctly, and to prevent swallowing of alcohol-based hand sanitizer. f. Hand hygiene should be practiced when arriving at the facility, before and after meals or snacks, before and during meal preparation or service as necessary to prevent cross contamination, after outside time, before and after going to the bathroom, after handling any bodily fluid, before and after medication administration, after cleaning up and handling any garbage, before and after touching a person’s face covering or face, and prior to leaving for home. Advise students, educators and staff to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth. Cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and clean hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer (if soap and water are not readily available). Alternatively, cough or sneeze into elbows. c. School Cleaning and Disinfection Practices The CDC has provided extensive guidance on cleaning and disinfection practices and can be found here. Best practices include the following: 1. Cleaning and disinfection should follow CDC guidance for cleaning and disinfecting your facility. Cleaning reduces the number of germs, dirt and impurities on a surface. Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces. 2. Use an EPA-approved disinfectant effective against the novel coronavirus. Use alcohol wipes to clean keyboards and electronics. 3. Develop a schedule for cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting surfaces and objects that are frequently touched, including toys, equipment, teaching materials, and other surfaces not ordinarily cleaned (e.g., doorknobs, light switches, countertops, chairs, desks, cubbies, etc.). Frequently touched surfaces should be cleaned and 14 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 disinfected at least daily. If students are moving between classrooms, consider cleaning and disinfecting classrooms more frequently (e.g., at least two–three times daily) and ideally between groups of students, if scheduling allows. 4. When possible, avoid the use of shared materials. If shared teaching material is necessary, then focus on hand hygiene before and after each educational session and use (frequent hand hygiene in this setting would be facilitated by having an alcohol-based hand sanitizer available for in-classroom use, which is monitored and stored safely to avoid misuse by children). 5. Minimize the potential for the spread of germs in the classroom space by temporarily removing items that are not easily cleanable and not necessary for educational purposes. 6. Facilities should consider removing water tables, sensory tables, etc. from use for the time being and limit shared teaching materials to those that can be easily cleaned and disinfected at the end of the day or more often as needed. 7. Staff cleaning should follow the disinfectant manufacturer’s instructions: a. Use the proper concentration of disinfectant. b. Maintain the disinfectant for the required wet contact time. c. Follow the product label hazard warnings and instructions for PPE, such as gloves, eye protection, and adequate ventilation. d. Use disinfectants in a well ventilated space. Extensive use of disinfectant products should be done when students are not present and the facility thoroughly aired out before students return. 8. Education facilities must have a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for each chemical used in the facility 9. Disinfectants, sanitizers, and other cleaning supplies are the responsibility of the education facility to have available. 10. Outside playground equipment exposed to sun and other weather elements is probably a lower risk for fomite transmission and does not require the same frequent cleaning and disinfection as shared indoor equipment and surfaces. Outdoor areas, like playgrounds in schools and parks generally require normal routine cleaning: 15 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 a. In general, do not spray disinfectant on outdoor playgrounds (it is not an efficient use of supplies and is not proven to reduce risk of COVID-19 to the public,), however high touch surfaces made of plastic or metal, such as grab bars and railings should be cleaned routinely. b. Cleaning and disinfection of wooden surfaces (play structures, benches, tables) or groundcovers (mulch, sand) is not recommended. c. Sidewalks and roads should not be disinfected. d. Additional Cleaning Protocols in the Event of Confirmed COVID-19 Clean and restore the learning environment so that in-person learning can continue. Cleaning protocols are further defined below. Be ready to follow CDC guidance on how to disinfect your building or facility if someone is sick. If a sick child or staff person has been isolated in your facility, clean and disinfect surfaces in your isolation room or area after the sick person has gone home. If COVID-19 is confirmed in a child or staff member: a. Close off areas used by the person who is sick. If possible, move the children remaining in the classroom to another environment until cleaning protocols can be implemented. b. Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the areas. c. If possible, wait up to 24-hours before you clean or disinfect to allow respiratory droplets to settle to reduce the risk to individuals cleaning. d. Clean and disinfect all areas used by the person who is sick, such as classrooms, offices, bathrooms, and common areas. e. If more than seven days have passed since the person who is sick visited or used the facility, additional cleaning and disinfection is not necessary. d. School Building Use for Non-School Functions Depending on a district’s specific circumstances at any given time, a district should limit the use of its facilities for non-school related functions. When outside groups access buildings, schools should evaluate the need for appropriate disinfectant procedures to maintain a healthy environment for students and staff re-entering the building. 16 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Onsite Afterschool Childcare for students of each particular school may be considered and should follow district protocols, additional State Guidelines for Child Care, and NH DHHS Child Care Licensing Rules. e. Ventilation Systems As we learn more about the spread of COVID-19, the role of poor air circulation has become a concern. Schools should ensure that HVAC systems are working properly and are configured to increase the circulation of exterior air as much as possible. Schools should also consider other opportunities to circulate exterior air into buildings, through the use of open windows and doors (with appropriate safety protocols) and moving instructional opportunities outdoors when the weather is conducive. Facilities should evaluate their buildings’ ventilation systems to increase auditorium and overall building ventilation, increase the number of air exchanges, increase outdoor air ventilation, limit internal air circulation, and improve central air filtration. Ventilation systems’ filters must be routinely replaced and other necessary maintenance should be performed as needed. CDC guidance should be reviewed and used in evaluating building ventilation. f. The Use of Common Areas Large group gatherings and congregating continues to be discouraged during the COVID19 pandemic. Any group gatherings in larger common areas should be closely monitored and controlled to ensure social distancing and group cohorting is maintained between individuals. Depending on the circumstances in each community, varying degrees of cohort size limitations and group size limitations may be in effect. Social distancing is an effective mitigation strategy, so consideration for how common areas, such as libraries, gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias, and other areas are used, will need to be considered. Such common areas, which tend to be larger, may also be part of an effective strategy to allow larger groups of students to gather for educational events while maintaining social distancing, or as back-up educational space in the event a classroom needs to temporarily relocate. When feasible, student and staff cohorts should remain as static as possible by having the same group of children stay with the same staff. If possible, consider opportunities to rotate teachers, instead of students, to minimize hallway traffic. 17 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Enforcing physical distancing in an outside playground may be difficult. When possible, emphasis should be placed on limiting the size of groups and maintaining consistent small cohorts participating in outdoor recess or playground time at the same time. Considering staggering recess times to maintain smaller group sizes. Consider providing physical guides, such as tape on floors and signs on walls, to promote social distancing and everyday protective measures to stop the spread of germs. e. Classroom Configurations Depending on the circumstances on the ground in a particular community at any given time, there may be a need to try to attain social distancing in the instructional setting. As well, there are additional strategies that can be used within the instructional setting to mitigate risk of transmission.  Modify classrooms as discussed above to maximize physical distancing between students to the extent possible.  Evaluate options to bring in outside air, through open windows if available, or consider other ventilation options.  Evaluate the ability, weather permitting, to use outside spaces as learning spaces.  Limit cohort mixing to minimize opportunities for transmission between groups of students and teachers. 4. Support Student, Family, and Educator Wellness District leaders and school communities recognize that the pandemic has created a traumatic event in the lives of students and educators, and that each person, family and community respond differently to these circumstances. Some people may experience responses such as anxiety and depression while others grow through the process and are ready to learn. It is important that school staff become familiar with recognizing and responding to the signs of trauma and supporting the social and emotional needs of all students and staff by creating a learning environment that prioritizes their physical and psychological safety. Students requiring mental health support should be referred to school and/or community-based mental health professionals. The NH COVID-19 Parent Resource Guide provides important information on how to access resources, links and services to strengthen families. 18 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 a. Social-Emotional Learning School districts must think broadly about plans to support students. With the start of the school year there is a range of emotions and energy to new beginnings. Saying goodbye to the summer schedule and family time, as well as the unknown of who the teacher is and the expectations the teacher has for students, new classmates, and disappointment from not having last year’s friend in a class. The 2020/2021 school year will be especially different. Concerns for students in September could range from worry about the health of family members to financial stress, while other students will be excited to return to school and spend time with friends. Schools will need to model a sense of calmness and self-assurance to their students as they enter the school year. It is recommended that the first week of school focus on stabilizing students by spending time building relationships, modeling expectations, and implementing support systems. Educators and staff should also be prepared to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic with students and the importance for the changes to normal/expected school operations. The time spent on these activities will likely vary by community and the age of students served. School districts and teachers can consider establishing orientation sessions by video conference with new students and families to discuss changes to the school day/process, requirements and asks of parents/guardians (e.g., screen children for symptoms and risk factors before sending them to school), and be available to answer questions and concerns from students and families before the official start of school. Activities a school should support include:  Educators will engage in academic and social health check-ins with students on a regular basis.  Implementation of activities to de-stress the learning environment, such as Play Group in elementary grades or student support teams in secondary schools Professional development on these topics will play a critical role in supporting educators in implementing these practices. b. Outreach Programs for At-Risk Students Districts have a unique opportunity to advocate for children and provide services that strengthen families. Prior to remote instruction, schools had a strong understanding of at-risk students that may need additional supports. During remote instruction, schools should have identified additional students who may be at risk. Prior to the September 19 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 start, district wellness teams must consider strategies to define and identify at-risk students and put in place appropriate supports. When students initially return, it will be difficult to make immediate assessments as a result of the disruptive effect of the pandemic. Students should be monitored and, where needed both the students and their families may need to be supported. Districts should develop plans and work in partnership with NH DHHS Division for Children Youth and Families for outreach strategies for difficult to reach families or students who do not return or have low engagement with school. c. Mental Health Resource Partners As part of the student support structure, districts should establish relationships with community mental health professionals. As appropriate, districts may find a need to refer families to the resources and a pre-existing relationship will help support that referral. For some families, such referrals will need appropriate follow up to help make the connections and ensure that important services are obtained. Staff members must be made aware of these vital resources for personal use, if needed. d. Diverse Learners and Students with Special Needs Districts should seek to develop an integrated plan for reopening that addresses the needs of students with special needs or disabilities. This plan should consider both health and safety, as well as academic considerations. The plan should clearly define how staff can honor physical distancing recommendations, yet meet student medical, personal or support needs and ensure safety for students who need assistance with activities of daily living, as well as their service providers. Further, it should determine how adequate space and facilities will be utilized to maintain the health and safety of students and staff. Districts should work with families and students to ensure a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Act is achieved. This plan should seek to determine what FAPE looks like for each student and family. It may be different than the individualized education program (IEP) developed prior to the COVID-19 epidemic. Finally, it should ensure that children with special needs are included in all options of school education models by using the unique FAPE or IEP process to customize educational opportunities and provide supports when necessary. This includes any necessary changes to IEPs depending on circumstances. 20 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 e. Career and Technical Education (CTE) For many students, CTE classes are what keep them in school and engaged in learning. Significantly, it is the hands-on learning that takes place within a high-quality CTE program. School districts are encouraged to provide safe and healthy opportunities for students to develop alternatives that keep students engaged in the hands-on learning process as well as having the opportunities to have critical social integrations. Schools should consider alternative scheduling to both allow CTE students to access programming and minimize student logistics that might increase health risks. That may mean that CTE students are afforded opportunities to engage in academic courses at the CTE Center high school to avoid transportation back-and-forth from their respective sending school. As such, districts are encouraged to ensure this learning is occurring by being creative and engaging with industry partners, teachers and students. These are critical steps to properly preparing students to enter the career of their choice and/or to continuing their education beyond high school. 5. Integrate Hybrid Capacity Learning Environments Without knowing the individual circumstances of all of our students, families and educators, schools must be sensitive to the fact that underlying health conditions may prevent some students or educators from participating in a traditional in-person instructional model. As well, COVID-19 has not been eradicated and the possibility of a resurgence in the state or an outbreak in one of our schools is a very real possibility that we must be prepared to respond to. District policies should be flexible and nimble in responding to new information and rapidly evolving public health considerations, and leadership teams should be willing to refine approaches when specific policies are not working. While New Hampshire responded incredibly well to the initial pivot in March 2020, the response to remote instruction was developed under crisis conditions. A second pivot, whether in support of individuals with underlying health conditions or due to isolated outbreaks in particular communities, can be more thoughtful. When an incident occurs, whether real or suspected, the school should have a plan in place to transition schoolwide or for a subset of the school population to remote instruction for a specified period of time (e.g., 14 days). Therefore, schools need to be able to conduct in-person learning and potentially transition to some form of remote learning either on a 21 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 temporary basis or for longer duration in the event that NH experiences a new surge or exponential increase in community transmission. If/when a student is identified to have COVID-19, for example, there is the possibility that individual students or whole classrooms may need to go on a 14-day quarantine due to exposure, and maintaining education and essential services is important during this time so that when in-person instruction resumes learning progression has not been disrupted. As schools reopen, the instructional model chosen will become the foundation of a student’s and family’s future experience in their school community. Toward that end, the following is recommended: a. Pre-Planning for In-Person, Hybrid, and Remote Instruction School districts will need plans to effectively operate using an in-person, hybrid and remote instructional models, depending on the circumstances on the ground in a particular community at any given time. This planning should also consider that those circumstances are likely to be dynamic and the district may find itself throughout the year transitioning, to varying degrees, between the various models. i. In-Person Instruction Considerations In-person instruction means students physically return to the in-person classroom/school environment with the goal of returning as many students as possible. School settings should be appropriately modified to address the public health safety recommendations outlined above (social distancing, classroom arrangement, cloth face mask use, etc.). If community transmission increases, school communities should work with local and state public health officials and the DOE to determine if additional mitigation efforts may be warranted to help protect students and staffs while maintaining in-person instruction. If community transmission dramatically increases, or there are identified recurring outbreaks at educational facilities, schools may need to consider moving to hybrid or remote learning models. ii. Hybrid Instructional Considerations Hybrid instruction includes scenarios in which some students engage in-person and other, potentially at-risk students, engage remote instruction, as well as scenarios in which all students alternate between in-person and remote instruction. Having students alternate between in-person and remote instruction adds complexity to the educational process, but can help to decrease class sizes, limit exposure to students, decrease burden on transportation systems, increase physical distancing in classrooms, and help 22 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 to naturally cohort students into non-overlapping groups. Hybrid instructional models may be needed in two possible scenarios: 1. In September, some degree of remote instruction will be required to support students and educators who, because of underlying health circumstances, will not be able to otherwise access routine in-person instruction models. 2. In the event that COVID-19 community transmission increases in a community, requiring limited cohort sizes to mitigate transmission risk, a district may also consider this model to increase readiness in the event of a pivot to remote instruction. For example, a district may consider implementing a “remote instruction day” into its schedule to retain readiness to transition to remote instruction school wide if the circumstances warrant. Several modeling scenarios are described below for consideration. There is no single answer and the approach that a district takes will be a reflection of its individual community and community circumstances. iii. Remote Instructional Considerations Remote instruction means students engage full-time from the home or other safe environment. Unlike the rapid pivot to remote instruction in March 2020, if a district finds the need to once again pivot to remote instruction and support, it should be based on a deliberate plan that considers the many aspects of this document and the remote plans described below. Some students who cannot return to any in-person instruction may need full-time remote instruction from the beginning of the school year. The NH DOE continues to support nhLearnsRemotely.com with many resources accessible to districts working on remote instruction. Toward the goal of supporting remote instruction, districts should plan now with appropriate learning management systems to be able to support all students and teachers to learn and deliver lessons remotely. b. Impact of Remote/Hybrid Instruction on Other Programs The transition from in-person to hybrid or remote instruction will require policies that were not part of a school landscape prior to COVID-19. In addition, adjustments to district collective bargaining agreements may need to be implements to provide districts with the flexibility to adjust to changing circumstances throughout 2020/21. Additional policies that should be considered may include:  Attendance / Truancy 23 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020  Participation / Flexibility  Participation in extracurricular activities  Self-quarantine following travel  Student athletics  School trips  After school programming  Non-compliance with mitigation strategies c. Staffing Models and Expectations It may not be practical to expect educators to simultaneously support both in-person and remote instruction. Any model dependent on educators performing double-duty, while possible in a short term scenario, would not be sustainable over an extended period of time. Thus, if a school is supporting in-person instruction while simultaneously supporting remote instruction for students who are not able to access in-person instruction, district plans must ensure that educators are not performing double-duty. Several scenarios are presented below for consideration. A district may, however, consider it feasible over a short period—perhaps for a two-week quarantine period, with the right tools (see model considerations below), for educators to support both inperson students and remote instruction students. Sequential short-term events or an extended period would not be sustainable. d. Transition to Remote Instruction Scenarios While various staffing models for hybrid instruction could fall under any of these recommendations in this section, modeling discussions are consolidated. i. Students and Educators Unable to Participate In-Person The first level of hybrid model that must be considered is support for the student or educator who is not able to participate in in-person instruction as a result of underlying health conditions for themselves or a family member with an underlying risk. Schools should be sensitive to these conditions and be prepared to accommodate those students or educators as appropriate. Strategies for supporting students and educators in this circumstance could include: 24 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020  School districts support remote instruction through their own district. A district may assign one or more educators to focus exclusively on remote instruction students across the district. For example, one district is considering having a 4th grade instructor, who also happens to be immune-compromised, teach all grade 3/4 students across the district who cannot access in-person instruction. This provides an accommodation for the educator, avoids having classroom instructors doing double-duty with in-person and on-line instruction and supports students across the district who otherwise cannot access their education.  Smaller districts, who may not have sufficient staffing to support the model described above, may consider working in collaboration with other districts to combine efforts and deploy teachers to support remote instruction students. This may not, however, be affordable to some small districts who may be supporting a full time educator and may also have to contribute to the salary of a remote educator in a collaborative arrangement. In these cases, the department has worked on an additional solution as discussed in the next bullet.  School districts can offer families the option to allow students to engage their education virtually using the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) with no adequacy penalty to the district. VLACS is an approved New Hampshire school with capability to teach grades K–12. Schools with no other viable options to offer their families should consider this alternative educational option.  Consider the deployment of technology—such as a comprehensive learning management system—that would allow an educator to simultaneously teach a class both in-person and remotely. This may take place through the capture of inperson lectures that can be accessed by students learning at home in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. Students accessing instruction in this manner would have the same syllabi and course schedule, but would simply access the lecture components of the class and teacher advisories remotely. Teachers deploying this schedule would need to establish regular office hours to be accessible to students working from home or in the school. ii. Limited Cohort Models Health conditions may require the school, for student and educator safety, to reduce the typical class and cohort size, and implement increased social distancing. The following are examples of how this might be implemented: 25 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020  A district may ask for volunteer students or educators to implement—or further implement—some of the hybrid models discussed above to limit cohort sizes.  A district may implement rotational schedules that reduce the number of students requiring transportation, or in classroom instruction at any given time. Some examples of rotation include: – Half-day rotations—Certain students (by grade level or by numbers within a grade level across multiple grade levels) report to schools for half the day and use remote instruction the remainder of the day. The remaining students repeat, but at the alternate time. – One-day rotation—Students report to school one full day a week and do remote instruction on alternate days. In-person instruction days in this scenario are focused on advisory. – Two-day, weekly, or bi-weekly rotations—Students report to school two full days a week, such as Tuesday and Thursday, and do remote instruction the remainder of the week. Alternatively, students could rotate one or two week(s) of in-person instruction and use remote instruction the following one or two week(s). In any of these scenarios, careful consideration must be given to individual families’ ability to support a dynamic in-person schedule so that parents can try to accommodate their own work schedules and childcare needs. Such accommodations should also include educators in your districts. 26 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 6. Consider Technology for Dynamic Learning Environments A safe return to school in September 2020 is the goal. However, there is the anticipation of some students and educators with underlying health risks who are not able to return and will require accommodations. In addition, districts must be prepared for the possibility of an isolated outbreak of COVID-19 in a school or community. In such cases, it may be necessary to quickly implement remote instruction for certain classrooms, or even the entire school, if only for a limited time period. Such a transition would require appropriate technological supports and districts should consider the recommendations below in these cases. a. Student and Staff Privacy Considerations The broad deployment of remote instruction during the latter half of the 2019–20 school year highlighted the importance of maintaining student privacy data as educators and students across the state met via Zoom and Google, among other tools. As a result, assignments and digital portfolios were uploaded for grading and evaluation, and students and families logged on to cloud-based applications with much greater frequency. Such connectivity must be safe for students and educators alike. Toward that end, it is important to emphasize the need for schools and districts to ensure student and staff data privacy. The NH DOE has established minimum standards for the privacy and security of student and employee data as well as best practices for applying those standards. As districts develop remote-instruction plans, whether in support of educators and students who cannot access in-person instruction or as a result of a pivot to hybrid/remote instruction, the technology deployed should be vetted against the minimum standards for privacy and security. In addition, schools should provide specific training to educators and students around strong security practices in order to prevent inadvertent data breaches. b. Consolidation of Management Systems The pivot to remote instruction in March 2020 took place over a very short period of time. Partly as a result of that rapid change, districts, schools and educators tended to deploy the technology tools they had available, filling in gaps with technology that enhanced the ability to deliver instruction virtually. 27 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 The effect of this rapid change was a wide variation in student and educator use of technology. Across some districts and schools, individual teachers chose different technologies in support of remote instruction. The result was that individual students may have experienced multiple applications that differed for each class in which they engaged. It is recommended that districts consolidate the number of applications deployed for remote instruction and that they work to streamline the number of learning management systems to support students and parents. The deployment of strong and consistent learning management system across a district, and even across the state, will elevate the quality of instructional opportunities for students and educators, whether in-person or if there is a need for remote instruction. The NH DOE is in the process of procuring a statewide learning management system that will be made available to districts at no cost and at the discretion of individual districts. This process will include extensive training and integration services to help educators and students become fully and operational. The objective is to assist districts in the implementation of this particular recommendation if a school otherwise does not have the resources to do so. c. Remote Instruction Best Practices Through remote instruction and support, districts and the NH DOE gained invaluable experience and information that can help guide our State’s education system moving forward. That experience and information has made us better prepared to ensure the safety of our children, provide all children with a high quality educational experience, identify and close equity gaps, and allow all children to engage in an education system that meets individual student needs. Many of the lessons learned have been captured on the NH DOE website nhLearnsRemotely.com. The NH DOE will continue to capture best practices to share with other districts. As part of this sharing, the department will establish a landing page on the remote instruction website for districts to view reopening plans of other New Hampshire districts and around the country. 28 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 7. Review Transportation Policies and Protocols Student transportation may be one of the most logistically challenging recommendations to implement in many of New Hampshire’s rural communities that include many miles of road and often lengthy bus rides. These characteristics with fixed transportation resources and bus routes transporting high numbers of students, makes the implementation of mitigation protocols difficult. a. Transportation Safety District transportation plans must implement safety protocols that are realistic and not overly disruptive of the instructional models. Such disruption would occur if students are arriving and departing at varying times, limiting the instructional day. i. Parent/Guardian Pick-Up and Drop-Off 1. Develop a strategy to try to keep at least six feet of social distancing during drop-off and pick-up, and so that students and parents/guardians from different groups do not interact. 2. Consider assigning different entrances/exits for students based on grade, if possible and safe to do so. 3. Avoid congregating outside the school before/after school. When dropped off, students should go directly through their classrooms and be checked in. Similarly, at the end of the day, school should manage the congregation of students while awaiting transportation. 4. Parents/guardians should stay in their cars while dropping-off or picking-up students. They should not enter the building unless necessary. ii. Bus Transportation 1. Parents/guardians should be screening their children for symptoms of COVID-19 or risk factors for exposure before allowing them to ride the bus. Students with any identified symptoms or risk factors should not be sent to board the bus, and parents/guardians should be informed of this strict requirement. Recognizing that this practice will not always be adhered to, schools need to have in place an appropriate response plan, as described above, for students who arrive at school sick. 29 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 2. Students and parents/guardians should be encouraged seek private individual or small group carpool transportation to/from school when possible. 3. Those providing transportation to education facilities should maximize space between riders. Students should sit facing forwards and not get up from their seat or exchange seats. 4. If possible, consider assigned seating on buses. 5. Student transportation should adhere to appropriate social-distancing of students while they are waiting prior to embarking and disembarking. 6. All non-driver staff supporting the transportation of students should wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth at all times while boarding, riding, and exiting the bus. 7. All bus drivers should wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth at all times while stopped and students are present on the bus, or while students are boarding/exiting the bus. Bus drivers should also wear a cloth face covering while driving, if safe to do so. If the cloth face covering causes obstruction of the driver’s view, or unsafe driving conditions, it can be removed, but in those circumstances, students should be at least six feet away from the bus-driver, or Department of Safety approved plastic barriers should be installed between seating areas and the bus driver. 8. If plastic barriers are installed in the bus driver area, side barriers should only be extended while students are boarding or exiting the bus. Side barriers should be pulled back/folded while the bus is in motion so that the driver’s side view is not obstructed in any way. 9. Students (except those who should not use cloth face coverings as recommended by CDC) should wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth at all times while boarding, riding, and exiting the bus. 10. Alcohol based hand sanitizer should be made available at the bus doors (monitored by the bus driver), and all students and staff should be asked to sanitize hands as they board the bus and when exiting the bus. 11. On days where circumstances permit and it is safe to do so, windows should be kept open to enhance the flow of fresh air. If windows are unable to be 30 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 opened, increase outdoor air circulation inside using the ventilation system. Do not re-circulate internal air. 12. Clean and disinfect the bus, seating, and commonly touched surfaces after each transportation run. b. Transportation Staffing and Equipment Shortages In addition to developing an effective plan for the transportation of students to and from school, districts will have to give consideration to the bus driver workforce. This workforce tends to be from an at-risk population to COVID-19 and may require additional protective measures. Such measures might include barriers between students and drivers, such as a Department of Safety approved flexible plastic shield. 31 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 8. Plan for School Meals Food insecurity and childhood hunger can play a critical role in student learning. The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in the number of New Hampshire families who experience food insecurity. School meals provide students with the basic nutrition they need to be healthy and attentive in the classroom. Flexible and innovative strategies should be considered to deliver school meals with increased attention to practices that limit the spread of respiratory illness. Consider a plan for serving all or specific groups of students individually plated, boxed, or wrapped meals in the classroom instead of in a cafeteria. Take into consideration, however, that having meals in the classroom setting may cause health risks for students with severe allergies. If meals are provided in a lunchroom, stagger meal times to reduce the number of students and limit the number of students at each table. Classroom groups should be seated together, and groups/cohorts should not mix. Arrange tables to ensure that there is at least six feet of space between groups in the lunchroom. Also, consider how mealtimes can occur outdoors where students should continue to socially distance and stay grouped by classroom. Lunchroom monitors should ensure social distancing. Be sure to adequately clean and disinfect tables between lunch shifts. Eliminate family style meals or have employees (not students) handle utensils and serve food to reduce spread of germs. Depending on the instructional model deployed in each district, the ability to safely participate in typical cafeteria meals may be disrupted. For example, social distancing or restrictions on cohort sizes may limit the number of students that can access the cafeteria at any given time. Any or all of these adjustments may affect staffing needs for food service. a. Adjust Schedules to Limit Cafeteria Crowds Safety protocols that may be employed in a district may necessitate adjusted schedules to allow more meal times with fewer students participating in each service. Staggered lunch times must not contemplate lunch times earlier than 11:00 a.m. While such measures may support local decisions around social distancing, these changes will have cascading effects to instructional schedules and may affect transportation schedules. b. Classroom Meals Schools may consider serving meals in the classroom to support local decisions concerning social distancing, minimizing cohort intermingling or limited cohort sizes. Students could pick up their lunch from the cafeteria and return to the classroom, or staff could deliver pre-packaged and individually wrapped meals to classrooms using a 32 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 cart and any utensils should be disposable when practical. USDA requirements for meals are cumbersome. While many waivers have been obtained and will last through June 2021, when changes to traditional meal service are made, districts are encouraged to consult with the NH DOE to ensure USDA meal qualification criteria are still met. Schools serving meals in classrooms will need to implement hygiene and disinfectant practices to protect food allergic students. Lastly, protocols need to be established for proper cleaning, and the disposal of trash. c. Meals for Students Not Attending On-Site School It is possible that some students will be participating remotely in their instruction. Qualifying students may still need to access meals. The NH DOE continues to hold waivers to USDA meal requirements that will last through June 2021, however, districts are encouraged to consult with the NH DOE when planning support for meals for students participating in remote instruction to ensure meal qualification criteria are still met. 33 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 9. Prepare for Dynamic Instruction Returning to in-school instruction will allow students and teachers to regain some sense of normalcy for the 2020–21 school year. Despite a return to familiar faces and routines, however, the reality of COVID-19 continues to require that district leaders, educators, parents, and students consider a new lens for classroom instruction. This recommendation provides guidance on key action steps that district leaders can discuss and plan to ensure that the return to school instruction continues to be high-quality, safe, and effective for students and educators. Key recommendations for preparing for dynamic instruction include:  Establishing a Student Learning Workgroup focused on determining instructional priorities for the 2020-21 school year.  Establishing a baseline understanding of student learning upon their return to school.  Developing student instruction plans that are responsive to individual student baseline data.  Establishing strategies to implement and monitor the student instruction plans. a. Student Learning Workgroup Each district should consider establishing a Student Learning Workgroup that is tasked with defining the instructional priorities for students returning to school. The main charge of this group is to consider how instructional practices can be designed to support students who, as a result of remote instruction, may have wider variation in content knowledge associated with grade-level expectations. An understanding of students’ social-emotional and mental health as they return to school must also be addressed. Recognizing that return-to-school decisions are fluid and may need to be adjusted during the year, it is suggested that the Student Learning Workgroup meet regularly throughout the school year, develop an initial plan for student learning in fall 2020, and then revisit the plan throughout the year to adjust as situations within the district and its schools change. To ensure that its decisions are relevant and appropriate for different school staff, the Student Learning Workgroup should include a representative mix of stakeholders—including school leaders, grade-level representatives, students, 34 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 curriculum directors/leads, technology staff, social workers, and assessment coordinators. b. Establish a Baseline for Student Learning The spring 2020 remote instructional experiences for students marked a significant difference in how students engaged with the instruction they received. While some students may have flourished in remote settings that allowed them to move at their own pace and to focus on projects that were aligned with their interests, other students experienced difficulty focusing and engaging in their schoolwork. Take time early in the school year to assess where students are regarding their learning to better plan and deliver instruction aligned with their current knowledge and readiness. Any academic assessments should be implemented only after school leaders and classroom teachers have had opportunities to assess the social-emotional and mental health of students to ensure that learning assessments can produce valid results. In some cases, students with individualized education plans had significant difficulty accessing education during remote instruction. Specific guidance has been issued by the NH DOE relative to the application of Executive Order 48, which addresses the educational needs of these students. Schools will need to ensure that these IEPs are implemented to ensure progress toward goals. While most districts have one or more assessment tools that can be used in a baseline assessment, the NH DOE also created a tool that can provide valid assessment results and that is available for free to districts. In addition to formally assessing student learning and understanding students’ socialemotional and mental health status, educators must continually engage in conversations with students and families across grade levels to gain a better understanding of their readiness to learn, academic knowledge and general well-being for the 2020–-21 school year. c. Individual Student Baseline Management Anticipating that students will be returning to school (whether in the classroom or remotely) at varying levels of academic readiness, the role of instructional plans will be to ensure a customized student learning pathway that can be followed throughout the school year. While some schools have already begun to implement instructional plans and have gained experience with the process, other schools will be new to this effort. To ensure a customized plan for students, without overly burdening educators leading the 35 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 development of the plans, it is recommended that school leaders view this as a yearlong endeavor. Throughout the year, the process will support educators as they implement this change in practice, communicate ongoing expectations for development and account for the shifts in staff workload the process will require. To reduce educator burden and to allow schools to acclimate to the instructional plan process, the following are several strategies designed to streamline the plandevelopment process:  Grouping students at similar student learning baselines and developing a common instructional plan that outlines similar learning goals and differentiated instructional practices that would be best for those students. Such grouping may vary by subject area.  Staggering the development of instructional plans, beginning with students most at risk and then developing additional instructional plans throughout the year.  Leveraging existing resources and tools that are already developed to support this effort. The NH DOE will include examples and templates on the nhLearnsRemotely.com website for districts that are developing these plans to access. d. Implementation and Monitoring of Student Instructional Plans To ensure that the student instructional plans are meaningfully implemented, it is recommended that district leaders work with school leaders and classroom teachers to routinely review, modify, and monitor student instruction plans throughout the year. Consider leveraging advisories, such as using a teacher as a coach to support the implementation of the individualized instructional plans. 36 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 10. Professional Development Considerations When New Hampshire schools shifted to remote learning in spring 2020, educators willingly stepped up to transition to remote instruction because they knew it was the right thing to do for students. Reflecting on the most recent remote learning experience, however, educators identified several areas that require additional support and guidance to ensure that remote instruction is most effective for students. This need was further supported from the Student Voice Workgroup, whose participants noted that the quality of remote learning experiences varied, the need to support teachers with their learning management platforms and the overall lack of motivation and increased stress many students were experiencing. This recommendation provides guidance on professional development topics focused on:  Remote learning practices, including the districts’ learning management system and best practices for remote or hybrid curriculum design.  Support for all school-based staff on trauma-responsive instruction and socialemotional learning. a. Remote Learning Practices and the District's Learning Management System When planning for professional development, it is suggested that school leaders focus on the most pressing and highest-leverage topics for educators. It is acknowledged that focusing broadly on too many topics would not provide educators the deep content knowledge and strategies needed to effectively support remote instruction. While the topics for professional development will depend on the return-to-school model districts select and on topics specifically requested by school staff, common topics may include:  Strategies for effective remote instruction delivery, including curriculum design.  Effective student engagement strategies.  Using the districts’ learning management systems.  Strategies for customizing in-classroom lessons and making them accessible, interactive, and effective in a virtual environment. In addition to providing professional development on remote learning topics, it is important to provide separate but related training for parents and students on how to use their district’s learning management system. 37 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 b. Trauma-Responsive Instruction and Social-Emotional Learning Districts should be prepared to address a wide range of mental health and socialemotional wellness needs of children and staff when schools reopen. In addition to assessing the mental health of students, families, providing professional development on these key topics is also recommended:  Supporting all school staff on recognizing and responding to the signs of trauma.  Trauma-responsive instruction.  Supporting the social-emotional learning of students. Similar to professional development supporting remote instruction, it is acknowledged that professional development on these topics will likely be spread across the 2020-21 school year and will focus on topics that allow professional development participants to apply the content in their everyday practice. Finally, leveraging the knowledge and relationships established with community health partners is also suggested. District and school leaders also can inventory local resources available to address student trauma, social-emotional well-being and mental health. Creating a list of available resources can help teachers refer at-risk students and families to appropriate supports in a coordinated and efficient way. 38 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 III. Resources for School Reopening and Redesign 1) Develop District Management and Communications Plans 2) Follow Guidance from New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health Services COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nh.gov/covid19/faqs/index.htm K-12 Schools and Child Care Programs. FAQs for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schoolsfaq.html Using Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Infectious Disease Control. https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/covid19/covid-mask-guidance.pdf 3) Prepare the Physical School Environment Cleaning and Disinfection for Community Facilities. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/cleaningdisinfection.html Guidance for the Return to Schools K-12. New Hampshire State Emergency Operations Center. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/202005/return-to-schools-facilities.pdf Sample K-12 School Cleaning Checklist. New Hampshire Department of Education, New Hampshire Learns Remotely website. http://www.nhlearnsremotely.com/uploads/1/3/1/2/131292211/school_cleaning_chec klist.xlsx State Contacts for Cleaning Supplies. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/commissioner/cleaning-supplies COVID-19 Child Screening Tool. New Hampshire Department of Education. 39 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/202005/screening-tool-child.pdf COVID-19 Visitor Active Screening Tool. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inlinedocuments/2020/visitor-screening-tool.pdf COVID-19 Announcement (Visitor Screening Signage) New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inlinedocuments/2020/visitor-signage.pdf Disinfectants and COVID-19. National Pesticide Information Center. http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/amicrob/covid19.html 4) Support Student, Family, and Educator Wellness COVID-19 Parent Resource Guide. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children, Youth, and Families. https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/documents/covid-resource-guide.pdf Office of Social and Emotional Wellness, New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-of-studentwellness/office-of-social-and-emotional-wellness Supporting Child and Family Well-Being during the COVID-19 Emergency. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children, Youth, and Families. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/2020/familywell-being-guide.pdf Healthy Habits for Well-Being. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inlinedocuments/2020/healthyhabits.pdf Suicide Prevention and Response, Sample Policy. New Hampshire School Boards Association. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/files/inline-documents/suicideprevention-sample-policy.pdf 5) Integrate Hybrid Capacity Learning Environment New Hampshire Learns Remotely website. New Hampshire Department of Education. http://www.nhlearnsremotely.com/ 40 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Tips for Communicating During Remote Learning. Granite State Children’s Alliance and the New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/2020/tips-forteachers-remote-instruction.pdf Truancy During the Time of Remote Instruction. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/202005/truancy-remote-instruction.pdf The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS). https://vlacs.org/ Helpful Zoom Security Tips for New Hampshire Educational Professionals. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/2020/zoomsecurity.pdf 6) Consider Technology for Dynamic Learning Environment Canvas Learning Management System. Instructure, Inc. https://www.instructure.com/canvas/k-12 Santa Ana Unified School District/Canvas video. Instructure, Inc. https://www.instructure.com/canvas/video-hub/santa-ana-unified-school-districtcanvas Apple Resources and links along with remote, online office hours for supporting educators. New Hampshire Learns Remotely website, New Hampshire Department of Education. http://www.nhlearnsremotely.com/uploads/1/3/1/2/131292211/apple_remote_res ources.pdf Microsoft Education Blog. Resources and support from Microsoft Education for ramping up remote learning programs. Microsoft Corporation. https://educationblog.microsoft.com/en-us/2020/03/how-schools-can-ramp-upremote-learning-programs-quickly-with-microsoft-teams/ Google for Education. Resources and supports from Google for supporting education. Google.org. https://edu.google.com Kaltura video solutions for education. Kaltura Inc. https://corp.kaltura.com/solutions/education/ 41 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Zoom- Free for K-12 Education. Zoom Video Communications. http://zoom.us/ Dr. Paul LeBlanc. Building a Community of Learning. (Online teaching resources.) Southern New Hampshire University. https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2020/03/working-together 7) Review Transportation Policies and Protocols New Hampshire School Transportation Association. https://www.nhsta.org/ COVID-19, Working to Ensure Children’s Safety. American School Bus Council. https://www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org/insights/safety/covid-19/ COVID-19. National Association for Pupil Transportation. https://www.napt.org/covid 8) Plan for School Meals Office of Nutritional Programs and Services. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-ofstudent-wellness/office-of-nutritional-services-and-programs Area Eligibility Waiver Request - School Meals. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inlinedocuments/2020/area-eligibility-waiver.pdf 9) Plan for Dynamic Instruction Resources for Remote Instruction. New Hampshire Learns Remotely website, New Hampshire Department of Education. http://www.nhlearnsremotely.com/remoteinstruction.html Office of Assessment. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-ofinstructional-support/office-of-assessment NH SAS Interims/Modulars- Training on July 28th at 9:00 a.m. Demonstrated Success. https://www.demonstratedsuccess.com/Public/nhdoe/ 42 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Interims and Modulars will be available starting September 22. Access to the New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System (NH SAS) platform is available here: https://nh.portal.cambiumast.com/users/test-administration.stml DLM. Released Testlets for At-Home Instruction. Dynamic Learning Maps. Testlets are available for districts that are interested in utilizing an assessment tool for students with an IEP that have severe cognitive disabilities. A remote option is available. DLM also has an amazing amount of instructional resources for remote instruction for teachers and for students. https://dynamiclearningmaps.org/test-updates/released-testlets-home-instruction050720 ACCESS. New Hampshire Department of Education. The majority of English learning students in New Hampshire were able to participate in the ACCESS test in Spring 2020. For the students that were not able to complete the assessment, and we anticipate they may be able to exit ELL status, an opportunity to complete the ACCESS will be available in Fall 2020. Please contact Wendy Perron, EL Education Consultant at Wendy.Perron@doe.nh.gov for more information. Screening. New Hampshire Department of Education. A temporary remote screening option will be available for districts needing to screen students to determine EL eligibility status. Please contact Wendy Perron, EL Education Consultant at Wendy.Perron@doe.nh.gov for more information. ESOL– English Speakers of Other Languages. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-ofinstructional-support/esol-k-12-english-for-speakers-of-other-languages Fall SAT School Day. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-ofinstructional-support/sat-school-day 10) Professional Development Considerations CAST- Universal Design for Learning course free to New Hampshire educators. CAST, Inc. http://www.cast.org/ VLACS - Webinars for Educators. Virtual Learning Academy Charter School https://vlacs.org/educators/ 43 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 New Hampshire Learning Initiative. Motivis Learning Systems, Inc. https://motivis.org/all-articles/ Praxis At Home. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/202005/praxis-remote-testing.pdf Praxis Tests At Home Webinar. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/files/inlinedocuments/praxis-at-home-webinar.pdf 11) Additional Considerations Performing Arts Guidance. The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development. https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/1f6a947f-3a40-4d7b-a6939e0bdb6124b0/Draft-Performing-ArtsStreaming-Media.pdf The Performing Arts Work Group. https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/14d6fa96-5aba-4374-8eeb374fa09077ed/DRAFT-FINAL-Performing-Arts-Venues-Guidance-6-3-2020.pdf Amateur Sports Guidance. The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development. https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/aeb72e43-2dbc-4c29-b327c75f47b68226/DRAFT-Guidelines-Amateur-Sports-5-19-2020.pdf Indoor Sports Guidance. The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development. https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/f269aec7-af7b-4ad1-92663f776f0d8011/DRAFT-Indoor-Sports-Guidance-5-26-2020.pdf Drivers Education Guidance. The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development. https://www.nheconomy.com/getmedia/6028140f-d090-47ef-8ed2bc95652a9545/DRAFT-Drivers-Education-Guidance-5-22-2020.pdf 44 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 IV. State School Reopening Plans and Resources Alabama - Roadmap to Reopening Schools. Alabama State Department of Education. https://www.alsde.edu/Documents/Roadmap%20for%20Reopening%20Schools%20June%2026 %202020.pdf Alaska - Restart and Reentry Framework Guidance for K-12 Schools. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and the Department of Health and Social Services. https://education.alaska.gov/news/COVID19/Alaska%20Smart%20Start%202020%20Framework%20Guidance.pdf Arizona - Roadmap for Reopening Schools. Arizona Department of Education. https://www.azed.gov/communications/files/2020/03/FINAL-DRAFT-AZ-Roadmap-forReopening-Schools_6_1_20-1.pdf Arkansas - Back to School Playbook. Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/special-projects/statewide-playbook Arkansas Ready for Learning. Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/communications/arkansas-ready-for-learning California - Guidance on Diagnostic and Formative Assessments. California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/guidanceonassessments.asp Colorado - COVID-19 Resources for Schools. Colorado Department of Education. http://www.cde.state.co.us/safeschools Connecticut- Learning Hub. Connecticut Department of Education. https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Academic-Office/CT-Learning-Hub Delaware - COVID-19 Resources and Guidance. Delaware Department of Education. https://www.doe.k12.de.us/domain/599 Florida - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources. Florida Department of Education. http://fldoe.org/em-response/index.stml Georgia - Georgia’s K-12 Restart and Recovery. Georgia Department of Education. https://www.georgiainsights.com/recovery.html 45 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Hawaii - Return to Learn. Hawaii Department of Education. http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/school -year-2020-21.aspx Idaho - Educational Resources for Parents and Educators. Idaho Department of Education. https://www.sde.idaho.gov/parents-educators.html Illinois - Starting the 2020-21 School Years. Illinois Department of Education. https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Part-3-Transition-Planning-Phase-4.pdf Indiana - COVID-19 Impact on Schools FAQs. Indiana Department of Education. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rlg8Dr5Rt5bxH8iq8oc4XsRUjoaxaPQrOVOY_CAaYEc/edi t Iowa- COVID-19 Guidance and Information. Iowa Department of Education. https://www.educateiowa.gov/article/2020/07/10/covid-19-guidance-and-information Kansas - Navigating Change 2020 - DRAFT. Kansas Department of Education. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6986929-Kansas-Schools-SafetyDraft.html#document/p2 Kentucky - COVID-19 Considerations for Reopening Schools: Workplace Health and Safety. Kentucky Department of Education. https://education.ky.gov/comm/Documents/Reopening%20Considerations%20Workplace%20 Health%20and%20Safety%20FINAL.pdf Trauma Informed Toolkit https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2020/07/kde-releasestoolkit-to-assist-schools-in-helping-students-cope-with-trauma/ Louisiana - Strong Start 2020. Louisiana Department of Education. https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/strong-start-2020 Maine - Framework for Return to Classroom Instruction. Maine Department of Education. https://www.maine.gov/doe/covid-19/reintegrate Maryland - Maryland Together. Maryland State Board of Education. http://marylandpublicschools.org/newsroom/Documents/MSDERecoveryPlan.pdf Massachusetts - Return to School Working Group. Massachusetts Department of Education. http://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/return-to-school-workgroup.html 46 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 Michigan - MI Safe Schools. Michigan Governor’s Office. https://www.michigan.gov/documents/whitmer/MI_Safe_Schools_Roadmap_FINAL_695392_7 .pdf Minnesota - Fall Planning Guidance. Minnesota Department of Education. https://education.mn.gov/mde/index.html Mississippi - Updates and Information in Response to COVID-19. Mississippi Department of Education. https://mdek12.org/COVID19 Missouri - Show Me Strong. Missouri Governor’s Office https://showmestrong.mo.gov/ Montana - Re-opening Montana School Guidance. Montana Office of Public Instruction. http://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/COVID-19/Reopening%20MT%20Schools%20GuidanceFinal.pdf?ver=2020-07-02-114033-897 Nebraska - Coronavirus Resources for Schools. Nebraska Department of Education. https://www.education.ne.gov/publichealth/resources/ Nevada - Resources Related to COVID-19. Nevada Department of Education. www.doe.nv.gov/home/COVID_Resources/ New Hampshire - COVID-19 Resources for Schools. New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/commissioner/covid-19 New Hampshire Learns Remotely. New Hampshire Department of Education. http://www.nhlearnsremotely.com/ New Jersey - Restart and Recovery Plan: The Road Back. New Jersey Department of Education. https://nj.gov/education/reopening/ New Mexico - School Reentry Guidance. New Mexico Public Education Department. https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/wpcontent/uploads/2020/06/20NMPED_ReentryGuide_Hybrid.pdf New York - Reopening Schools Task Force. New York State Education Department. http://www.nysed.gov/reopening-schools-task-force North Carolina - K-12 Education COVID-19 Resources. North Carolina.gov. https://www.nc.gov/covid-19/k-12-education-covid-19-resources 47 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 North Dakota - K-12 Smart Restart Guidance. North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. https://www.nd.gov/dpi/sites/www/files/documents/Covid-19/NDK12restartguide.pdf Ohio - Reset and Restart Education Planning Guide. Ohio Department of Education.http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Reset-and-Restart/Reset-RestartGuide.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US Oklahoma - Return to Learn Oklahoma. Oklahoma Department of Education. https://sde.ok.gov/sites/default/files/Return%20to%20Learn%20Oklahoma.pdf Oregon - Ready Schools, Safe Learners. Oregon Department of Education. https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/healthsafety/Pages/Planning-for-the-202021-School-Year.aspx Pennsylvania - Preliminary Guidance- Phased Reopening of Schools. Pennsylvania Department of Education. https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/emergencyplanning/COVID19/SchoolReopeningGuidance/Pages/default.aspx Rhode Island - Reimaging RI Education. Rhode Island Department of Education. https://www.ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/COVID19/RIDE_Reopening_Plan_Fram ework_5.27.20.pdf?ver=2020-05-29-133336-247 South Carolina - Dedication to Education. South Carolina Department of Education. http://dedicationtoeducation.com/ South Dakota - Starting Well 2020. South Dakota Department of Education. https://doe.sd.gov/coronavirus/startingwell.aspx Tennessee - School Reopening Toolkits. Tennessee Department of Education. https://www.tn.gov/education/health-and-safety/update-on-coronavirus/reopeningguidance.html Texas - Comprehensive Guidelines for a Safe Return to On-Campus Instruction. Texas Education Agency. https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/news-releases/news-2020/tea-issuescomprehensive-guidelines-for-a-safe-return-to-on-campus-instruction-for-the-2020-21-schoolyear Utah - Coronavirus Resources. Utah State Board of Education. 48 New Hampshire Grades K–12 Back-to-School Guidance, Fall 2020 https://schools.utah.gov/coronavirus Vermont - A Strong and Healthy Start. Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont Department of Health. https://education.vermont.gov/sites/aoe/files/documents/edu-vdh-guidance-strong-healthystart-school-health-rev-20200617.pdf Virginia - Phase Guidance for Virginia Schools. Virginia.gov. https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/FinalPhase-Guidance-for-Virginia-Schools-6.9.20.pdf Washington - Reopening Washington Schools 2020 District Planning Guide. Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction. https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/workgroups/Reopening%20Washington%20S chools%202020%20Planning%20Guide.pdf West Virginia - Reentry and Recovery Guidance. West Virginia Department of Education. https://wvde.us/school-system-re-entry/ Wisconsin - Education Forward. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/sspw/pdf/Education_Forward_web.pdf Wyoming - Smart Start Guidance. Wyoming Department of Education. https://1ddlxtt2jowkvs672myo6z14-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/Smart-Start-Guidance.pdf 49