Education minister orders school districts to contact every family

School districts across B.C. have been ordered to contact every family with school aged children in order to share their COVID-19 safety plans before classes resume Sept. 10.

Education Minister Rob Fleming said back-to-school plans for K-12 families are now posted for all 60 school districts, so parents and families can prepare to support their children for a safe return to the classroom.

Both the Vernon and North Okanagan-Shuswap school districts published their plans online yesterday.

“There is no better place than in-class learning,” Fleming said. “With these plans now in place, parents can feel confident about sending their children back to school and assured that strict health and safety measures are in place to protect students and staff.”

Fleming acknowledged some families still have medical or health concerns.

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“My expectation is that school districts will be flexible and work with families to provide remote options that keep children connected to their school community,” he said.

Parents will find detailed back to school plans on their district website.

In addition to health and safety measures, the plans include:

• how learning groups will be organized
• when masks are required
• daily schedules for classes, lunch and recess
• daily health assessment requirements
• pick-up and drop off times
• protocols for common areas
• hand washing directions
• orientation information

Each school district plan follows the same provincial health and safety measures co-developed with the provincial health officer, the BC Centre for Disease Control and the Ministry of Education.

“Given the unpredictability of the pandemic, we know there may be enrolment and in-class participation that varies throughout this school year and that’s why we will continue working with school districts to stay flexible and nimble as students’ needs change,” Fleming said.

For secondary schools, timetables have been modified to adhere to the health and safety requirements and ensure that all students can attend most days, with much of their instruction occurring in-class.

Almost 70 per cent of school districts, including Vernon, are moving to a quarterly semester system in some or all of their secondary schools.

School districts were also required to consult local First Nations on the development of their plans.

Fleming said there is significantly improved funding for schools to cope with the new health measures, including cleaning and safety equipment.

Health and safety measures that all school districts will follow include:

• masks will be required for staff, middle and secondary students in high-traffic areas, such as buses, and in common areas, such as hallways, or anytime outside of their learning group whenever physical distancing cannot be maintained (exceptions will be made for students who cannot wear masks for medical reasons)
• even when wearing a mask, staff and students will still be required to maintain physical distance from people outside of their learning group
• increased cleaning of high-contact surfaces, such as doorknobs, keyboards, desks and chairs
• increased hand hygiene with all students, staff and visitors being required to clean their hands before boarding school buses and entering school buildings, before and after eating, using the washroom and using playground equipment
• school districts may also install transparent barriers for people who have more contact with others, such as front-desk staff, bus drivers or food services staff, where appropriate
• staff and students (or their parents/guardians) must also assess themselves daily for illness, including symptoms of COVID-19. If any student or staff member has even mild symptoms, arrangements will be made for that person to return home