Minimum Standard Health Protocols for School Employees in School Building During Campus Closures Per Executive Order No. GA-23
Per Governor Abbott’s May 5, 2020, order, the following parameters apply when allowing school employees into school facilities as of May 5, 2020. These parameters will remain in effect through May 31. Beginning June 1, this guidance will be replaced by Guidance on Summer Programs (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid19-summer_program_operational_considerations.pdf).
- School classrooms are closed for in-classroom attendance by students for instructional purposes for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
- School employees may go into the classroom for video instruction, to perform administrative duties, and/or to clean out their classrooms.
- Where possible, school employees should continue to work remotely, and if they can’t do so, they should follow the parameters outlined in this guidance.
- School employees time at schools should be staggered at each individual campus to enable social distancing to be implemented effectively.
- Maintain at least 6 feet separation from other individuals not within the same household. If such distancing is not feasible, other measures such as face covering, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, cleanliness, and sanitation should be rigorously practiced.
- Consistent with the actions taken by many employers across the state, consider having all employees wear cloth face coverings (over the nose and mouth). If available, employees should consider wearing non-medical grade face masks.
- Screen all school employees before they access a school facility for any of the following new or worsening signs or symptoms of possible COVID-19: o Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Loss of taste or smell
- Diarrhea
- Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit
- Known close contact with a person who is lab confirmed to have COVID-19
- Do not allow school employees to return to the school until: o In the case of an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may visit when all three of the following criteria are met: at least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications); and the individual has improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and at least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared; or
- In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and does not get evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, the individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to work until the individual has completed the same three-step criteria listed above; or
- If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to work before completing the above self-isolation period, the individual must obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis.
- Do not allow an individual with known close contact to a person who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19 to return to work until the end of the 14-day self-quarantine period from the last date of exposure.
- Schools must clean and sanitize bathrooms, doorknobs, and other commonly touched surfaces.