Preface:
On September 7, 2020 Governor Cuomo signed into law, amendments to subdivision 2 of section 2801-a of New York State Education Law. These amendments require all public employers to include protocols for responding to a Public Health Emergency in their district level emergency plans. These protocols shall identify essential workers and functional roles consistent with Section 27-c of the labor law as well as means of acquisition of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Please note: While this appendix is currently tailored to reflect the current COVID-19 pandemic, it will also serve as a primary guiding document for all future Public Health Emergency diseases or
pandemics.
Declaration of Essential Workers:
The titles and roles listed below will be required as essential in times of a mandated reduced workforce.
Central Administration
- Board of Education
- Superintendent of Schools
- Business Official
- Treasurer
- Payroll
- Purchasing
- Director of Math, Science & Technology
- Principals and Assistant Principal
Needed for Oversight, planning and logistics. Acquisition of goods and services Needed to maintain sanitary and healthy conditions for the buildings and all essential occupants. May aid in distribution services of food or technology.
Custodial Staff
- Coordinator of Building & Maintenance
- Custodial Workers
- Cleaners
- Bus Drivers
- Grounds Staff
Needed for the general upkeep and repair of the facilities as well as ensure all building features are functioning as designed. Meet with contractors for equipment install/repair.
Technology Staff
- All Technology Staff
Needed for maintenance and upkeep of data services. Acquisition and distribution of technologies needed for both remote and in person instruction.
Instructional Support Staff
- Director
- Key identified individuals
Needed to assist districts in all instruction needs for both in-person and remote
learning.
Food Services Staff
- All Food Service Staff
Needed for meal preparation and distribution for both in-person and remote learning.
Telecommunication for Non-Essential Employees and Contractors:
All individuals deemed non-essential will have access to telecommunication. These individuals will be provided with all necessary technology and support to complete the required tasks remotely. The specifics of those work functions will be determined by the supervising director of each department after reviewing the job duties of the individuals.
Contractors will take direction from the Coordinator of Building & Maintenance. Telecommunication will be utilized where feasible. However due to the potential need for on-site repairs or installations, contractors are required to adhere to the practices defined in the following section.
Communication:
The District will communicate with employees, families and the public through multiple means including the district notification system, district website, email and various social media platforms.
IT Related Protocols:
The district has the capacity of increasing telecommuting and computing to include adequate bandwidth, hotspots, VPN connections, alternate telephone options and access to alternate devices such as laptops and other mobile devices. The district has a plan for IT repair requests and hardware failure. It is the district’s expectation that all employees conducting electronic work use a district-issued device and district issued accounts. Employees are subject to follow all federal, state and local mandates, policies, regulations while working offsite.
Visitor and Vendor Practices:
No outside visitors or volunteers will be allowed on school campuses except to address the safety and well-being of students. Parents/guardians will report to security and not be permitted beyond unless it is for the safety or well-being of their child. Essential visitors to facilities will be required to wear face coverings and will have restricted access to our school buildings.
To ensure all faculty, staff, students, visitors and vendors comply with protective equipment requirements, anyone visiting Florida UFSD facilities will follow the instructions below.
Visitors
- All visitors will be required to wear proper face covering prior to entering any
building and it must be worn at all times. - All visitors must check in at the entrance desk for temperature screening and to complete the Health Screening Form. The visitors must sign in with their
identification through the Raptor system for a visitor badge. This will indicate to all other Security locations that the visitor has been screened. - All visitors must sign in and out at the main entrance of each building stating their destination at that building for the purpose of contact tracing. All visitors should be accompanied by a staff member.
- Should a visitor become ill while on campus, they must alert the staff member they are visiting to report the issue and then immediately seek medical attention.
- At the end of each day, the health screening forms are collected by the school nurse.
Vendor
- All vendors will be required to wear proper face covering prior to entering any
building and it must be worn at all times. - All vendors must have temperature screening and complete Health Screening
Form. The vendors must sign in with their identification through the Raptor system for a visitor badge. This will indicate to all other Security locations that the vendor has been screened. - No vendor will enter a building unless necessary for completion of their job. All
meetings should be held outside or via Google Meet when possible. - All vendors must sign in and out at the main entrance of each building stating their destination at that building for purposes of contact tracing. All vendors should be accompanied by a staff member.
- Should a vendor become ill while on campus, they must alert the staff member
they’re visiting to report the issue and then immediately seek medical attention. - At the end of each day, the health screening forms are collected by the school nurse.
Staggered Schedules:
Where feasible Florida UFSD will stagger the schedules of essential employees and contractors to limit unnecessary exposures and contact. The specific job functions will be reviewed to determine if limited staff and or a single individual can complete all the required tasks safely and in compliance with all required health protocols. For situations where multiple individuals may occupy the same office space, telecommunication and/or alternative work space will be utilized.
All transportation of employees within a company vehicle will be limited to one
employee at a time and proper sanitization protocols will be followed after each use.
Personal Protective Equipment:
Adequate personal protective equipment(PPE) will be available to all essential
employees. A total number of essential employees will be determined along with the minimum amount of supplied PPE for each individual per work day. This value will be used to estimate the needed PPE for a minimum of a six-month duration. Supplies will be ordered in adherence of all procurement regulations. Supplies will be kept in surplus with quantities periodically reviewed to ensure reordering when necessary. Access to supplies will be limited to key individuals. Daily minimum PPE will be available to employees and additional PPE may be supplied upon request to a supervisor.
Potential Exposure:
Florida UFSD will utilize the best practices for exposure events. These protocols have been developed and continually updated in consultation with the local Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance. All employees and contractors will follow these protocols if a potential exposure is suspected. A detailed explanation of these protocols can be found in the following section.
Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
- Emergency Response – Employees or students with symptoms of
COVID-19 like illness must be sent to the designated isolation room after initial consultation with the school nurse to assess individuals. As chronic conditions such as asthma and allergies or chronic gastrointestinal issues may present as symptoms of COVID-19 or the current public health disease, they are potentially contagious and may pose a public health threat. Proper PPE will be required any time a nurse may be in contact with a potential COVID-19 patient. - Isolation – Students suspected of COVID-19 like illness that are awaiting
transport home by a parent/ guardian will be isolated in a designated isolation room under supervision. Multiple students with similar symptoms suspected of illness may also be in this isolation room if they can be separated by at least six (6) feet. If they cannot be isolated in a separate room from others, face covering (e.g., cloth or surgical mask) will be required to prevent the possible transmission of the virus to others while waiting for transportation home.
Students will be escorted from the isolation room to their parent/guardian. The parent or guardian will be instructed to call their health care provider, or if they do not have a health care provider to follow up with a local clinic or urgent care center. In consultation with the school nurse, custodial staff may consider:
- Closing off areas used by a sick person and not using these areas until
after cleaning and disinfection has occurred. - Opening outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the
area. - Waiting at least 24 hours before cleaning and disinfection. If waiting
24 hours is not feasible, wait as long as possible. - Cleaning and disinfecting all areas used by the person suspected or
confirmed to being ill, such as offices, classrooms, bathrooms,
lockers, and common areas. - Once the area has been appropriately cleaned and disinfected it can
be reopened for use.
- Notification – the NYS and local health departments will be notified
immediately upon being informed of any positive Public Health Emergency Disease diagnostic test result by an individual in school facilities or on school grounds, including students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Cleaning and disinfection will occur daily for all occupied and high used areas. Cleaning and disinfection will occur periodically throughout the day. Further details are outlined in the following section.
Cleaning and Disinfecting
The Operations and Maintenance staff at Florida UFSD remain committed to
keeping buildings clean and disinfected for the safety of students, staff and
visitors. Daily cleaning and disinfecting logs are maintained.
All Custodial staff have received training in proper cleaning protocols and adhere to the procedures and precautions outlined in the Occupational and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Exposure Control Plan.
- Our general cleaning will be done on a daily basis and more if needed:
- Garbage and recycling removal
- Put new plastic liners in garbage cans, wash cans as needed
- Sweeping and washing of all floors
- Usable products to wash floors: U.S. Chemical Extra
- Vacuuming of all carpets as needed.
- Cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting of all bathrooms
- Usable products to clean and disinfect sinks and/or toilets: U.S.
Chemical Extra - Replenishing of all dispensers (paper towel, toilet tissue, hand
sanitizer and soap). - Sweeping and/or vacuuming of all staircases
- Sweeping of all hallway floors
- Washing windows as needed
- Daily electrostatic spraying of any occupied space with BruTabs.
- Cafeterias and areas designated for lunch will be cleaned and disinfected
after each use during the day. Floors will be swept and washed daily. Garbage will be removed in between usage of the cafeteria and cans and lids will be washed and disinfected daily. - Kitchen will be disinfected daily in addition to frequently touched surfaces.
Kitchen floors will be swept and washed daily using a disinfectant. - Classroom fixtures will be cleaned and disinfected in between sessions
including desks, chairs, table tops, counters, restrooms and frequently
touched surfaces. - Health offices including cots and restrooms will be cleaned and disinfected
throughout the day. - Offices, countertops, bathrooms, phones and desks will be cleaned and
disinfected daily.
Contact Tracing:
All employees and contractors will follow Florida UFSD contract tracing and sign-in log policy. All individuals will be health screened prior to or at arrival on campus and will be required to log their locations as well as individuals they came in contact with. All building sites as well as offices and classrooms will have sign- in logs for individuals entering and exiting the space. All logs are maintained by the district. All of Florida UFSD contact tracing protocols have been developed with the local Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance.
Housing for Essential Employees:
In an effort to minimize disease spread in a Public Health Emergency. It may be
necessary for essential employees to be housed on site or local to the facility in order to complete essential job duties. Florida UFSD is equipped with lavatories and showers for essential employees. In the event additional housing may be needed, the local hotels may be utilized. The following are a list of the local hotels:
- Fairfield Inn and Suites
20 Hatfield Lane Goshen NY, 10924
845-291-1282 - Stagecoach Inn
268 Main Street Goshen NY 10924
845-294-5526 - Courtyard by Marriot
24 Crystal Run Crossing Middletown NY 10941
845-695-0606 - Holiday Inn Express
2 Bryle Place, Chester, NY 10918
845-469-3000