In conjunction with the Florida Department of Education’s (FLDOE) required Instructional Continuity Plan (ICP), school districts must create an additional ICP per the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE).
ICPs must include district procedures for maintaining the health and safety of students, educators and staff. However, unlike the FLDOE, the USDOE requires districts to include how they have adopted policies on each of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) safety guidelines.
At Tuesday morning’s Citrus County School Board special meeting and workshop, district Director of Elementary Education Trish Kahler and Director of District Student Services Kit Humbaugh presented the district’s plan, addressing CDC guidelines, to the board.
According to Humbaugh, between Feb. 15 and Feb. 21, seven staff members and 17 students reported a positive COVID-19 test. “The schools are doing great,” she said. “Things are looking bright.”
In their plan, the district has outlined the following procedures in place per CDC guidelines:
Mask wearing
Per Florida Executive Order 21-175, parents have the right to choose whether their child wears a mask. However, Kahler said, “Citrus County Schools supports students and staff choosing to wear a mask.”
In addition, the district strongly recommends mask wearing in clinics and isolation rooms.
Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
Videos, posters and signage are placed around district schools to encourage handwashing and respiratory etiquette. In addition, school nurses are available for classroom lessons and hand sanitizer stations are placed in school common areas for staff and student use.
Physical distancing
The district is encouraging schools to place students in smaller groups within the classroom or common areas such as lunch rooms.
Facility cleaning and ventilation
As needed, schools conduct nightly deep cleaning with CDC-approved agents. Hard surfaces in classrooms are cleaned multiple times per day.
In addition, the district is carrying out HVAC updates and filter changes, as recommended by the CDC.
Contact tracing, isolation and quarantine
“Things have changed quite a bit,” Humbaugh said.
Currently, the district and Citrus Department of Health (DOH-Citrus) are collaborating on contact tracing. However, the district’s online COVID-19 dashboard has not been updated for public viewing since Oct. 28, 2021.
Per CDC guidelines, COVID-19 positive teachers can return to work after five days if they no longer present with a fever or other symptoms. Staff is still allotted 10 days of COVID-19 sick pay with a confirmed positive test.
However, students are governed under FLDOE, according to Humbaugh. Therefore, COVID-19 positive students must stay home for 10 days unless they provide a doctor’s note.
If teachers or students come in close contact COVID-19, both have the option to return to school if they are not presenting symptoms.
COVID-19 testing and vaccinations
Testing is not offered on school campuses, nor is there random temperature monitoring. However, the district and DOH-Citrus work together to distribute information on testing sites to students, parents and staff.
Vaccines and booster shots have been offered to staff and applicable students through DOH-Citrus.
In addition, the district and DOH-Citrus continue to collaborate on the development of COVID-19 procedures.
To view the district’s complete ICP, visit tinyurl.com/t6phzraj and select the Feb. 22 special meeting and workshop.
