2021-22 School Year Health and Safety Plan

CDC: Coronavirus Disease

COVID-19 Information for Chester County

Flu Near You

FluVIEW Interactive

Independence Blue Cross: COVID-19 (Coronavirus): Fact vs. Fiction

World Health Organization: Coronavirus 

National Association of School Psychologists: Health Crisis Resources

Medical News Today: Coronavirus Latest

Medical News Today: Coronavirus Myths Explored

Medical News Today: Novel Coronavirus-Your Questions Answered

Pandemic Checklist For Schools and Daycares

PASA: Resource Page

WHYY and PBS: Bring the World to Your Classroom

Yes – this is legal.

We recommended that videoconferences not be recorded.  Recordings raise potential FERPA access questions and potential labor concerns.

No – no student records are being disclosed. This is similar to a Parent walking through a school building and seeing students engaged in learning with a special education teacher. This does not violate FERPA. 

Yes – if you are providing an online learning environment through either optional learning resources OR through mandatory online learning, you must ensure that all of the resources provided are accessible to students with disabilities. Deaf and blind students, students with seizure disorders, and other related disabilities have the same right as other students to access online learning content.  Documents that are provided along with videoconferencing lessons must also be accessible.

In an educational video conference that is only open to students/parents in their homes for educational purposes, it is permissible to use and share screens of copyrighted material without violated the copyrights to those materials.

This is not a violation of any law or privacy right except in the rare instance where a Parent has opted the student out of sharing FERPA directory information. However, since nearly all school districts use a media release form to let parents decide when students may appear in photos online, those releases govern photos of online learning also.  Teachers should ensure that any students who have opted out are not depicted in photos posted publicly.

This is not a violation of any law or privacy right. This is similar to a Parent taking photographs in the classroom during a birthday celebration and posting to social media, or when a Parent takes a video at a school concern and posts to social media. The District does not have an affirmative obligation to prevent parents from taking photographs of students in the classroom – whether the classroom is virtual or not.

Student discipline is handled the same way in an online environment as it is in school, even if the activities are optional. If a student’s behavior is inappropriate, it should be brought to the attention of the administrator. Wherever possible, schools should refrain from kicking students out of the online classroom just as they would in a physical classroom. But if the student is overly disrupting the learning process, the student can be removed and referred to administration, just as they would in the physical classroom.

Yes – you should set expectations both for students’ attire and for students’ conduct for video conferences.

Not necessarily. Zoom has drafted their terms to avoid having to secure explicit parent consent as required by the COPPA law. But so long as students are using Zoom along with their parents/guardians’ assistance, we don’t recommend that school districts avoid Zoom for this reason alone. Zoom does not collect any personal information from students who are merely invited to a video conference and students do not have to create an account in order to use the service.  The District Is not breaking any law or regulation by using Zoom with students. If strict compliance with the terms of use is a concern, this can be remedied by providing the following language along with the instructions for joining the video conference: “Students and parents/guardians should work together to set up access to the videoconference.”

Anyone with the proper meeting credentials for a Zoom conference can join that conference, but that does not mean that all meetings are public. Anyone with the proper credentials can also access your e-mail account, but that doesn’t make your e-mail public. If you want to ensure you have a private conference, create a unique meeting ID for each meeting – rather than using your personal meeting ID. If teachers create a unique meeting ID for a class, and don’t share that meeting ID with anyone outside of the class, it’s extremely unlikely that a random person could join the conference.  For an extra layer of protection, you can also require a password to access a Zoom meeting. This is an option you can choose to select when you schedule a meeting. Teachers should be provided with instruction on how to set up a unique meeting ID and for how to require a password for this purpose. Never share a Zoom meeting ID on social media if you don’t want random people coming to your meeting! 

Yes – the meeting host can remove participants through the Zoom participant controls if they are not supposed to be in the conference. If someone is being disrupted, they can be muted, their video can be stopped, or they can be removed depending on the severity of the disruption.

Yes – teachers should never assign the “host” duties in the meeting to another person, nor should they give up control over screen sharing. When a meeting is started, the host should click the arrow next to “Share Screen” and then choose “Advanced Sharing Options”. Under “Who can share?” choose “Only Host.” 

It depends on the audience. If you have concerns that the Chat feature is distracting or otherwise problematic, the host can turn of private chat in the meeting setting. This means that any chat would be visible to the entire group, but would not allow private chatting between participants.

The CCIU and all of its buildings/schools are open, but we are currently requiring any visitors to our facilities to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. 

If you have any concerns about yourself or a household member being exposed to COVID-19, please contact your primary healthcare provider. Additionally, the Chester County Health Department has a self-reporting online tool available on its webpage.

HMS/Health Advocate, an employee assistance program (EAP), offers free and confidential counseling and referral services to help employees and their eligible dependents successfully manage life's problems. If either you or someone in your household is struggling with anxiety and stress due to the current health crisis, please seek support. The phone number for HMS is 877-240-6863 or you can visit the HMS website. 

Also, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has published a guide for talking with children about this situation. Times of crisis can elicit a wide range of emotions and behaviors in children and ourselves. It is important that we take care of our physical and mental health while caring for others. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress, a 24-hour crisis text line is available by texting “start” to 741741. If an individual needs urgent mental health services, Valley Creek Crisis is available 24 hours a day at 610-918-2100. As with any other emergency, you can also call 911.