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The conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are continually evolving, and Bexar County Academy Charter School District’s Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan will be constantly evaluated to adapt to the continuing trends of the COVID-19 virus, especially in Dallas County.
Bexar County Academy Charter School will follow recommendations for school opening and operation from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Texas Education Agency, as well as state and local health officials. Circumstances related to COVID-19 may change throughout the coming school year, and this document will be updated as conditions change.
The three drivers leading Bexar County Academy Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Service Plan are current Texas Governor orders, the multi-stage approach for managing COVID-19, and funding provided by the Texas Legislature for remote learning.
Bexar County Academy Charter School will abide by all current Texas Governor Orders. It is BCA’s expectation that students, staff, and community will comply with all public health procedures described in this document while engaged in school district activities as per current policies, rules, and regulations.
**Texas is currently under Executive Order GA-36 issued on 5/18/21 which prohibits governmental entities and officials from mandating face coverings.
As of the end of the last Texas Legislative Session on May 31, 2021, the Texas Legislature had not approved funding for remote learning of any kind. As a result, remote learning will not be offered in Bexar County Academy Charter School during the 21-22 school year.
Introduction:
Bexar County Academy Charter School is a recipient for CRRSA, ESSER II and ARP, ESSER III funding in addition BCA is a recipient of CRMSI and RSSP. The purpose of ESSER II is to prevent, prepare for or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of ESSER III is to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students.
CRRSA (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021) includes aid to assist higher education institutions in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and RSSP (Recovery and Acceleration Plan for Resilient Schools Support Plan SY21-22. The plan that follows is a draft intended to outline Bexar County Academy Charter School planned safety measures for the 2021-2022 school year while continuing to provide an excellent educational experience.
Ensuring Continuity of Services:
Bexar County Academy Charter School will continue to take appropriate actions to ensure continuity of services to students. These actions will focus on addressing students' academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. Proposed plans to provide a continuity of services are as follows:
- Increase Response to Intervention Staff
- Professional Development for Educators
- Chromebooks and Interactive Flat Panels
- Summer School
- Behavioral Support Staff
- Instructional Materials
- Increased Special Education Staff
- Increased Counseling
- Increased Nursing
Opportunity for Public Comment:
During the development of the plan, student data informed input from staff will be collected through the 2021 July district strategic planning to get input from our stakeholders. Needs will be prioritized based on wellness and instructional continuity. The draft plans will be developed and presented to the public through the Board of Directors Meeting in August of 2021. Staff and community surveys are being analyze and presented in a comprehensive report. All feedback will be considered in revising the draft plan. Such revisions will align with all requirements for ESSER III funds.
Periodic Review and Revision of the Plan:
During the period in which ESSER IIII funds are available, BCA will review and revise the plan at least every six months. These revisions will consider parent and community feedback, as well as updated guidance from the Texas Education Agency.
Table of Contents: Health and Safety Measures
- Maintaining Health and Safety
- Infection Control Measures
- Health Screenings
- Campus Operations
- Learning Environments
- Breakfast/Lunch
- Visitors
- Clinic Procedures related to COVID-19
- Notification Procedures related to COVID-19
- Definition of COVID-19 Symptoms
- Return to School Criteria
Maintaining Health and Safety
To reduce the risk of transmission Bexar County Academy Charter School plans the following mitigation strategies for the 2021-2022 school year:
- Optional wearing of masks
- The use of assigned seating and cohorts when appropriate
- Proper handwashing encouraged
- Hand sanitizer available
- Targeted cleaning as appropriate
- Positive cases will be reported to the local health department
- Local vaccination sites/providers available on our website: Texas Health and Human Services -- COVID-19 Vaccination Hub Providers: https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine-hubs.aspx . Appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities as identified in the student’s Individualized Education Program.
Infection Control Measures
- Face coverings are, currently, preferred but optional.
- Physical distancing of at least 6 feet will be encouraged at all times. Please note, 6 feet of distancing is not possible in some settings.
- Water fountains will be monitored by staff and available for filling of water containers only. Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle each day.
- Students may not share food or drinks.
- Staff will work to maintain physical distancing in restrooms where possible.
- Students and staff are encouraged to provide their own personal protective equipment (PPE), if possible. PPE will be provided by BCA as needed.
- Hand sanitizer will be available in each classroom, entrances, and throughout common spaces.
- Staff will be expected to regularly wash or sanitize hands.
- Students will have instruction on effective handwashing. Elementary students will wash hands or use hand sanitizer before eating, following restroom breaks and after recess. All should be thrown in the trash, hands should be washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or hand sanitizer should be used.
Health Screenings
- Staff will take a health screening for COVID-19 symptoms before coming onto campus each day.
- Students will take a health screening for COVID-19 symptoms before coming onto campus each day. Parent/guardians should monitor their students throughout the week and not send students who exhibit any of the symptoms of COVID-19
- Teachers will monitor students and refer to the nurse if symptoms are present.
- Visitors, including parents, are required to take a health screening for COVID-19 symptoms before coming onto campus.
- If results of a COVID test are received after hours or on the weekend, please notify BCA immediately by calling your front office personnel or school nurse: BCA 210-432-8600.
Campus Operations
- Campuses may open multiple entrance/exit points during arrival/dismissal to promote social distancing.
- Campuses will review options to reduce large group gatherings at the start and end of the day as well as other times of the day.
- Campuses will be disinfected daily and throughout the day with special attention to high-touch surfaces.
- Classroom doors may be propped open to reduce high-touch areas.
- Campuses will develop schedules and protocols for the use of common areas (labs, flexible spaces, library, etc.), including how to sanitize between use and decrease the levels of humidity in common areas. Hand sanitizer will be available in all common areas.
Learning Environments
- Desks and tables will be arranged to maximize space between students.
- The number of students participating in small group instruction at one time will be limited.
- Staff will have access to cleaning supplies to sanitize high-touch areas, working surfaces, and shared objects regularly.
- Students will share in the responsibility of cleaning their spaces.
- Staff will limit the use of shared supplies when possible.
- The use of outdoor space for learning will be considered when possible.
- Recess and the playground areas will be used utilizing safety/health protocols.
Breakfast/Lunch
- Self-serve counters will not be utilized.
- Students may not share food or drink.
- Meals will be in disposable packaging and condiments and pre-wrapped silverware will be included with all meals.
- “Grab and go” meals for breakfast may be utilized to lower numbers in the cafeteria.
- Students will receive a hot lunch in cafeteria but will likely rotate between the cafeteria, outdoors (weather permitting), and other large spaces to maximize space between groups. A rotation could be in the classroom.
- All areas will be sanitized between lunches.
Visitors
- Visitors, including parents, will be restricted for essential school operations. Non-emergency drop-offs...i.e., snacks, lunch, etc. are highly discouraged.
- Parents will not walk their student to class.
- All visitors who enter the building and school activities/events are encouraged to wear a face covering.
- Any visitor who needs to go beyond the front office will be subject to a health screening to determine if they have any COVID-19 symptoms or have come into close contact with an individual who is lab-confirmed with COVID-19.
- Any visitor who has COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms or has come into close contact with an individual who is lab-confirmed with COVID-19 must remain off campus until the 14-day incubation period has passed unless they qualify for one of the options listed below in Return to School Criteria.
Clinic Procedures Related to COVID-19
- Students or staff who present with symptoms will be evaluated and assessed by the school nurse and/or front office personnel.
- If COVID-19 symptoms are present: staff member will be sent home, and student will be isolated from other students until they can be picked up.
- The nurse and/or front office personnel will provide the parent/staff with the Return to School Criteria.
Notification Procedures Related to COVID-19
- Consistent with campus notification requirements for other communicable diseases, and consistent with legal confidentiality requirements, schools must notify all teachers, staff, and families of all students in a school if a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case is identified among students, teachers or staff who participate in any on campus activities. If you were determined to have had close contact, you will be individually contacted.
- Close contact is defined as:
- being directly exposed to infectious secretions (e.g., being coughed on while not wearing a mask or face shield); or
- being within 6 feet for a cumulative duration of 15 minutes; however, additional factors like case/contact masking (i.e., both the infectious individual and the potential close contact have been consistently and properly masked), ventilation, presence of dividers, and case symptomology may affect this determination.
Definition of COVID-19 Symptoms
In evaluating whether an individual has symptoms consistent with COVID-19, individuals will be asked if they have recently begun experiencing any of the following in a way that is not normal for them:
- Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100 degrees Fahrenheit
- Loss of taste or smell
- Difficulty breathing
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Chills
- Congestion or runny nose
- Shaking or exaggerated shivering
- New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (or, for students with a chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline).
- Sore throat
- Significant muscle pain or ache
- Diarrhea
- Nausea or vomiting
Individuals are presumed infectious at least two days prior to symptom onset or, in the case of asymptomatic individuals who are lab-confirmed with COVID-19, two days prior to the confirming lab test.
Return to School Criteria
Any individuals who themselves either: (a) are test-confirmed to have COVID-19; or (b) experience the symptoms of COVID-19 (listed above) must stay at home throughout the infection period, and cannot return to campus until the school system screens the individual to determine if any of the below conditions for campus re-entry have been met:
- In the case of an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may return to school when all three of the following criteria are met:
- at least one day (24 hours) has passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications).
- the individual has improvement in symptoms; and
- at least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
- In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and who is not evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, such individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to the campus until the individual has completed the same three-step set of criteria listed above.
- If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to school before completing the above stay at home period, the individual must either (a) obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis or (b) obtain an acute infection test (at a physician’s office, approved testing location, or other site) that comes back negative for COVID-19.
Option 1: Recommended by the Centers for Disease Control
Quarantine for 14 days from the date of last exposure to the individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. This option reflects no change to Bexar County Academy current quarantine protocol. This option is required for any student or staff member who does not meet the criteria for early return or who does not agree to follow the BCA protocols for early return. Option 1 is preferred as it has the most supporting data and offers the highest possible containment and prevention of the spread of COVID-19.
Option 2: This option carries an estimated 1%, to as high as 10%, risk of post-quarantine transmission
- Request the required attestation from your school's nurse.
- Before attending class, present to school an attestation by written form to have completed 10 days of quarantine and to not having any COVID-related symptoms at any time during the 10 days, and
- Agreeing to continued daily monitoring for symptoms through day 14 including temperature checks at school as needed, and
- Agreeing to submit Bexar County Academy with a screener each school day through day 14, and
- Agreeing to adhere to mitigation strategies that include:
- Social distancing
- Hand and cough hygiene
- Avoiding crowds
- Also, see: CDC Prevention Measures
Students and staff who do not comply with these requirements will return to quarantine for days 11-14.
Option 3: Not generally recommended- This option carries an estimated 5%, to as high as 12%, risk of post-quarantine transmission.
- Request the required attestation from your school's nurse.
- Before attending class, present to school an attestation by written form to have completed 7 days of quarantine and to not having any COVID-related symptoms at any time during the 7 days, and
- Present negative results of a diagnostic COVID test (rapid tests not accepted) administered within 48 hours before the end of quarantine day 7, and
- Agreeing to continued daily monitoring for symptoms through day 14 including temperature checks at school as needed, and
- Agreeing to submit Bexar County Academy screener each school day through day 14, and
- Agreeing to adhere to mitigation strategies that include:
- Social distancing
- Hand and cough hygiene
- Avoiding crowds
- Also, see: CDC Prevention Measures
Option 4: Quarantine at School- This option is a last resort for parents/guardians for whom quarantining their child at home during the school day creates a serious hardship.
- Request the required attestation from your school's nurse.
- Before attending school, present to school an attestation by written form to not having any COVID-related symptoms, and
- Agreeing to continued daily monitoring for symptoms through day 14 including temperature checks at school as needed, and
- Agreeing to submit Bexar County Academy screener each school day through day 14, and
- Agreeing to adhere to mitigation strategies that include:
- Social distancing
- Hand and cough hygiene
- Avoiding crowds
- Also, see: CDC Prevention Measures
Students and staff who do not comply with these requirements will return to quarantine for days 8-14.
- District communication will be provided to the staff and students who come in contact with anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 *See Notification Procedures
- BCA will immediately sanitize all areas that had exposure from someone who tested positive. In the event that this cannot be done before the start of the next school day, BCA may need to close for a day to complete this process if relocating students is not an option.
- Any student requiring quarantine will transition to At Home Learning for the period of self-isolation.
The information below shows resources that were provided to parents, students, and community members throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources would be made available again should infections warrant the need any time moving forward.