Guidance for Reducing Transmission of COVID-19 in Classrooms with Unmasked Students

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DISEASE PREVENTION & RESPONSE Guidance for Reducing Transmission of COVID-19 in Classrooms with Unmasked Students

This guidance is intended to help reduce the potential transmission of COVID-19 in classrooms where staff members are working in close contact with students who are unable to wear masks (face coverings), such as in special education classrooms.

Staff Requirements for Personal Protective Equipment Work scenarios in which staff are in close contact with unmasked students, where 6 feet of distance is not maintained with job tasks requiring sustained close-together work (less than 3 feet apart) for more than 10 minutes in an hour, multiple times throughout the day, are considered to be high transmission risk scenarios by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L & I). Staff working in classrooms with these conditions are required by L & I to wear N95, P95 or R95 respirators. Due to the lack of availability of N95 respirators, L & I also allows the substitution of KN95/surgical/procedural/dust masks with face shields.

If challenges are encountered in wearing face shields, such as working with students who have behavioral issues (for example, students grabbing or trying to pull the face shield off the staff member) - then eye goggles that seal around the face may be substituted for the face shield. Refer to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)/Department of Health (DOH)/L & I document Employer Health and Safety Requirements for School Scenarios for additional guidance.

Classroom Ventilation Improvements Consider ventilation improvements for the classroom to help reduce potential transmission, such as the installation of MERV-13 filters for the HVAC system, and the use of portable HEPA filters and increased outside air/air changes per hour in the classroom. Refer to the DOH guidance document Ventilation and Air Quality for Reducing Transmission of COVID-19 for more information.

Classroom Operation Classrooms with unmasked students should be limited to less than 10 staff and/or students total in the room, unless 70% of students and staff in the classroom can be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis.

The following also applies to classrooms with unmasked students: • Physical distancing between unmasked students should be increased to greater than 6 feet or more. • Interactions between classrooms of unmasked students and students/staff in other classrooms should be limited as much as possible. It is preferred that unmasked students do not mix with other students or classrooms to reduce the potential for transmission of COVID-19 to vulnerable unmasked students. • When there is a single COVID-19 case in a classroom of unmasked students, that classroom (and any other close contacts) should be quarantined following the school’s policy (10 – 14 days).

o Staff quarantine can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the specific circumstances in the classroom. • If the incidence rate of COVID-19 in Spokane County is greater than 150 cases per 100,000 for the previous two weeks, then: o There should be no interaction of unmasked students with students from other classrooms. . UNLESS 70% of in-person unmasked students are tested on a weekly basis; AND . Greater than 6 ft of distance is maintained between unmasked and masked students • Implement enhanced handwashing and cleaning/disinfection of high-touch surfaces. Refer to the following guidance documents: o Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) Handwashing to Prevent Illness at School o DOH Safe Cleaning and Disinfection Guidance for Public Spaces o SRHD Cleaning for Health in the Classroom

Medical Exemptions For guidance on medical exemptions to wearing face coverings, refer to DOH’s K-12 Schools 2020-2021 Guidance - see the section on Cloth Face Coverings.

For more information, please go to SRHD’s COVID-19 Information and Resources for Schools page, or email [email protected]