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January 22, 2021
Updates in this email:
Thank you all for your work throughout this week to get your staff scheduled for vaccines. We know that there have been challenges throughout the process and we appreciate your flexibility and dedication as we pilot this new system.
At this time, we're not able to accommodate additional slots based on staff that declined the vaccine.
We know that many of you had a lot of interest from your staff in getting the vaccine. We will provide more information as soon as we have it about additional opportunities for school staff to receive vaccines. We are continuing to tweak the process based on learnings from this week.
Today the Minnesota Department of Health updated its COVID-19 testing recommendations. The new guidelines focus primarily on young Minnesotans - especially those ages 12-25. The recommendations expand the category of people who should get tested to include students returning to school, youth sports, or extracurricular activities, among others.
There is no expectation or requirement that the schools participating in MDE’s on-site testing program offer tests to their students. This was a message for parents to help give them another way to support keeping their school communities healthy and safe.
Minnesota has an extensive statewide testing operation. Parents and guardians have several ways in which they can access no-barrier testing for their children outside of school. This includes more than 20 community testing sites, a mail-order at-home test program, and clinics and hospitals across the state. A reminder, tests remain no-cost to the individual but they are asked to provide their insurance information so the state can seek reimbursement from insurance companies.
Federal chemical reporting requirement
Does your school or institution have chemicals on site that could be weaponized? If so, you may be required to report those chemicals to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. CFATS is run by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to ensure that hazardous chemicals cannot be weaponized. Under CFATS, any facility that possesses chemicals of interest at or above certain quantities and concentrations must report those chemicals to CISA via an online questionnaire called a Top-Screen. CISA will then use the information from the Top-Screen to determine whether or not a facility is considered high-risk. This reporting is different from the state EPCRA and tier II reporting of chemicals.
The Federal CFATS program includes facilities from a variety of different industries, including schools. For example, schools in Minnesota may use propane for heating or chlorine to disinfect swimming pools, among other chemicals. If chemicals are not above the quantities on the CISA’s list of chemicals, no reporting is necessary. Some examples of quantities of chemicals sometimes found at school facilities that must be reported:
- Propane over 60,000 pounds (14,000 gallons)
- Chlorine over 500 pounds
- Hydrogen Peroxide (>35%) or nitric acid over 400 pounds
If you have questions, you may consult your local service cooperative Health and Safety Assistant, email CFATS@hq.dhs.gov or sarah.c.miller@state.mn.us, or visit the CFATS webpage. To learn more about chemical security, please visit CISA’s Chemical Security webpage.
2018 Arts Standards Update
The rulemaking process for the 2018 K-12 Academic Standards in the Arts (dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts) is complete. The initial implementation year for these standards is the 2021-2022 school year. The 2018 arts standards were developed based on contemporary research and best practices in arts education, and support the development of artistic literacy for all Minnesota students. They include several important shifts, including K-8 grade-level benchmarks.
To access the 2018 arts standards and supporting resources, please visit the MDE Arts webpage. Click here for information on arts education requirements in Minnesota. Please contact mde.academic-standards@state.mn.us with questions or for assistance with the transition to these new standards.
English Language Development Instruction Reminders
Districts and charter schools may need to consider training additional staff members to administer assessments due to the extra time needed for health and safety protocols and more, smaller test sessions. This may be especially important for grades 1–12 online ACCESS in order to ensure that EL instruction can continue to be provided. As communicated last year in Guidance on English Learner Instruction during ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Testing, the administration of the grades 1–12 online ACCESS is similar to the administration of the online MCA and is not required to be administered by EL staff. Refer to the information in Chapter 7 of the Procedures Manual for detailed information on who can be Test Administrators for ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS. All staff members who will be administering assessments must complete the applicable trainings required for their role(s) during test administration.
EL instruction is continues to be necessary, and eliminating or reducing ELD instruction jeopardizes compliance with regulations regarding ELD education. Districts and schools are encouraged to review the following guidance documents and resources for further clarification.
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